Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 6:8
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.
8. Now for the first time Isaiah hears the voice of God, the purification of his lips having fitted him for personal converse with Jehovah and spiritual sympathy with His purposes.
who will go for us? ] The plural is not that of majesty, but includes the “council of the holy ones” (Psa 89:7), or the angelic “hosts of heaven” (1Ki 22:19 f.).
Here am I; send me ] The spontaneity and self-abandonment of this response are characteristic of Isaiah. He is as yet ignorant of the nature of his commission, yet he freely accepts it; and throughout life he never felt his message to be a grievous burden, as Jeremiah often did.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The voice of the Lord – Hebrew: The voice of Yahweh. He had before been addressed by one of the seraphim.
Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? – The change of number here, from the singular to the plural, is very remarkable. Jerome, on this place, says that it indicates the sacrament of the Trinity. The Septuagint renders it, whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? The Chaldee, whom shall I send to prophesy, and who will go to teach? The Syriac, whom shall I send, and who will go? The Arabic has followed the Septuagint. The use of the plural pronouns we and us, as applicable to God, occurs several times in the Old Testament. Thus, Gen 1:26 : And God said, Let us make man in our image; Gen 11:6-7 : And Jehovah said, Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language. Such a use of the name of God in the plural is very common, but it is not clear that there is a reference to the doctrine of the Trinity. In some cases, it is evident that it cannot have such a reference, and that no argument can be drawn from the use of that plural form in favor of such a doctrine.
Thus, in Isa 19:4, the expression a cruel lord, is in the Hebrew in the plural, yet evidently denoting but one. The expression translated the most Holy One, or the Holy, is in the plural in Pro 9:10; Pro 30:3. In 1Sa 19:13, 1Sa 19:16, the plural form is applied to a household god, or an image; and the plural form is applied to God in Job 30:25, my Makers (Hebrew); Ecc 12:1, thy Creators (Heb,); Psa 121:5, Yahweh is thy keepers (Hebrew); see also Isa 54:5; Isa 22:2; Isa 43:5; Isa 62:5. This is called by grammarians pluralis excellentice, or the plural form indicating majesty or honor. It is, in all countries, used in reference to kings and princes; and as God often represents himself as a king in the Scriptures, and speaks in the language that was usually applied to kings in oriental countries, no argument can be drawn from expressions like these in defense of the doctrine of the Trinity. There are unanswerable arguments enough in support of that doctrine, without resorting to those which are of doubtful authority.
That there are clearer intimations of the doctrines of the Trinity, than that contained in this and similar texts, is indubitable; but we must not set aside the early and somewhat obscure intimations of a doctrine, simply because it comes afterward to be exhibited with more fulness. Such is the plan of revelation; and, instead of despising early announcements, or deeming them useless, because better proofs of the doctrine in question can be found, we ought to admire the wisdom and goodness of God in this gradual development of truth. The same interest belongs to the work of thus tracing the rise and progress of truth in the Bible, as belongs to that of him who traces rivers to their fountain head, and proves that, far up amid mountains all but inaccessible, rises the tiny stream, on whose broad waters, as it nears the sea, navies float in proud array. No more visible, in its earlier outflowings, is this doctrine of the Trinity; yet by and by it is the element on which Christianity doats, and in which it lives and moves. Thus we see the unity and harmony of revelation in 11 ages; the doctrine is the same; the degree of manifestation only is different. The necessity of preserving and exhibiting this unity, gives to these early intimations an unspeakable importance; though some, through an excess of candor, would abandon them to the enemy. This text, and its parallels, Gen 1:26; Gen 3:22; Gen 11:7, exhibit the Trinity in Revelations dawn indistinctly – partially disclosed – revealing only a plurality of persons. As the light increases, the three persons are seen moving under the lifting shadows, until, in the New Testament, baptism is commanded in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and the existence and functions of each person are clearly unfolded.
The problem is, to account for the use of the plural number in these passages, consistently with the unity of God. The doctrine of the Trinity seems to furnish an easy and beautiful solution; but this solution has been rejected, not by Unitarians only, but by Trinitarians not a few. Various hypotheses have been offered: as, that in the creation of man Gen 1:26, God associated with himself the heavens and the earth; or, that he consulted with angels; or, meant simply to indicate the importance of the work; or, perhaps, to supply a lesson of deliberation! These crudities are by most, however, long ago abandoned as untenable; and the solution most generally approved by such as reject that of the Trinity, is that furnished by an appeal to the style of majesty. Oriental princes, it is alleged, from the most ancient times, used the plural number in publishing their decrees; and such is the style of royalty to this day. But, unfortunately for this theory, there is no evidence whatever that ancient potentates employed this style. The use of the plural number by kings and princes, is quite a modern invention. The Bible does not furnish any example of it. Nor is there any evidence that God himself, on especially solemn occasions, keeping out of sight, of course, the text in question, used such style; there is abundant evidence to the contrary, the singular number being used by Yahweh in the most sublime and awful declarations.
Besides this strange use of the plural number on the part of God himself, plural names ( ‘elohym, ‘adonaym) are frequently given to him by the writers of the Bible; the instances in which these names occur in the singular form, are the exceptions. The name usually rendered God in the English Bible, is almost invariably plural – ‘elohym, Gods. That these plural forms are used of idols, as well as of the true God, is admitted; but as the special names of the true God came, in process of time, to be applied to idols, so would the special form of these names, and to tell us that these forms are so applied, is quite beside the question. We wish to know why, originally, such forms were applied to the true God; and it is no answer to tell us they are also applied to idols. There is nothing more wonderful in the name being so used in the plural form, than in its being so used at all.
The same principle which accounts for the name God being given to pagan deities at all, will equally well account for its being given to them in the particular form in which it is applied to the true God. – Wardlaw. This is pointed and decisive; and renders it needless to speculate here on the mode in which the name, or the plural form of it, came to be transferred to false gods, or great men. On this point, see Dr. John Pye Smiths Scripture testimony to the Messiah. It is further remarkable, that these plural appellatives are, for the most part combined with verbs and adjectives in the singular number; as, Gods (he) created, Gen 1:1; and with plural adjuncts but rarely. Now, the ordinary rule of grammar might have been followed invariably, as well as in these few instances, or the departures from it might have been but few in number. That this is not the case, implies the existence of some very cogent reason, and cannot be regarded as the result, merely, of accident.
To account for the use of these plural names, our author has recourse to what is called the pluralis majestaticus, or excellentiae, according to which, nouns of dignity and majesty, in Hebrew, are said to be used in the plural form. But the existence of this pluralis majestaticus has never been proved. Its defense is now abandoned by the most skillful grammarians. Ewald repudiates it. And it is not a little remarkable, that some of the examples most relied on for proof of this dignified plural, are found, on examination, to possess nothing of the dignity, while more exact scholarship has reduced their plurality also. The examples alluded to, are, Exo 21:29, Exo 21:34; Exo 22:10, Exo 22:13; Isa 1:3; where the supposed plural form denotes the owner of oxen, of sheep, and of asses! – fit parties, doubtless, to be honored with the pluralis majestaticus. In truth, leaving out of view the plural appellatives applied to the Deity, that is, the appellatives in question, and which, therefore, cannot be adduced, there is no evidence whatever of this pretended rule. Had any rule of the kind existed, we should, without doubt, have found it exemplified, when kings, princes, nobles, generals, priests, and prophets figure on the sacred pages. That the pluralis excellentiae is not applied to them, is sufficient proof of its nonexistence; and should dispose rational and candid inquirers to acquiesce in the solution of the grammatical anomalies we have been considering, that is furnished by the doctrine of Trinity in Unity – the solution which, to say the least of it, is beset with fewest difficulties.
The language here idicates the design for which this vision was shown to Isaiah. It was to commission him to exhibit truth that would be extremely unpleasant to the nation, and that would have the certain effect of hardening their hearts. In view of the nature and effect of this message, God is represented as inquiring who would be willing to undertake it? Who had courage enough to do it? Who would risk his life? And it indicates, perhaps, that there were few in the nation who would be willing to do it, and that it was attended with self-denial and danger.
Here am I – This shows at once his confidence in God, and his zeal. He had been qualified for it by the extraordinary commission, and he was now ready to bear the message to his countrymen. In this attitude we should stand, prompt to deliver any message that God shall entrust to our hands, and to engage in any service that he calls on us to perform.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 6:8
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send?
