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Introduction:
Introduction:
When Isaiah had been called to the office of being a prophet, Israel had in controversy with their identity as God's people, they forgotten God's covenant for them as His own people. They were entangled in idolatry and selfishness. Now, God wanted His people to acknowledge that brings hope for them through the call of Isaiah as His spokesperson, his mouthpiece.
This week we had learned the following as a sort of review and clarifications on the issues on leadership.
A. The Context of the Vision
B. The Holiness of God - Isaiah 6:1-4
C. The Transformation of Isaiah - Isaiah 6:5-7
D. The Commission - Isaiah 6:8
E. The Message - Isaiah 6:9-13
Memory Verse:
Memory Verse:
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1
Prayer Thought:
Prayer Thought:
Since the throne seen by Isaiah was a "train" (retinue), and since as it entered into the temple, "the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke" (Isa. 6:1, 4), it therefore is a traveling throne, whereas both the one of Revelation 4, having the "sea of glass" before it, and the one of Revelation 22, having the "river...of life" before it, are stationary thrones.
All His purposes will be fulfilled. His law is linked with His throne, and no power of evil can destroy it. Truth is inspired and guarded by God; and it will triumph over all opposition. {AA 11.3}
During ages of spiritual darkness the church of God has been as a city set on a hill. From age to age, through successive generations, the pure doctrines of heaven have been unfolding within its borders. Enfeebled and defective as it may appear, the church is the one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard. It is the theater of His grace, in which He delights to reveal His power to transform hearts. {AA 12.1}
"Whereunto," asked Christ, "shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?" Mark 4:30. He could not employ the kingdoms of the world as a similitude. In society He found nothing with which to compare it. Earthly kingdoms rule by the ascendancy of physical power; but from Christ's kingdom every carnal weapon, every instrument of coercion, is banished. This kingdom is to uplift and ennoble humanity. God's church is the court of holy life, filled with varied gifts and endowed with the Holy Spirit. The members are to find their happiness in the happiness of those whom they help and bless. {AA 12.2}
A. The Context of the Vision
A. The Context of the Vision
“Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote.” (2 Chronicles 26:22)
Uzziah was a faithful servant of God. He was given great skills. He was a good strategist, builder, and farmer (2 Chronicles 26:5-7, 9-10, 15).
Nevertheless, he wanted to be more than God had made him. He wanted to do priestly tasks, and God punished him with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:16, 19, 21).
The rest of the people seemed to be infected by a moral “leprosy”. They needed Isaiah to lead them to the only holy, pure, immortal, and perfect King.
B. The Holiness of God - Isaiah 6:1-4
B. The Holiness of God - Isaiah 6:1-4
“And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’” (Isaiah 6:3)
- The Glorious God and His Prophet
These holy beings sang forth the praise and glory of God with lips unpolluted with sin. The contrast between the feeble praise which he [Isaiah] had been accustomed to bestow upon the Creator and the fervid praises of the seraphim, astonished and humiliated the prophet. . . . {CC 233.2}
While he listened to the song of the angels, . . . the glory, the infinite power, and the unsurpassed majesty of the Lord passed before his vision, and was impressed upon his soul. In the light of this matchless radiance that made manifest all he could bear in the revelation of the divine character, his own inward defilement stood out before him with startling clearness. His very words seemed vile to him. {CC 233.3}
- A Marvelous Calling of Isaiah
“What though earthly powers should be arrayed against Judah? What though Isaiah should meet with opposition and resistance in his mission? He had seen the King, the Lord of hosts; he had heard the song of the seraphim, ‘The whole earth is full of His glory;’ and the prophet was nerved for the work before him. The memory of this vision was carried with him throughout his long and arduous mission.” E.G.W. (Testimonies for the Church, book 5, cp. 91, p. 751)
Note the following thoughts:
Uzziah wanted to come before God, and he was hurt by His holiness. God came before Isaiah, and he was transformed by His holiness.
God was seated on a high and sublime throne; His presence covered everything. The doors were shaking, and the temple was filled with smoke. There were flaming beings (seraph means “the burning one”) around Him that praised Him and proclaimed His holiness.
The message of the vision was clear, God is holy and demands holiness (Leviticus 11:45; 19:2; 20:26; 1 Peter 1:16).
Isaiah’s faith was strengthened like Ezekiel’s, Daniel’s, and John’s.
C. The Transformation of Isaiah - Isaiah 6:5-7
C. The Transformation of Isaiah - Isaiah 6:5-7
“And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.’” (Isaiah 6:7)
- The Glorious Appearance of God
As the prophet Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord, he was amazed, and, overwhelmed with a sense of his own weakness and unworthiness, he cried, "Woe is me! . . ." {FLB 190.2}
His view of himself might be expressed in the language of the apostle Paul, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Romans 7:24. . . . {FLB 190.3}
- A Humiliation of God's Prophet
Isaiah had denounced the sin of others; but now he sees himself exposed to the same condemnation he had pronounced upon them. He had been satisfied with a cold, lifeless ceremony in his worship of God. He had not known this until the vision was given him of the Lord. How little now appeared his wisdom and talents as he looked upon the sacredness and majesty of the sanctuary. How unworthy he was! how unfitted for sacred service! . . . {CC 234.2}
- God's Revelation to His Prophet
The vision given to Isaiah represents the condition of God's people in the last days. They are privileged to see by faith the work that is going forward in the heavenly sanctuary. "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament." As they look by faith into the holy of holies, and see the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, they perceive that they are a people of unclean lips,--a people whose lips have often spoken vanity, and whose talents have not been sanctified and employed to the glory of God.
