Isaiah 6 Footnotes

6:1,5 In Ex 33:20 the Lord told Moses that no man could see his face and live; Jn 1:18 confirms that no one has seen God. His eternal essence is invisible (1Tm 1:17; 6:16); he is Spirit (Jn 4:23-24). Yet Isaiah claimed to have seen “the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne . . . the King, the LORD of Armies.” There are other places in Scripture where people see the Lord; for example, he revealed himself to Moses and the elders of Israel on Mount Sinai (Ex 24:9-18), and to Ezekiel and John in glorious and mysterious visions (Ezk 1; 10; Rv 4:1-11). These “theophanies” (appearances of God) were typically accompanied by features drawn from the world of nature, such as storm or volcanic activity, and often included the manifestation of God’s “glory,” an awesome weight or radiance that both revealed and hid his presence. They could be internal visions—experiences of one person not shared by bystanders. Or they could be “literary visions,” poetic expressions of the Lord’s appearance composed in order to add force to the words of his spokesman. Isaiah’s vision occurred in the temple (Is 6:4) and was described in terms of the worship conducted there. The chanting (v. 3) of the seraphim (lit “burning ones”) mirrored the antiphonal singing of the Levitical choirs, while the smoke of the altar (vv. 4,6) filled the air, suggesting a sacrificial ceremony in progress. Whatever the particular nature of Isaiah’s vision, it was a pivotal event in his prophetic ministry.

6:9-10 The Lord summoned Isaiah to preach to the people so that they could not hear and see the truth and repent. Negating the possibility of their repentance seems to contradict Isaiah’s call for the people to repent in 1:18-20, or his appeal to Ahaz to trust God in 7:9. The prophetic summons to repent had a double function; it invited people to return to the Lord, but also exposed those who, having hardened their hearts to God’s appeal, were destined for judgment. Moses, similarly, was told to deliver his message to Pharaoh (Ex 3:1-10), although he would not listen to it (Ex 3:19). The Lord, through Isaiah, gave Ahaz the opportunity to follow his will (Is 7:3-9), but like Pharaoh, Ahaz hardened his heart and refused to follow the Lord’s instructions (7:10-13). The Lord is glorified not only by the response of those who heed his call to repent, but also by the consequences that follow for those who ignore his appeal. The NT writers saw the same principle at work in the response to the gospel of Jesus Christ (Mk 4:11-12; Jn 12:37-40; Ac 28:25-28).