—
Messengers wanted
I. THE PERSON WANTED, as described in the questions, Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us? The person wanted is viewed from two points. The person wanted has a Divine side: Whom shall I send? Then he has a human aspect: Who will go for Us? But the two meet together–the human and Divine unite in the last words, for Us. Here is a man, nothing more than a man of human instincts, but clad through Divine grace with superhuman, even with Divine authority. Let us look, then, at this two-sided person.
1. He is Divinely chosen.
2. Cheerfully willing.
3. Sent by the Three-One. When we tell others the story of the Cross we speak for God the Father. Nor must we forget our tender Redeemer. Moreover, that blessed Spirit, under whose dispensatorial power we live at the present hour, He has no voice to speak to the sons of men audibly except by His people; and though He works invisibly and mysteriously in the saints, yet He chooses loving hearts, and compassionate lips, and tearful eyes to be the means of benediction.
II. THE PERSON OFFERING HIMSELF. Here am I; send me. The person offering himself is described in the chapter at very great length–he must be an Isaiah. Being an Isaiah, he must–
1. Have felt his own unworthiness. Notice how it was that Isaiah was made to feel his unworthiness.
(1) By a sense of the presence of God.
(2) Isaiah saw the glory of Christ.
(3) It will strike you, too, that the particular aspect in which this humiliation may come to us will probably be, a sense of the Divine holiness, and the holiness of those who see His face.
2. We must possess a sense of mercy.
3. The man who will be acceptable must offer himself cheerfully. Here am I. How few of us have in very deed given ourselves to Christ it is with most professors, Here is my half-guinea, here is my annual contribution; but how few of us have said, Here am I.
4. The person who thus volunteered for sacred service gave himself unreservedly. He did not say, Here am I; use me where I am, but send me. Where to? No condition as to place is so much as hinted at.
5. He gives obediently, for he pauses to ask directions. It is not, Here am I; away I will go, but Here am I; send me. Some people get into their head a notion that they must do something uncommon and extraordinary, and though it may be most irrational, it is for that very reason that the scheme commends itself to their want of judgment. Because it is absurd, they think it to be Divine; if earthly wisdom does not justify it, then certainly heavenly wisdom must be called in to endorse it. Now, I conceive that you will find that whenever a thing is wise in Gods sight it is really wise, and that a thing which is absurd is not more likely to be adopted by God than by man; for though the Lord does use plans which are called foolish, they are only foolish to fools, but not actually foolish.
III. THE WORK WHICH SUCH PERSONS WILL BE CALLED TO UNDERTAKE. Isaiahs history is a picture of what many and many a true Christian labourer may expect. Isaiah was sent to preach very unpleasant truth, but like a true hero he was very bold in preaching it. Isaiah is very bold, says the apostle. Now, if you are called of God either to preach or teach, or whatever it is, remember the things you have to preach or teach will not be agreeable to your hearers. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Militia-Christians
Some people are militia Christians–they serve the King with a limitation, and must not be sent out of England; but others are soldier-Christians, who give themselves wholly up to their Lord and Captain; they will go wherever He chooses to send them. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Copyhold-Christians
Some professors appear to belong to God by copyhold. They grant a limited kind of Divine right to their energies and substance; but there are many clauses which limit the holding. I hope that you are Gods portion upon an absolute freehold. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Gods call for servants
Several questions arise as we read these words. Why is God asking for service instead of discharging the work Himself? He can speak in tones which would make the proudest quail; He can unfold a majesty before which the whole nation should be subdued. Or again, if He needs service, why does He wait for volunteers? Why does He not compel servants to enter upon this mission, as He imposed on Moses the task of leading the people of Israel out of the land of bondage?
I. THE DIVINE CALL:–Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?
1. Why should God thus ask human service? We cannot doubt for a moment how independent our glorious God might be of all mere human resources.
(1) The great purposes which God seeks to accomplish can best be achieved through human instrumentality. God craves from men, not the unconscious response which the mown grass makes to the showers, or dewdrops to the sunlight. He desires intelligent, trustful, loving union with Himself, and it may be that such ends as these are better obtained through human instrumentality than by an overpowering exhibition of the Divine majesty and glory. As the light comes to us through the atmosphere, which lessens its dazzling power, so that we are illuminated instead of being blinded with excess of light, so God gives to us His commands and messages through human tongues and language, lest we should be overpowered.
(2) God means to educate His servants by using them for His purposes. When He says, Whom shall I send, it is not that He is destitute of angelic hosts who would thankfully accept the commission. He knows how our human hearts will be educated by the very ministry we render.
2. Notice what is involved in such a call as this. When God says, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us, He pledges Himself to endue with authority, and to endow with all needful gifts, the man who answers the call.
II. THE RESPONSE OF THE PROPHET. Here am I; send me.
1. What could have led the prophet to offer himself for a Divine mission? How had he the courage to step forward and volunteer? Did he not shrink from the vast issues involved in the work? Did he not understand the dangers into which he would plunge? Did he not know how hard it would be to reach mens hearts around him with the solemn message? He knew it all, but he stepped forward in the simplicity of a perfect faith, and said, Here am I; send me. You will perceive in the foregoing verse an account of his preparation for receiving this call. He was prepared by a sense of pardoning love. In the fulness of a loving, grateful heart, he stepped forward and accepted the mission.
2. Notice the willingness with which the prophet offered himself. He steps forward as one who feels it an honour, and is ready for any sacrifice which the honour may entail. This is the light in which we may wisely look on Christian service.
III. THE DIVINE ACCEPTANCE OF THE PROPHETS OFFER. God said, Go. You have just that very simple succession of events. God asking for service, the prophet offering himself, and God accepting his services. If God has given you aptitude in dealing with the experiences of men, go into the homes of the poor and destitute, ministering consolation to their sorrows. If God has given you warm sympathies with the young, go into the ranks of the Sunday school, draw young hearts around you, and win them to Christ. If God has given you influence with men, go to the drunkard and the fallen and seek to reclaim them from the depths of degradation in which they are sunk. If God has given you the tongue of the wise to speak a word in season, which shall be as apples of gold in pictures of silver, go and use the power in private talk with the men you meet in daily life. (C. B. Symes, B. A.)
The commission of a sinful but cleansed man
Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Why does the Lord ask that question with such anxiety when He has all those shining seraphs standing at His side, and each one of them with six wings? Why was Isaiah, the son of Amoz, a man of unclean lips, and a man woeful and undone, so accepted, and so sent? Seraphs, not sinners, should surely be the preachers of such holiness as that of the God of Israel, and the heralds of such a Saviour–that is what we would have expected. But Gods thoughts in these things are not as our thoughts. This has always been Gods way in choosing and in ordaining and in sending both prophets, and psalmists, and priests, and preachers for His Church on earth. Only once did God choose a completely sinless preacher. Always, but that once, God has chosen sinful men; and, not seldom, the most sinful of men He could get to speak to their fellow men about sin and salvation. Gabriel might come with his six wings and his salutation to announce to Mary that the fulness of time had come and that the Word was to be made flesh, but it was John, the son of Zacharias, who was not that light, who was sent to preach repentance to the vipers of his day, and to urge them to flee from the wrath to come. And just as for the awakening and the warning of sinners, so for the edification and the comfort of saints. For every high priest is taken from among men, who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. Isaiah, accordingly, of all men on the earth at that moment, and of all angels in heaven, was the man chosen of God to preach repentance to Jerusalem, and to prophesy to her the coming of her Messiah. And he preached on all these matters as no angel in all heaven could have preached, he preached as only a leper could preach to his brother lepers, and as only one undone man could preach to other undone men. Just hear him in his first sermon. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his masters crib. Ah! sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers. Why should ye be stricken any more? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds and bruises and putrifying sores. All Gods seraphs taken together could not preach like that. It takes a great sinner to preach as well as to hear like that. You must have a man of men to see, and to feel, and to say things like that. And then, on the other hand, no seraph of them all, with all his wings, had seen down so deep, and had come up so close to the holiness of God as Isaiah had seen and had come close. The seraphs cry Holy, holy, holy, to one another, but they do not know what they are saying. The seraphs are innocent children. And He whom they so innocently praise charges His seraphs with folly. But, Woe is me! for I am undone! The Lord likes to hear that. This young preacher, then, having seen both sin and holiness as no seraph ever saw these terrible things, proceeds in his sermon in this way: Wash you, make you clean; cease to do evil, learn to do well; judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow: though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Every syllable of all that is out of Isaiahs own experience. Preaching like that never yet came out of the schools of the prophets, any more than it ever came out of the mouth of an angel. Isaiah had done it all to himself, and had had it all done unto him of God. (A. Whyte, D. D.)