- The Bow of promise is Above the Throne
Well may they despair as they contrast their own weakness and unworthiness with the purity and loveliness of the glorious character of Christ. But if they, like Isaiah, will receive the impression the Lord designs shall be made upon the heart, if they will humble their souls before God, there is hope for them. The bow of promise is above the throne, and the work done for Isaiah will be performed in them. God will respond to the petitions coming from the contrite heart. {CC 234.3}
Some thoughts to Ponder!
Smoke filled the Most Holy Place every Day of Atonement, so the priest was hidden from God’s glory. The vision was remarkably similar, so Isaiah felt judged… and condemned!
The live coal was taken from the golden altar where interceding incense was burning. This represented Jesus’ intercession. He’s the only One who can forgive our sins and transform us.
D. The Commission - Isaiah 6:8
D. The Commission - Isaiah 6:8
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’” (Isaiah 6:8)
- A Call amidst Circumstances of Difficulty
It was under circumstances of difficulty and discouragement that Isaiah, while yet a young man, was called to the prophetic mission. Disaster was threatening his country. By their transgression of God's law the people of Judah had forfeited His protection, and the Assyrian forces were about to come against the kingdom of Judah. But the danger from their enemies was not the greatest trouble. It was the perversity of the people that brought upon the Lord's servant the deepest depression. By their apostasy and rebellion they were inviting the judgments of God. The youthful prophet had been called to bear to them a message of warning, and he knew that he would meet with obstinate resistance. . . . His task seemed to him almost hopeless. . . . {CC 232.2}
- Servants Who Believe His Promises He sends
"Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the spirit which he hath given us." "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." {RH, May 24, 1892 par. 7}
- Those One with Christ He sends
In his prayer for his disciples Christ said: "I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." In his prayer Christ includes all those who shall hear the words of life and salvation through the messengers whom he sends. We are to look with respect upon God's workmen, remembering that they are laborers together with God. The people of God through their union with Christ become one with each other. This is the object of their sanctification, "that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." {ST, June 18, 1896 par. 5}
Please consider the notes below!
After being comforted by God’s forgiveness, Isaiah offered to fulfill any mission God would call him to fulfill.
Paul encouraged us to confidently come to the Sanctuary before the throne of God. There we’ll find grace because Jesus is interceding for us (Hebrews 4:14-16).
After all, we’ll find comfort and strength in the Heavenly Sanctuary that will help us overcome our afflictions and carry out our mission (Psalm 73:17; Revelation 5:4-6).
E. The message. Isaiah 6:9-13.
E. The message. Isaiah 6:9-13.
“Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:10)
- God Heralds a Message to His People
The Lord God of hosts is to be exalted, and his law is to be honored. In this day he has sent special light. The third angel is represented as flying in the midst of heaven, heralding to the inhabitants of the world the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. The third angel's message is to go everywhere. It is to be proclaimed by the human agent, and it becomes every one who hears to be attentive to the heaven-sent message, and in no case to be careless, to refuse to hear or receive it; for it is a message from God to man. If we are rational beings, and the light has come to us, we shall be held accountable for it. But those who have not had the light which is now shining upon the people of God concerning the Sabbath question, will not be accountable for the light; for it has never been brought before them, and they have died without condemnation. {RH, April 25, 1893 par. 8}
- A Timely Message Sent Through God's Servants
Well now, how are we going to know anything about that message if we are not in a position to recognize anything of the light of heaven when it comes to us? And we will just as soon pick up the darkest deception when it comes to us from somebody that agrees with us, when we have not a particle of evidence that the Spirit of God has sent them. Christ said, "I come in the name of my Father, but ye will not receive me" [see John 5:43]. Now, that is just the work that has been going on here ever since the meeting at Minneapolis. Because God sends a message in his name that does not agree with your ideas, therefore [you conclude] it cannot be a message from God. How dare you run the risk of trying in the least to shut {1888 609.2}
Let's consider these thoughts:
God wants everyone to repent and be saved (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9).
He is constantly sending reprimanding messages through His messengers (and every believer may be a messenger).
There are two types of response to these messages: acceptance or rejection. The more we reject these messages, the more our heart hardens like Pharaoh’s. Our ears and eyes gradually shut as we refuse to listen.
Those who accept the message are called “holy seed” (Isaiah 6:13).
From the Pen of Inspiration:
From the Pen of Inspiration:
“To everyone who becomes a partaker of His grace the Lord appoints a work for others. Individually we are to stand in our lot and place, saying, ‘Here am I; send me.’ Isaiah 6:8. Upon the minister of the word, the missionary nurse, the Christian physician, the individual Christian, whether he be merchant or farmer, professional man or mechanic—the responsibility rests upon all. It is our work to reveal to men the gospel of their salvation. Every enterprise in which we engage should be a means to this end.”
E.G.W. (The Ministry of Healing, cp. 9, p. 148)
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