6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the sovereign master seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple.
King Uzziah was a good king of Judah who started well and ended badly. During his reign, King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam of Israel extended their borders to that of Solomon. However, King Uzziah attempted to burn an offering on the altar. According to the Mosaic Law, kings were to come from the tribe of Judah, but priests were to come from the tribe of Levi. Only priests could burn incense on the altar. Therefore, God struck King Uzziah with leprosy. King Uzziah died in the year 739 B.C. Judah and Israel were prospering materially at this time, but they were spiritually bankrupt.
According to Exodus 19:21, no one can see God and live. Isaiah saw a vision of the temple in heaven. He saw God sitting on the throne, but he did not die. The reason that he did not die was because he saw a visible manifestation of God sitting upon the throne. According to John 12:39, Isaiah saw the Lord Jesus Christ sitting upon the throne.
Jesus was sitting on a throne which was high and lifted up. The point is that Judah’s king is a God-man who will sit upon an earthly throne. Human kings will sin, as Uzziah did. However, this king on the throne is the God-man, so He can never sin.
Isaiah also saw the robe of the Lord Jesus Christ filling the temple.
6:2 Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly.
The Hebrew word for “seraphim” is שְׂרָפִ֨ים (seraphim), meaning burning ones. There are three kinds of angels in Scripture. Common angels have no wings and sometimes appear on earth in the appearance of men. Cherubim have either two or four wings. Seraphim have six wings. Two wings cover their face, because they face God’s glory. Two wings cover their feet, which is a sign of humility. Two wings are used to fly, so that they can render service to God.
6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”
The cherubim possessed the same ministry as the four living creatures in Revelation 4. They encircled the throne and praised God.
The Hebrew word for “holy” is קָד֧וֹשׁ (kodesh), meaning freedom from all imperfections. The cherubim called this out three times, to honor each person of the trinity. The glory of God fills the entire earth, showing that God is omnipresent.
6:4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke.
Smoke was a symbol of God’s Shechinah Glory. The Shechinah Glory of God filled the heavenly temple (Exodus 20) . The foundations of the heavenly temple shook, but it did not collapse.
6:5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.”
The Hebrew word for “I am destroyed” is דָּמָה (damah), meaning to put out of existence. When Isaiah compared himself to the holiness of God, he saw how sinful he really was. Isaiah had been declaring that Israel was sinful in the first five chapters, but now he saw himself as God saw him. He feared that he was about to be put out of existence, because he was a deep and terrible sinner in opposition to a holy and righteous God.
The lips of the seraphim were saying “holy, holy, holy.” However, the lips of Isaiah were unclean. The Hebrew word for unclean is טָמֵא (tama). These were the words that a leper cried out whenever he came into the presence of people. These were the words that King Uzziah had to call out every time he approached an audience of people. Isaiah felt like a leper in front of God’s throne. When Job met God, he encountered a similar experience.
6:6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs.
God did not want to zap Isaiah out of existence. He wanted to provide atonement for Isaiah’s sins. The hot coal was taken from the heavenly altar to make atonement for Isaiah's sin.
6:7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.”
The Hebrew word for “removed” is סוּר (sur), meaning covered. During the Old Testament period, Isaiah’s sins could not be removed, but they could be covered. The lips of Isaiah were touched, because that is where he was most conscious of his sin. This type of atonement was as close as the Old Testament could go towards the remission of sins. Until the Messiah dies, the sins of the people can only be covered.
6:8 I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” I answered, “Here I am, send me!”
The call to Isaiah could only occur after his sins had been covered. Notice that “I” was used in God’s first question, emphasizing His unity. However, “our” was used in the second question, emphasizing His tri-unity. Isaiah answered with one Hebrew word, הִנְנִ֥י (henemai), meaning “Here I am, send me.” Isaiah accepted the commission without even knowing what he was to accomplish.
6:9 He said, “Go and tell these people: ‘Listen continually, but don’t understand! Look continually, but don’t perceive!’
Isaiah was to deliver a message to Israel, but they would not be able to understand the message. He was commanded to go and have an unsuccessful ministry. No one would listen to Isaiah's message. Israel was in a state of spiritual apathy.
6:10 Make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind! Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”
The purpose of the message was to harden the hearts of Israel, to make Israel deaf to spiritual things, and to blind Israel to spiritual things. The purpose of this hardening was to bring judgment upon her.
6:11 I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said, “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated, and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated,
Isaiah wanted to know how long that the people of Israel would be unresponsive to his message. God answered that Israel would be unresponsive to his message until the land is depopulated. The depopulation of Israel would occur at the Temple destruction of 70 A.D. by the Roman Empire.
6:12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned.
After the Temple destruction of 70 A.D., the people of Israel were dispersed all over the world. It is interesting to note that during the reign of King Uzziah, Isaiah began prophesying at the same time which the city of Rome was founded on the Tiber River. In the next eight centuries, Rome would grow to become a world power and would fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy.
6:13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”
Isaiah described a second wave of judgment. A remnant of Jews would return to the land. This was fulfilled in 1948. However, this second wave of 1948 Jews will be judged as well. The time of their judgment will be the Great Tribulation.
Most of the Jews who returned to Israel in 1948 were unbelievers. They will be chopped down like an Asherah pole. Asherah poles were places of lewd idolatry. Some of the good kings of Judah cut them down, burnt them, and spread the ashes on these religious sites in order to desecrate them. Zechariah 13:8-9 predicted that two thirds of the Jews would be killed during the Great Tribulation.
The sacred tree that is cut down is a terebinth tree. When it is cut down, it still has life in it and it can sprout again. The one third of the Jews who survive the Great Tribulation will believe Isaiah’s message and enter into the Messianic Kingdom. Their tree will sprout into the Millennial Kingdom.