The challenge of service
I. THE CHALLENGE. Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? The Lords ordinary manner of appointing His messengers is to select them Himself, and without consulting them send them to do their work. He commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh with every consideration for Jonahs fitness, and no consideration for Jonahs tastes. The work is always more important than the man, for the man has a brief life, and the work is immortal. It ought not, therefore, to be expected that the Lord should regard anything in choosing a servant for duty but that servants qualifications for the duty. But there are exceptions to this rule of selection for work. When the task is a peculiarly hazardous one; when the performance of it demands the highest attributes of the intellect, the rarest qualities of the heart, and an extraordinary stimulus of inspiration, it is better that these gifts should go to the work under the impulse of a self-moving passion rather than under the enforcement of command. The General of an army wisely relaxes the routine discipline of duty when in the fortunes of the campaign the troops have to face the desperate service of some forlorn hope. Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? is the proclamation from the Commanders tent, and a storming party of volunteers is told off, to mount the breach and take the van of danger.
1. In the year that King Uzziah died it seemed as if the last hope of the people of God had expired with him.
2. The nature of the work may be inferred from the condition of the people. They were an old and not a young nation: they were wicked and not ignorant: the two fountains of power, the Church and the State, were corrupt at their sources, authority of every kind was on the side of licentiousness; and since, with all this, the outward forms of order and of piety were preserved, the people grew up to be as remarkable for their hypocrisy as for their immorality. It has always been supposed that, whether in the case of a nation, or an individual, suffering is a powerful moralist; and that a mind which is proof against the humbling and cleansing effects of pain is reprobate and beyond redemption. The people of Israel and Judah had been punished by every species of chastisement; invasion, captivity, pestilence, famine, and sword, nothing that a people loves or a man cherishes had been left untouched; from the sole of the nations foot to the crown of her head, the lash of retribution had been laid on so heavily that nothing was to be seen but wounds and bruises and putrifying sores. Yet they continued to revolt more and more. This was the state of things for which the Lord demanded a voluntary workman. Who will be a bearer of evil tidings? who will reprove kings for My sake? Who will expose and denounce wickedness in high places? Who will proclaim the insincerity of the priests, their robbery of the flock, and the fiction of their ceremonial? Who will go to the market places and declare the dishonesty of their traffic? Who will beard the army and charge the soldiers with cowardice and treason? Who will be hated of all men, and be the victim of the conspiracies of the crafty, of the insults of the street rabble, and of the desertion of false and incompetent friends? Who will endure to fail; to be simply a witness; to speak without convincing; to sow without a harvest?
3. The voice of the Lord cries loudly in the midst of the Churches of today, inviting voluntary service for difficult work; missionary work abroad and missionary work at home.
II. THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE CHALLENGE, Here am I; send me. Looking at this acceptance by itself, it seems an extraordinary sacrifice on the part of Isaiah. He was a youth, probably not more than eighteen or nineteen, when he answered the Lords challenge; he was a member of the first circle of the Jewish aristocracy, and, according to some authorities, a prince of the royal blood. He was nurtured in the soft and sumptuous luxuriance of palaces. There had been in his training everything to satisfy sense and to kindle ambition. Having great natural parts and a fine genius, and commanding both means and leisure, the career of a great State ruler, or a Church dignitary, or the easy splendour of an intellectual voluptuary, any or all of these distinctions were within reach of the gifted kinsman of Uzziah. Youth as he was, his social position and quick observation enabled him to appreciate the service demanded in the challenge. He knew the people to whom the message would be sent; he conjectured what the character of that message would be; and what kind of service awaited the man who should deliver it; that it would be hard, unthankful, and dangerous; and yet this youth, born to be a fine gentleman, accepted a task which might well have made the strongest and most experienced natures shrink, Here am I; send me! Let us seek the explanation of this simplicity, devotion, and courage in that which went before the acceptance of the challenge. (E. Jenkins, LL. D.)
Visions of God
I. THE VISION OF GOD TO THE SOUL. The vision of God to the soul implies these two facts, namely, that God can communicate, speak, and make Himself manifest and known to the soul, and that the soul has capacity to receive what God makes known, or communicates to it. This capacity has been impaired, more or less, in all human beings.
II. THE VISION OF GOD HAS EFFECTS UPON THE SOUL. It has a creative power that calls several new forces into action.
1. The sense of sin.
2. The sense of forgiveness.
3. The sense of duty.
4. Power to perform duty. (W. Thomas.)
The Divine call for missionaries
I. Let us gaze upon THE VISION OF GLORY which Isaiah saw. It was necessary for him to see it in order that he might be brought into the condition of heart out of which should come the full consecration expressed in–Here am I; send me. Observe what he saw.
1. The supreme glory of God. See the patience of His infinite majesty,–He sits in calm glory upon His eternal throne. Nor is it a mean throne either, nor one of little dignity; it is high and lifted up. It is not merely above all other thrones by way of greater power, but over them all by way of supreme dominion over them.
2. The court of the great King. He beheld the glorious attendants who perpetually perform homage, nearest to His throne.
3. The perpetual song, for these sacred beings continually cried, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory. While you praise His holiness do not forget His power, but adore Him as Jehovah of hosts. And then dwell, that you may feel a missionary spirit, on that last part of the song, The whole earth is filled with His glory, for so it really is in one sense. Jehovah of hosts is the fulness of the whole earth. Turn this ascription, for it may be so read, into a wish: Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Read it, if you please, as a prophecy: The whole earth shall be filled with His glory, and then go you forward, O ye servants of the Most High, with this resolve, that in His hands you will be the means of fulfilling the prophecy by spreading abroad the knowledge of His name among the sons of men.
II. Let us now turn our thoughts to THE VISION OF ORDINATION. This man Isaiah was to go forth in Jehovahs name, but in order to preparation for so high an embassage he must undergo a process peculiar but necessary.
III. When a man is prepared for sacred work he is not long before he receives a commission. We come, then, to think of THE DIVINE CALL. Notice the particular kind of man for whom this voice is seeking. It is a man who must be sent, a man under impulse, a man under authority–Whom shall I send? But it is a man who is quite willing to go, a volunteer, one who in his inmost heart rejoices to obey–Who will go for Us? What a strange mingling this is! Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel, and yet taking the oversight of the flock of God not by constraint but willingly.
IV. Now comes the last point, THE EARNEST RESPONSE. Here am I; send me.
1. I think I see in that response a consciousness of his being in a certain position which no one else occupied, which rendered it incumbent upon him to say, Here am I.
2. Then, he makes a full surrender of himself. Isaiah gave himself up to the Lord none the less completely because his errand was so full of sadness. He was not to win men, but to seal their doom by putting before them truth which they would be sure to reject.
3. Then comes Isaiahs prayer for authority and anointing. If we read this passage rightly we shall not always throw the emphasis upon the last word,
me, but read it also thus, Here am I, send me. He is willing to go, but he does not want to go without being sent. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Here am I; send me
Whole-hearted service
Here am I; send me. These few simple words express the crisis, the turning point in the life of Isaiah. If he had never uttered these words you would never have heard of him. But the uttering of these words in profound sincerity from the bottom of his heart made him one of the greatest of the prophets of God. The very first condition of whole-hearted service is the conviction that the cause which we serve will ultimately prevail. The day is coming when the Christian religion will prevail everywhere, when the will of God will be done on earth as literally and really as angels do it in heaven. Even now things are not as they seem. Even now the glory of God fills the whole earth. So young Isaiah realised in days much darker and more ominous than these. (H. P. Hughes, M. A.)
The birth of the true missionary
In the fellowship of the cleansing, the fellowship of the Cross, the missionary is born. (R. J. Campbell, M. A.)
