Isaiah 6:5 says, Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Isaiah then spoke of his own unworthiness to speak for God. He said he was a man of unclean lips and that he lived in the middle of a group of people with unclean lips. He then said he felt this way because he had seen the King, the Lord of hosts. I don’t know if he had physically seen God or not, but I would say most likely not, but he had seen Him spiritually. We as Christians, even if we are called to preach, will never be worthy to do so, because we are also people of unclean lips by our own merit, but we can do so because we have spiritually seen the King, the God of hosts, when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We can also see that we live in the midst of people of unclean lips, some forgiven by putting their faith in Jesus Christ and many more who are not.
Verse six adds, Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: One of the seraphim flew to Isaiah with a live coal taken from the fire in tongs in his hand. I am not sure how we would react if we saw something like this, but we have something greater, the Holy Spirit, coming to us to cleanse us when we are born again.
Verse seven continues, And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. The seraphim laid the hot coal on Isaiah’s mouth and told him that that had cleansed him and taken away his iniquity. We don’t have to have such a drastic thing done to cleanse us and take away our iniquity. We only have to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
Verse eight states, Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Isaiah said he then heard God asking whom He would send, with the to spread His word implied, and Isaiah said, “Here am I; send me.” I believe that God already knew who He wanted to send, which was Isaiah, but Isaiah had to be willing to go. When God asks a person today who He will send, I believe He already knows who He wants to send, but that person still has to say send me. God never forces people to serve Him, but He does call a particular person to a particular calling, but not all are willing to say send me.
Verse nine adds, And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. The message that Isaiah was to take to the people was that they would hear and not understand and see but not perceive. We are to proclaim the gospel to people, but they may hear and not understand and if they see a miracle, they may not perceive what it means.
Verse ten continues, Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. This may make it seem that God was causing the people not to hear, see, and understand His word, but was instead saying that He knew that they wouldn’t. God never keeps anyone from being saved. He sent Jesus to redeem all people, but many will not hear, see, believe and be converted.
Verse eleven says, Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, Isaiah then asked God how long this punishment would last. If we know that God has pronounced punishment on us, we also need to know how long it will last. God said until the cities were wasted, and the houses were empty, and the land was utterly desolate. Though this may seem like a terrible punishment, the punishment that those who reject Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will be even worse. It will be everlasting punishment in Hell, separated from God. Anything they owned will be left desolate.
Verse twelve adds, And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. God said when those called to be His people moved far away from Him that this destruction would come, and it would be a complete destruction. Matthew Henry said for the Jewish nation this happened physically when the Romans defeated them. I believe the spiritual implication is that those who refuse to obey God are going to be forever in desolation separated from God, and this will include all who have heard the gospel but rejected it.
Verse thirteen continues, But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof. God also said that there would be a remnant that would not turn away from Him and would one day have the land restored to them. God has always had a remnant that remained faithful to Him. At this time, it was specified as ten percent. He also said that even though they had been as a tree that has lost its leaves in the winter but buds out again in the summer so would the people of Israel who had appeared to be defeated be renewed by this remnant. I believe that Christians are becoming more and more of a minority, but as long as there is a remnant reaching lost people with the gospel and they are being saved, that the church here will continue to exist, but if there comes a time when no one accepts the gift of salvation, then Jesus Christ will return to claim His people and call them home to heaven.
No comments:
Post a Comment