이사야 Chapter 6

Translation: ESV

1

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Key Message

Though human kings die, God sits eternally on a high and lifted up throne, and the true King of history is God.

▸This is the most central chapter of Isaiah.

This is the most central chapter of Isaiah. The year King Uzziah died (740 BC) was a time of political anxiety. At this moment Isaiah sees the divine temple vision. The throne high and lifted up represents God's absolute transcendence, and the train filling the temple means God's glory fills the entire temple. This vision becomes the foundation of Isaiah's prophetic calling.

Related Verses

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
2

Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

Key Message

The humility of even the celestial seraphim in covering their faces before God's glory shows that God's holiness is something a creature cannot directly face.

▸The seraphim are celestial beings who attend God's throne.

3

And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"

Key Message

God's absolute holiness and the filling of the whole earth with his glory is the heart of Isaiah's theology and the foundation of all worship.

▸This is the Trisagion (Holy, holy, holy), one of the most famous verses in Scripture.

4

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

Key Message

God's holy presence is an overwhelming power that affects even the natural world and physical structures.

▸The foundations of the thresholds shake from the power of the seraphim's praise.

5

And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"

Key Message

Those who experience God's holiness will clearly recognize their own sinfulness, and this is the beginning of genuine spiritual transformation.

▸Before God's holiness Isaiah immediately recognizes his own sin.

6

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

Key Message

God immediately extends purifying grace to those who confess, and God's consuming fire becomes the instrument of sanctification.

▸God's response comes immediately to Isaiah's confession.

7

And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."

Key Message

God completely removes the sin of those who confess, and this forgiveness is the foundation on which God calls Isaiah to prophetic ministry.

▸When the burning coal touches the lips, Isaiah's sin is removed and forgiven.

8

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me."

Key Message

'Here I am! Send me' is a voluntary and wholehearted response to God's call, and is the paradigm for every calling.

▸This verse is the heart of the call narrative.

9

And he said, "Go, and say to this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'

Key Message

A hardened heart prevents understanding even when truth is heard; Isaiah's prophetic ministry depends not on human effectiveness but on God's sovereignty.

▸Isaiah's calling is ironically a mission of 'ineffective prophecy.

10

Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.

Key Message

God's judgment and human free will are maintained simultaneously; even if prophecy results in further hardening of stubborn hearts, God's purposes are accomplished.

▸This verse appears theologically difficult, as if God is commanding Isaiah to further harden Israel's already-hardened state.

11

Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,

Key Message

Even the prophet feels human limitations and anguish and petitions God; God clearly informs him of the duration of judgment.

▸Isaiah's question 'How long?' shows the prophet's human limitations and urgency.

12

and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

Key Message

God's judgment is completed in exile and desolation, but this is not the final word—it is a process toward restoration.

▸God's answer about the duration of judgment continues.

13

And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.

Key Message

Even after all judgment, God preserves the holy seed; this remnant is the foundation of restoration and messianic hope.

▸This is both the conclusion of chapter 6 and the core hope of all of Isaiah.