Seeing and saying
Men must see before they can say. (R. J. Campbell, M. A.)
Ecstasy and self-immolation
Bless God for any ecstasy that leads to self-immolation. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Seers and servants
We must become seers before we can become servants. (S. Cox, D. D.)
Experience to be used for the benefit of others
Isaiah saw the King that he might serve the King. He was convinced of sin that he might convince his fellows, he was purged from his iniquity that he might proclaim the love, the sacrifice, which takes away the iniquity of us all. (S. Cox, D. D.)
The whole life should be devoted to God
Though at times he had to rebuke princes and to pronounce the doom of nations, yet it was his whole life that he dedicated to God, with all its petty details of daily conduct. It was part of his work to live with the prophetess he took to wife according to a Divine law; to name and train his children so that little Immanuel and little Maher-shalal-hash-baz should be for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts. And, in like manner, God sends us to our own people, to our kinsfolk and acquaintance. (S. Cox, D. D.)
To let the love out
If there were no humanity to save, none but our own, yours and mine, the fellowship of the cleansing would still be ours, but we would be seeking for something to do to express to the Christ our sense of what that fellowship had brought. Two sisters brought this fact home to me. One was weak, suffering, dying, though the other did not know it at the time. The one who was watching by the bedside said, It seems dreadful to be so helpless, to feel I can do so little to assuage the suffering of the dear one. I can do nothing whatever. If I only could do something that hurts, hurts me, I think I should feel better, to let my love out. I know what she meant quite well–to let the love out. The love that we bear the dear Redeemer compels us to see the Divine in mankind. There is a sweet and holy sympathy born of that urgent desire to let the love out which was born in the fellowship of the cleansing. (R. J. Campbell, M. A.)
Every church member should be a missionary
In looking over a certificate of membership which I had received from a church in New York, concerning one of its members who was a sailor, I was pleased to observe that at the back of the certificate there were directions given to the member; and the first one was this, You are to remember that as a member of this church going upon a voyage, you are sent by us as missionary. You are to understand that you and every other member of the church are bound to spread abroad the Saviours name. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Ready to obey
Of a man chosen by the church council of a Uganda mission, to act as father to the boys and see that they kept out of mischief, a missionary writes: An ordination candidate, whose name is Jacob the elephant, an extremely nice, sensible man, was suggested, and I was much struck by his reply when asked if he would undertake the post. He at once said, Is it for me to choose my work? You tell me what to do, and I am ready to obey. (Christian Endeavour.)
The missionary spirit
General Booth once wanted fourteen recruits for India. He had his whole company about him, and he said: This is very dangerous work, and it requires great self-sacrifice. I might detail you for the work, but I will not detail any one of you. I will tell you what I will do: if any of you want to volunteer for it, you will have the privilege to do so after one hour. Go away now and pray about it. They went away and prayed about it, and at the end of the hour General Booth said, Are any of you willing to undertake this work? And fourteen stalwart men stepped forward and said, We are ready to sad tomorrow morning. (A. H. Bradford, D. D.)
A true missionary
Speaking at Exeter Hall, in 1886, James Chalmers said, in reference to his New Guinea experiences: Recall the twenty-one years; give me back all its experiences, give me its shipwrecks, its standings in the face of death; give it me surrounded by savages with spears and clubs; give it me back again with spears flying about me and the club knocking me to the ground; give it me back, and I will still be your missionary. (Sunday School Chronicle.)
Send me:
David Brainerd prayed for such a complete absorption in the Divine will that he might become utterly indifferent to every outward circumstance of discomfort and trial, if only he could make known the love of Christ. He says in his journal:–Here am I, Lord, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough and savage pagans of the wilderness; send me from all that is called comfort in the earth; send me even to death itself, if it be but in Thy service and to promote Thy kingdom. (Sunday School Chronicle.)
Save one
A man once rose in one of Mr. Moodys meetings, and gave his experience. I have been for five years on the Mount of Transfiguration. How many souls did you lead to Christ last year? was the sharp question that came from Mr. Moody, in an instant. Well, I dont know, was the astonished reply. Have you led any? persisted Mr. Moody. I dont know that I have, answered the man. Well,–said Mr. Moody, we dont want that kind of mountain-top experience. When a man gets so high that he cant reach down and save poor sinners, there is something wrong. (Sunday School Chronicle.)
Every Christian should be an evangelist
Dr. Howard Crosby used to say, When will New York city be evangelised? Ill tell you–when every Christian becomes an evangelist. (Christian Endeavour.)
Gods call: the anti-slavery and other crusades
Those who do the best work in the worlds redemption, and yet may never preach a sermon, have had a call to accomplish it. The call may have been felt only as an overwhelming and disinterested desire to accomplish some noble end, but it has been as truly there as if seraphim had announced it. Such great movements as the anti-slavery crusade are full of instances. Of Thomas Clarkson it is recorded that when about twenty-four years of age, after having composed and read a Latin prize essay at Cambridge University, he travelled to London to assist in founding a society for the suppression of the slave trade. Overwhelmed with the awfulness of the traffic he had been denouncing, he alighted from his horse, and sitting by the roadside prayed that God would raise up some devoted champion of the oppressed African. Suddenly the thought flashed into his mind that he should offer himself to this cause. How he, under this overmastering feeling, ultimately surrendered the clerical life for which he was preparing, how he laboured till the slave trade was excised from the body politic, and how he was followed in a true apostolic succession by William Wilberforce, in the further attack upon domestic slavery, is recorded in the pages of history. Wilberforce, too, passed through times of deep self-conflict till the necessary new habits of mind and life were formed. He, in turn, gave place to such men as Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton and Joseph Sturge, who also were called and ordained by the Spirit of God to the Christlike work of securing liberty to the captive. Prison reformers and uplifters of the criminal, like John Howard, Elizabeth Fry, and Sarah Martin, passed through periods of probation, when there seemed to be in their minds a prophetic stir of coming duties outside the usual sphere of their daily lives. (F. Sessions.)
Richard Knills call
I was studying for the ministry, with a view to labour in England; it happened that there was a missionary meeting in the neighbourhood, and one of the ministers said to me, Come to me over, and bring the students with you, it will do them good,–and as one inducement he said, There is an eminent Scotch minister in town, Dr. Waugh, who is to preach. We went–and, I have no doubt, we went praying to receive a blessing. Dr. Waugh took for his text that beautiful verse in Isaiah, It shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. In the first part of his subject he spoke of the perishing condition of the man who was ignorant of the Gospel, and he said, It is a fact, there are four hundred millions of our fellow creatures in this deplorable condition, without God, and without hope. After he had dwelt on this, he spoke of the infinite wisdom and goodness of God, which had provided a remedy for perishing sinners. After speaking on this for some time he stopped, and looking around on the congregation, he said, This trump cannot blow of itself, we must have men to blow it,–pardoned sinners–redeemed men–those who have tasted the love of Christ, and who feel for their fellow creatures–those who know what a precious Saviour Christ is, from sweet experience. We want such men–the heathen are perishing, and will perish, unless Gods remedy is sent to them–that remedy is in your possession. He then paused again, and looking around, as if wanting to fix his eyes on some object, he said in a moving manner, Is there one disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ who has love enough for his Divine Master in his heart to say, Here am I; send me? Oh, when he said that, I felt it thrill through my soul, and I silently said to Him who searcheth my heart, Lord, I will go. It was a memorable day to me, I can never forget it. The sermon was soon ended; the congregation was broken up; my friends went to dine; I was invited to dine with my fellow students; I had no appetite for food, my heart was full–and I said to a friend, Can you procure me a garret, where I can spend the remainder of the day in fasting and prayer? He procured it for me; and in that garret I spent some of the happiest and most solemn moments of my life; and seeing the agony of Him whose blood was shed a sacrifice for my sins, I said, Lord, I will go. (R. Knill.)
Ready for service
When the Moravian Brethren in Germany were carrying on their great mission work in heathen lands, Zinzendorf, their distinguished leader, sent one day for one of the ministers, and said to him, Will you go to Greenland tomorrow as a missionary? The minister, after a moments hesitation, said, Yes, if the shoemaker can finish the boots which I have ordered of him by tomorrow, I will go. (H. Macmillan, LL. D.)
