It was the year king Uzziah died and that is not a small matter. Of course Uzziah died with leprosy as he thought as a king he could do anything, but God had delegated only priests to do some things. Uzziah thought otherwise and paid the price.
But the changing of the kings in a monarchy was no small matter. Change happened quickly and the king was good, it was a blessing. But if the king was evil, people would hang.
It was in this context that Uzziah had a vision. He saw the Lord seated on the throne with cherubim in worship. They cried holy, holy, holy to the Lord as they beheld his glory.
In that moment Isaiah knew who he was not, and it wasn’t holy. He was a man of unclean lips and heart and nothing holy can be in the presence of God. The cherubim came to him and touched a coal to his lips and now he was declared holy. It was no small accident that it was his lips as Isaiah in this vision was being called to be the mouthpiece of God. Holy lips were essential to speak the truths of God.
In the famous exchange he heard a voice say, “Who should I send? Who will I go for Us?” and Isaiah responds, “Here am I. Send me” (v. 8).
And that’s where people stop. That’s where the preacher riles people up and asks the same thing, “Who will go proclaim the gospel?” And it’s a good verse for this. The question always is who will go? Our answer should always be “send me, wherever that is.”
But there’s more to the story.
If you keep reading, Isaiah is being sent to tell them to listen, but they won’t understand. To hear but they won’t hear. What Isaiah is going to tell them is that judgment is coming unless there is repentance and faith in God. Some would listen. Most would not.
How long do I tell them? Isaiah asks.
The Lord responds until there is nothing left of them because they would not repent. Until the land and the people are devastated. The LORD said 1/10 of the people would remain to preserve them but that’s it.
Note here that it’s not God wanting judgment. Rather that he is offering to give them a way out, to call them to repent until the very end. But they would not listen and he knew that.
People don’t realize that sin hardens the heart. It sears our conscience to the point where we don’t feel like we need to repent.
Think of someone who had convictions to remain pure before marriage. But then they start sleeping around and their theology changes. They get to the point of repeated sin where there is no longer a felt need to repent.
Sin changes our thinking. And our theology. So much so that when God speaks, we don’t hear, listen, understand or believe. Then God unwillingly has to bring judgment because he is a good God and cares for our redemption.
Isaiah’s commission was not one where he would be welcomed. People wouldn’t listen, they would mock him, they would falsely accuse him, and eventually he would die by being sawed in half (http://bibleq.net/answer/3010/).
We have entered into a similar season. When we call people to repent, people say we aren’t loving. When we speak up, we are canceled. Soon we will be in jail, our Bibles confiscated and our lives come to a grisly end. It’s already happening in many parts of the world. Now it is quickly approaching here.
God, purify our hearts and lips like Isaiah.
May we speak the things you speak to us.
May we walk in obedience greater than fear.
And stop us if we step out of line with you.