Gods call: Cobden and Bright
Cobden and Bright believed–to quote the language of the former – that a moral and even religious spirit might be infused into the question of the repeal of the Corn Laws. The story of Mr. Brights dedication to this most beneficent idea is admirably reproduced in Vinces life of the great Tribune. There came to his souls vision no forthshadowing of Gods glory in any manmade temple, but the story is thus told by himself: I was at Leamington when Mr. Cobden called upon me. I was then in the depths of grief,–I might almost say of despair,–for the light and sunshine of my house had been extinguished. All that was left on earth of my young wife, except the memory of a sainted life and of a too brief happiness, was lying still and cold in the chamber above us. Mr. Cobden called upon me as a friend, and addressed me, as you may suppose, with words of condolence. After a time he looked up and said, There are thousands of homes in England at this moment where wives, mothers, and children are dying of hunger. Now, he said, when the first paroxysm of your grief is passed, I would advise you to come with me, and we will never rest till the Corn Law is repealed. I accepted his invitation. I knew that the description he had given me of the homes of thousands was not an exaggerated description. I felt in my conscience that there was a work that someone must do. From that time we never ceased to labour hard on behalf of the resolution we had made. In this case a Lancashire manufacturer brought the call, but surely the angels of sorrow and sympathy assisted in the consecration, and the Holy One of Israel worked with His servant. (F. Sessions.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Whom shall I send, and who will go for us, to deliver the following message? The change of the number,
I and
us, is very remarkable; and both being meant of one and the same Lord, do sufficiently intimate a plurality of persons in the Godhead.
Here am I; send me: Gods last and great favour to him did both encourage and oblige him to be forward in Gods service.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. I . . . usThe change ofnumber indicates the Trinity (compare Gen 1:26;Gen 11:7). Though not a sureargument for the doctrine, for the plural may indicatemerely majesty, it accords with that truth proved elsewhere.
Whom . . . whoimplyingthat few would be willing to bear the self-denial which thedelivering of such an unwelcome message to the Jews would require onthe part of the messenger (compare 1Ch29:5).
Here am Iprompt zeal,now that he has been specially qualified for it (Isa6:7; compare 1Sa 3:10; 1Sa 3:11;Act 9:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Also I heard the voice of the Lord,…. The Targum renders it, the voice of the Word of the Lord, as if it was the second Person, the Word, that was heard speaking; but it seems rather to be the voice of the first Person, the Father:
saying, Whom shall I send? to the people of Israel, to reprove them for their blindness and stupidity, and to threaten them, and foretell unto them their ruin and destruction; intimating that it was a difficult thing to pitch upon a proper person; and that there were but few that were fit to go on such an errand: this is spoken after the manner of men; otherwise the Lord knew whom to send, and whom he would send; and could easily qualify anyone he pleased, and send with such a message:
and who will go for us? not directing his discourse to the seraphim, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi; as if he consulted with them: for who of all the creatures is the Lord’s counsellor? but to the Son and Spirit, who it is certain were concerned in this mission; for the following words were said when Isaiah saw the glory of Christ, and spake of him, Joh 12:41 and they are expressly attributed to the Holy Ghost in Ac 28:25 the Septuagint and Arabic versions, instead of “for us”, read “unto this people”; and the Targum is,
“whom shall I send to prophesy? and who will go to teach?”
then said I, here [am] I, send me: for he who before thought himself undone, and unworthy to be employed in the service of God, now having a discovery and application of pardoning grace, freely offers himself to God: this shows the true nature and effect of an application of pardon; it gives a man freedom and boldness in the presence of God, and stimulates to a ready and cheerful obedience to his will, and engages him with the utmost alacrity in his service; so far is the doctrine of free and full pardon by the blood of Christ from being a licentious doctrine.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When Isaiah had been thus absolved, the true object of the heavenly scene was made apparent. ”Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Behold me here; send me!” The plural “for us” ( lanu ) is not to be accounted for on the ground that, in a case of reflection or self-consultation, the subject also stands as the object in antithesis to itself (as Hitzig supposes); nor is it a pluralis majestatis , as Knobel maintains; nor is the original abstract signification of the plural hinted at, as Meier thinks. The plural is no doubt used here with reference to the seraphim, who formed, together with the Lord, one deliberative council ( sod kedoshim , Psa 89:8), as in 1Ki 22:19-22; Dan 4:14, etc.; just as, from their very nature as “sons of God” ( b’ne Ha – elohim ), they made one family with God their Creator (vid., Eph 3:15), all linked so closely together that they themselves could be called Elohim, like God their Creator, just as in 1Co 12:12 the church of believers is called Christos, like Christ its head. The task for which the right man was sought was not merely divine, but heavenly in the broadest sense: for it is not only a matter in which God Himself is interested, that the earth should become full of the glory of God, but this is also an object of solicitude to the spirits that minister unto Him. Isaiah, whose anxiety to serve the Lord was no longer suppressed by the consciousness of his own sinfulness, no sooner heard the voice of the Lord, than he exclaimed, in holy self-consciousness, “Behold me here; send me.” It is by no means a probable thing, that he had already acted as a messenger of God, or held the office of prophet. For if the joy, with which he offered himself here as the messenger of God, was the direct consequence of the forgiveness of sins, of which he had received the seal; the consciousness of his own personal sinfulness, and his membership in a sinful nation, would certainly have prevented him thereto from coming forward to denounce judgment upon that nation. And as the prophetic office as such rested upon an extraordinary call from God, it may fairly be assumed, that when Isaiah relates so extraordinary a call as this, he is describing the sealing of his prophetic office, and therefore his own first call.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
8. Afterwards I heard the voice of the Lord. The Prophet now begins to discourse about the design of this vision, why God appeared to him with such glorious majesty, in order to ordain him anew as a prophet. It was because he was called to deliver an incredible message about blinding the Jews. On this revolting occasion, therefore, he is more fully assured of his calling, that he may lay aside fear and obey the command of God; for nothing gives greater confidence to pious minds than to know that they obey God. He had also another proof, namely, that the Lord had cleansed him; and this was sufficient to lead him to undertake any task, however difficult.
Whom shall I send? The Prophet represents the Lord as speaking, as if he could not find a man qualified for such a message. Some think that this is intended to reprove the ignorance of the priests and prophets; because, though they are very numerous, still not one of them was qualified to teach. This reason carries some probability, but I would rather view it as referring to the certainty of Isaiah’s calling, as implying that it was not at random, but from choice, that the Lord appointed him. There is here, therefore, a weighty deliberation whom the Lord will be pleased to send; not that he hesitates, but such modes of expression are used on our account, just as these words, I will go down and see. (Gen 18:21.) For God, to whom all things are known, has no need to make any inquiry; but, lest men should think that he acts with precipitation, he thus accommodates himself to the ordinary modes of speaking among men. In like manner, when he asks whom he shall send, the meaning is, that he needs not an ordinary person, but a teacher of uncommon excellence on a subject of the greatest importance. Hence we infer that the authority of Isaiah was confirmed, so that he was reckoned to be not only a prophet, but eminent among the prophets.
Who will go for us? I am rather favorable to the opinion that this passage points to Three Persons in the Godhead, just as we elsewhere read,
Let us create man in our likeness. (Gen 1:26.)
For God talks with himself, and in the plural number; and unquestionably he now holds a consultation with his eternal Wisdom and his eternal Power, that is, with the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Here am I. So ready a reply shows how great is that cheerfulness which springs from faith; for he who but lately lay like a dead man dreads no difficulty. Hence we see that the amazement of which we have formerly spoken did not spring from rebellion, in wishing to flee from God, or to refuse the charge which had been laid upon him; but because he needed new grace, that he might know that he would be able to endure the burden. On this account it ought to be observed, that we cannot undertake anything in a proper manner without the evidence of our calling; otherwise we shall pause and hesitate at every step.
Besides, it is a powerful aid to our confidence, when we know that we are not destitute of the necessary gifts, but that God has bestowed them on us, in order that we may be better enabled to discharge our office. Now, this remarkable instance of obedience ought to produce such an effect on our minds that we shall readily and cheerfully undertake any task which he may be pleased to enjoin, and shall never refuse any task, however difficult we may imagine it to be. When the Prophet says, Here am I, the meaning is, that he is ready to obey the commands of God; for this mode of expression is frequently employed in Scripture to denote obedience.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
VOLUNTEER SERVICE
Isa. 6:8. Then said I, Here am I, send me.
This is a chapter of autobiography. Here is disclosed the secret of the wonderful energy with which for more than half a century Isaiah prosecuted his ministry. He is the Paul of the Old Testament. Allowance being made for difference of phraseology, there is a striking resemblance between the call of Isaiah and of Paul (comp. chap. 6 with Acts 9). Both sought to serve the heavenly King; and both received a commission to work, spiritual and catholic beyond all conceptions of their time,the one penning the Gospel of the suffering Messiah, the other vindicating the truth that the Gospel is Gods message to the world. The text reminds us
I. Of the Christians offer of service. The offer of service which the prophet madewas
1. Free. He spoke spontaneously, and not as the result of pressure from without [751]
2. Truthful. Unlike one of the sons in the parable (Mat. 21:30), he meant what he said.
3. Bold. It was made concerning an unknown mission. The justification of the boldness of his offer is, that it was made to God, who always qualifies His servants for the tasks to which He calls them.
4. Personal. The prophet placed at Gods disposal, not some of his property merely, but himself.
5. It involved the most complete self-surrender. All thought of self control the prophet resigned. He placed himself as an instrument in Gods hands. He was ready to go where, when, and on what errand God might determine [754] Such are the offers of service in which God delights.
[751] H. E. I., 36333639.
[754] H. E. I., 36183626.
II. Of the steps that lead up to this offer. The offer may take men by surprise, but there has always been preparation for it, as there has been long preparation for the lightning that leaps suddenly from the sky. Such offers as the prophet made are preceded
1. by a vision of God, of the thrice Holy One, filling the soul with awe, and causing it to tremble (Isa. 6:1-4).
2. By self-prostration of spirit, a conviction of utter sinfulness (Isa. 6:5). This is the invariable result of a true vision of God (Exo. 3:2; Jos. 5:14; Jdg. 6:22; Jdg. 13:22; Luk. 5:8; Rev. 1:17). This is also a prime condition of fitness for service.
3. By the touch of a mediator (Isa. 6:6-7). They that be struck down by visions of Gods glory shall soon be raised up again by visits of His grace. Blessed is the man who has both visions. A sense of pardon is essential to large usefulness. Imperfect realisation of forgiveness is one of the most frequent causes of weakness in Christian service.
4. By a moral transformation. The offerer has become a new man from the centre outwards. Now he can hear Gods voice: I heard, &c. It is a voice to which now he feels he must respond: Here am I, &c. In some degree every Christian is thus prepared. These essentials of service are also essentials of Christian life. These experiences are at once your credentials and your powers.
III. That God always accepts offers of service for which there has been this preparation, and that bear these marks. He never rejects true volunteers. Offers hastily made and half-meant He passes by (Jos. 24:18-19; Joh. 2:23-25); but genuine, whole-hearted offers of service, He in variably accepts.
In conclusion, let us lay up in our memories three facts in connection with service.
1. True service is not incompatible with failure. We are too apt to connect failure with incompetency in the servant. Many do fail through incompetency, but not all. The prophet divinely called and most royally endowed may fail, because of the moral obduracy and perverseness of those to whom he is sent (Isa. 6:9-10).
2. True service is not incompatible with sorrow (Isa. 6:11-12). That man is inhuman who without profound grief can behold the perversity of sinners, and the calamities with which in consequence they are visited.
3. True service will never be left without reward. Multitudes may reject the prophets message, yet there will be a tenth who will accept it and be saved.J. R. Wood.
MESSENGERS WANTED
Isa. 6:8. Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, &c.
I. God wants messengers unto sinful men. Tidings concerning sin and salvation, mercy and deliverance, Gods grace and mans misery, must be published. Might send seraphim and the angel host. God elects to send men to their fellow-men. Whom shall I send? is not the inquiry of a divine perplexity, but the stimulative question of one who calls for willing workers.
II. God especially qualifies His messengers. How does He in an especial manner fit men for His highest service?
1. By an awe-inspiring sight of Himself.
2. By distressing convictions of personal sin.
3. By sanctifying all the faculties to His use.
III. Gods call should meet with a ready response. He desires volunteers, Who will go for us? The constraint of love is the omnipotent motive force.
1. The call is heard individually. I heard the voice of the Lord.
2. The call provokes self-surrender. Here am I.
3. The call demands entire self-abandonment. Send meanywhere, on any errands, at any time, in any capacity.
IV. How may we ascertain that we are required to become messengers of the living God?
1. By the separating voice of God.
2. By the discipline of preparation.
3. By the openings of beckoning opportunities. The joy of the Lord will be our strength when most we feel the pressure of the burden of the Lord.Matthew Braithwaite.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
2.
THE PROPHET SEES THE WORLD Isa. 6:8-13
a. THE COMMISSION Isa. 6:8-10
TEXT: Isa. 6:8-10
8
And 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.
9
And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10
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 turn again and be healed.
QUERIES
a.
Why does God speak to Himself in the plural? Isa. 6:8
b.
How does one make another persons heart fat? Isa. 6:10
c.
Did God hope that the people would not turn and be healed? Isa. 6:10
PARAPHRASE
Then I heard the Lord asking, Whom shall I send as a messenger to My people? Who will go? And I said, Lord, Ill go! Send me. And He said, Yes, go. But tell My people Though you hear My words repeatedly, you wont understand them. Though you watch and watch as I perform My miracles, still you wont know what they mean. Dull their understanding, close their ears and shut their eyes. I dont want them to see or to hear or to understand, or to turn to Me to heal them.
COMMENTS
Isa. 6:8 WHO WILL GO: Someone must go to the nation with this message that God is still upon His throne. Someone must deliver the message that God is going to shake old institutions and provide the real believers (all believers) with a Heavenly King and a Heavenly Kingdom. Considering the present carnal, materialistic attitudes of the people, the messenger must feel a divine compulsion and be commissioned with a divine commission. God speaks of Himself and to Himself in the plural us referring, undoubtedly, to the triune Godhead. The concept of more than one Person in the Godhead is not absolutely foreign to the Old Testament (Cf. Gen. 1:26 and Proverbs 8 where Wisdom of the Word of God is personified). The word Elohim (God) is always in the plural in the original language of the O.T. And, of course, the O.T. prophets have a great deal to say about the Messiah who will be the incarnation of the Omnipotent God. Isaiah, having been captured mind, heart and will by the divine experience he had just participated in, immediately met the challengeHere am I; send me! No man is ready to do Gods special work of preaching His revelation until that man has grasped the holiness of God, his own total in-adequateness and sinfulness, and the magnificent grace of God which cleanses him when he did not deserve it! This is, for all practical purposes, the same experience Saul of Tarsus had which turned him into Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.
Isa. 6:9-10 TELL THIS PEOPLE . . . hear what I am saying but . . . do not understand. What a strange commission. It will appear that Isaiahs ministry is a complete failure. People will hear him but not understand. In fact, the more they hear the more adamant they will be against what they hear. They will become fat hearted, smug, self-satisfied. Their thoughts will be so thoroughly world-oriented they will be deaf and blind to spiritual things. God, using some irony of His own, commands Isaiah to tell the people to continue in this condition. Both Jesus and Paul repeated this characterization of Jews in their own ages (Mat. 13:14-15; Act. 28:26-27). Because Isaiah told them the truth the people would not believe. Truth has the awesome power to harden the one who morally rejects it. The more he told the truth, the more they (the majority) refused to accept it. Noah faced the same attitude in his preaching. Jesus faced it (Joh. 8:39-47). Ezekiel and Jeremiah faced it (Jer. 1:17-19; Eze. 2:1 to Eze. 3:15). How many men would be willing to say, Here am I; send me, today, if they knew that their mission would be as difficult and bereft of any apparent success (as the world measures success)? Yet we all need to renew in our minds the promise of Jesus, the servant is not above his Master. If they rejected Jesus, they will reject the messengers of Jesus. But we are not to become discouraged. God does not measure success like the world measures it. God demands faithfulnessand He, Himself, takes care of the success.
QUIZ
1.
What does the O.T. say about the plurality of Persons in the Godhead?
2.
How did Isaiahs vision prepare him to volunteer for Gods service?
3.
What awesome power does truth hold for those who continue to reject it?
4.
Why would Isaiah not need to be concerned with the success of his mission?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(8) Also I heard the voice of the Lord.The work of cleansing has made the prophet one of the heavenly brotherhood. He is as an angel called to an angels work. (Comp. Jdg. 2:1; Jdg. 5:23; Mal. 3:1.) He had before seen the glory of Jehovah, and had been overwhelmed with terror. Now he hears His voice (Joh. 10:4), and it rouses him to self-consecration and activity.
Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?The union of the singular and plural in the same sentence is significant. The latter does not admit of being explained as a pluralis majestatis, for the great kings of Assyria, and Babylon, and Persia always spoke of themselves in the singular (Records of the Past, passim), and the plural of majesty was an invention of the servility of the Byzantine court. A partial explanation is found in the fact that here, as elsewhere (1Ki. 22:19 : Job. 1:6; Job. 2:1; and perhaps Gen. 1:26; Gen. 11:7), Jehovah is represented as a king in council. Christian thought has, however, scarcely erred in believing that the words were as a dim foreshadowing of the truth, afterwards to be revealed, of a plurality within the Unity. (See Note on Isa. 6:3.) Psa. 110:1, which Isaiah may have known, suggested at least a duality. The question reveals to the prophet that there is a work to be done for Jehovah, that He needs an instrument for that work. It is implied that no angel out of the whole host, no man out of the whole nation, offers to undertake it. (Comp. Isa. 63:3; Isa. 63:5.) The prophet, with the ardour for work which follows on the sense of pardon, volunteers for it before he knows what it is. He reaches in one moment the supreme height of the faith which went forth, not knowing whither it went (Heb. 11:8).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Voice of the Lord The seraphs’ voices are hushed at the “voice” of Jehovah. From amid the Presence a great inquiry reaches the prophet’s ear. It is an inquiry which Jehovah is ever making; namely, for preachers and missionaries to a dying world. Whom shall I send, and who will go, are the divine queries. The first query implies that whoever goes should first receive his commission from Jehovah; he should be sent, and not go before he is sent. The second implies that he should freely will to go; he should heartily accord with his commission.
For us The plural may here, as elsewhere, be the plural of royalty, by which kings speak of themselves as we and us. Or, it may include with Jehovah himself his attendant court of seraphim. Or, as many eminent commentators, it may denote the trinity, indicated in the thrice “holy” uttered by the seraphim.
Here am I And this is the man who a few minutes ago was agonized with fear for his life because in his impurity he had seen God. Touched with the heavenly fire he now faces with bold joy the divine Presence, and announces himself ready for any message.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Mission of the Prophet
v. 8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, v. 9. And He said, Go and tell this people, v. 10. Make the heart of this people fat, v. 11. Then said I, Lord, how long? v. 12. and the Lord have removed men far away, v. 13. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return and shall be eaten,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Isa 6:8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord We have here the third part of this vision, comprehending, first, a trial of the disposition of the prophet, now sanctified, with his reply to the Lord, in the present verse; secondly, the command delivered to him concerning the execution of the divine judgment upon the Jews, of blindness and hardness of heart, Isa 6:9-10 thirdly, a more full and explicit declaration of a most grievous temporal judgment, which should be joined with this spiritual one; Isa 6:11-13. The present verse is to be understood humano more, (after the manner of men) and as principally designed to call forth the zeal and activity of the prophet to his office.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 867
A MISSIONARY SPIRIT DESCRIBED
Isa 6:8. I heard the nice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
IN former ages, God was well pleased to reveal his will to men, sometimes in dreams, and sometimes in visions, and sometimes by an audible voice, like that of a man conversing with his friend: and these methods were more especially vouchsafed when he was about to devolve on them any particular office, or to employ them on any extraordinary service. It was Gods intention to send the Prophet Isaiah on a painful errand; such as, if he consulted his own feelings only, he would be very averse to execute. But to prepare him for it, God vouchsafed to him a vision of the glory and felicity of the heavenly world. The scene of the vision was, the temple, in which Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, was worshipped. An assurance, at the same time, was given him of qualification for his work, and of acceptance in it: and by this he was brought to such a state, that, at the very first proposal from God to send a messenger to his people, he offered himself for the service, willing and desirous to undertake any thing whereby his God might be honoured, and his Saviour glorified.
Respecting the vision itself, I forbear to speak. The points to which I shall call your attention, are,
I.
The proposal made
[In the first instance, the proposal referred solely to a mission which God intended to send to his people. And, in this view, it may justly be applied to any call which may be given to undertake the ministry of the Gospel, either in our own country or in foreign parts [Note: Here somewhat of a parallel may be drawn between that particular occasion and any other which presents itself for more especial consideration.]
But we may consider the call as given to every one of us, not to undertake the office of the ministry, but to serve God in a way of general obedience: Who is willing to fulfil my will, and to consecrate himself to me? This honour God is ready to confer on all who are willing to accept it: and, if we be really desirous to engage in His service, he will make us lights in the world, and monitors to all around us
Such offers as these are common in the Holy Scriptures and we may suppose it as now made to us, in the name, and by the command, of God himself ]
To the proposal so made, let us consider,
II.
The answer given
This also we may regard, in the first instance, as an acceptance of the prophetic office. And we cannot but admire the conduct of Isaiah in relation to it, when he offered himself to God without hesitation and without reserve. Here were no inquiries made, what the particular office was, or what would be the difficulties attending the execution of it. It was sufficient for this holy man that he should be employed in doing the will of God; and he was willing to devote to that service all his faculties and all his powers [Note: Here, if the subject of Missions be treated of, it would be proper to shew, that every Candidate for the office of such a Ministry ought to possess the very disposition which was here evinced.]
But, taking the proposal as made to us in general to serve our God, we may here see what a spirit we should cultivate. We should offer ourselves to God to serve him,
1.
Instantly
[There should be no delay; no looking for a more convenient season. We should not be questioning, whether we shall be able to do all that is required of us; but should expect assuredly, that God will enable us to perform whatever we undertake for him, and will give a successful issue to our endeavours ]
2.
Without reserve
[We should not draw back from any labour, nor hesitate to make any sacrifice. The loss of life itself should be regarded as no loss, yea, rather as a grain, in such a cause To live for God, or die for God, should be deemed equally desirable, if only Gods will may be done in us, and the Lord Jesus Christ be magnified [Note: Act 20:24. Php 1:20-21.] ]
But the point to which I would move particularly draw your attention, is,
III.
The peculiar obligation which lies on us to follow the prophets example
You will find in the vision, that the prophet was favoured with a bright manifestation of the glory of Christ: for St. John, referring to it, says, These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him [Note: Joh 12:41.], that is, of Christ. You will see, also, that assistance in his work was promised him: for the putting of the live coal upon his mouth seems to have been designed to assure him of it [Note: Compare Jer 1:9 and Act 2:3.]. In addition to all this, a sense of Gods pardoning love, through the Redeemers sacrifice, was applied to his soul: for the live coal, being taken from the altar of burnt-offering, marked clearly the connexion between the atonement offered for him, and the pardon vouchsafed unto him. But in no respect do we full short of the favours conferred on him: yea, rather, we may be considered as having,
1.
More glorious discoveries of Christ
[Bright as that vision was, it was far inferior to that which is vouchsafed to us in the Gospel. There we behold Christ as the brightness of his Fathers glory, and the express image of his person [Note: Heb 1:3.]; yea, we see all the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ [Note: 2Co 4:6.] ]
2.
More abundant communications of the Spirit
[Whatever measures of grace were imparted to some highly-favoured individuals under the Law, as to David, Isaiah, Daniel, and others, the effusions of the Holy Spirit were very small and partial in comparison of those which are given to the Christian Church: so that none of us need to draw Sack from the greatest work; since the weakest of true Believers may say, I can do all things through Christ, who strengthened me [Note: Philip. 4:13.].]
3.
More certain assurances of the forgiveness of our sins
[Doubtless the vision, and that one promise given him in it, were sufficient to satisfy his mind. But in the New Testament we have promises without number, exceeding great and precious promises; so great, that they comprehend every possible state that can be imagined; and so precious, that they bring us into a participation of the divine nature [Note: 2Pe 1:4.], and fill us with all the fulness of God [Note: Eph 3:19.]. I can have no hesitation in saying, that were an alternative offered to any true Christian, to receive for his comfort the personal, and particular promise that was given to the prophet, or to have given him for his dependence the broad and general promises of the New Testament, he would do well to rest on those broad promises, which engage that all manner of sin shall he forgiven unto men, and that all who believe shall be justified from all things.]
Say, then, whether we be not bound to imitate the prophet, in his surrender of himself to God?
[Doubtless, if mercies vouchsafed are motives to obedience, we, who have received such transcendent mercies, ought to present our whole selves as living sacrifices unto God; which, as it is a holy and an acceptable, is also a most reasonable, service [Note: Rom 12:1.] ]
It may be proper, in conclusion, to reply to a question which will probably be asked, How shall I know whether any particular call to any special service is really from the Lord?
[I readily grant, that that is a point very difficult to be determined. There is no difficulty et all in determining that we are every one of us called to devote ourselves to God. The difficulty lies in reference to those particular acts which are required only of few. And here I must say, that no rules can be given which shall apply to all cases; nor perhaps any rules that shall be perfectly satisfactory to every mind. And probably, instead of giving a direct answer to the question, the best answer will be, to suggest a caution against those workings of mind which render the full solution of the case so difficult. Moses, we know, was called to go to Pharaoh, and to bring the Lords people out of Egypt. Now, in opposition to this call, he urged his own unworthiness of such an office [Note: Exo 3:11.]; the improbability of succeeding in his attempt [Note: Exo 4:1.]; his own utter unfitness for the work assigned him [Note: Exo 4:10.]; and his desire that it should be transferred to some one else [Note: Exo 4:13.]. Nay, he further adduced his own experience of disappointment in less arduous labours, as a certain ground for apprehending that he must of necessity fail in a matter of so much greater difficulty [Note: Exo 6:12. N.B. Cite all these passages from Exodus; because they are, in fact, the very excuses which a false humility invariably suggests.]. But what were all these objections? They were, in truth, only so many excuses, urged to cover his own backwardness to undertake the work. Had he been in the frame of mind which the prophet manifested in my text, all these difficulties would have vanished; and he would have engaged in his work as Paul did, who was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but preached at once the faith, which, till that moment, he had laboured to destroy. To any one, therefore, who desires an answer to the question that has been proposed, I say, Get your soul filled with love to Christ: and that will answer ten thousand difficulties, and constrain you to engage in any thing whereby the kingdom of the Redeemer may be advanced in the world. You will depend on your Lord and Saviour for grace sufficient for you [Note: 2Co 12:9.], and expect that strength shall be given you according to your day [Note: Deu 33:25.].
As to excuses for withholding or delaying a general surrender of ourselves to God, they are lighter than vanity itself. Think not that they can stand one moment, when you come before your God. To serve God instantly, and with Our whole hearts, is the duty of every child of man: and therefore, to the proposal which God at this moment makes by my voice, let every individual amongst you reply, Here am I: send me.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Here, if I mistake not, the subject takes a different turn. Isaiah in the former part, relates what he had seen and heard in a special relation to himself, and the Church, to whom he ministered: but here he relates what he was witness to, in relation to a higher mission than that of any among the sons of men. He begins it with an also, as if to disconnect what went before from what now follows: Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Let the Reader consult those scriptures, where a consultation is as it were set forth between the persons of the Godhead, and then may the Lord enable him to determine for himself, (for far be it from me to determine for him) whether this be not a similar instance. Thus at creation, Gen 1:26 . So again at the destruction of Babel, Gen 11:5-7 . And why may we not suppose that this vision which the prophet Isaiah was favoured with, was a representation given to the Church, through him, of the conference at redemption? And if this be the case, it is Jesus, and not Isaiah who gives the answer, here am I, send me, see Psa 40:7 . Reader, pray consult those sweet scriptures, they will amply reward your attention; and may the almighty Author of them himself explain them! Isa 42:1-8 ; then Isa 50:5-9 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 6:8 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.
Ver. 8. Whom shall I send? ] “Lay hands upon no man rashly,” but with deliberation. The mystery of the Trinity is well observed by some in the following words, as by others this, that ministers serve not men, but the only true God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 1Co 4:1 2Co 5:21
Who shall go for us?
Here am I; send me.
a Nobis, id est tribus Elohim sive personis Sanct. Trin. – Piscat.
b Pausanias.
c The finest kind of wheaten bread
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
voice. See the Structure (p. 980). This is the voice from the Temple concerning the “scattering”, corresponding with Isa 40:3, Isa 40:6, which is the voice from the wilderness concerning the “gathering”.
Whom shall I send? This was not Isaiah’s original commission to prophesy, but his special commission for this great dispensational prophecy. Chs. 1-5 form a general introduction to the whole book (see p. 930).
Us. Reference to Pentateuch (Gen 1:26; Gen 3:22; Gen 11:7). App-92.
said I. In edition 1611 this was “I said”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I heard: Gen 3:8-10, Deu 4:33-36, Eze 1:24, Eze 10:5, Act 28:25-28
Whom: Exo 4:10-13, 1Ki 22:20, Act 22:21, Act 26:16, Act 26:17
us: Gen 1:26, Gen 3:22, Gen 11:7
Then: Mat 4:20-22, Act 20:24, Eph 3:8
Here am I: Heb. Behold me, Isa 65:1
Reciprocal: Gen 22:1 – General Jos 5:14 – What saith 1Sa 3:9 – Speak 2Sa 1:7 – Here am I Neh 8:10 – the joy Job 38:35 – Here we are Jer 23:21 – General Eze 2:3 – I send Eze 9:1 – cried Dan 4:17 – the holy Act 9:10 – Behold Rom 1:15 – I 1Co 9:17 – if I 1Pe 5:2 – not by
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
SEND ME
Here am I; send me.
Isa 6:8
These words are Isaiahs response to his Divine call to the prophetic office. It was an extraordinary call to an extraordinary mission. Through the deep waters of conviction and spiritual cleansing he needed to go before he was ready to stand before a sinful world as the representative of God. The initial step in his preparation was:
I. A vision of God.Uzziah the king, after a brilliant reign of fifty years, had just died. Never since the Queen of Sheba had witnessed Solomons glory had the national pride stood so high, or the nations dream of sovereignty touched such remote borders. Yet the closing act of this proud monarch was one of spiritual profanation. With the presumption of an irreverent and worldly temper, he entered the Temple and attempted with his own hands to burn incense. Instantly the Divine judgment smote him with leprosy, and he passed from the throne of royalty to die in a lazar-house.
The sin of Uzziah was the sin of the people. What a picture of spiritual decline and moral abomination is given in the first chapter! The youthful Isaiah had seen the regal splendour and then the judgment. He was a member of the sinful nation. He felt himself involved in the guilt. Then came the vision. Heaven opened. The seraphim cried, Holy, Holy, Holy! Isaiah was overwhelmed. He confessed his unworthiness to stand before God. His penitence and self-abasement were rewarded. One of the seraphim took a live coal from the altar and touched the lips that had confessed themselves unclean. It was the symbol of forgiveness and cleansing. The youthful penitent knew that he was restored. Then in the consciousness of this new life and enduement he heard
II. The call.A voice said, Whom shall I send? Here am I; send me, was Isaiahs eager and instant reply. It was a volunteers response to a general summons or invitation. It was as purely a spiritual response as prophet or apostle or missionary ever made. It sprang from a heart cleansed of conscious guilt and consciously fitted to do Gods will. What a magnificent ideal of consecration for the young minister and missionary, or for any who would serve humanity in Gods name!
III. The commission.It was an appalling task. The callous and indifferent people, steeped in sin, would only be hardened by the message. Make their hearts fat, their ears heavy, and smear their eyes, lest they see, hear, and understand, and turn and be healed. This was the very mission to which Jesus and Paul felt themselves called. To hard and wilful sinners the preaching of the good tidings is only a preaching of judgment.
God never calls men to a holier and harder task than proclaiming His truth to a sinful world. Hence the need of deep preparation through heart cleansing and profound spiritual vision. The more assured ones sense of forgiveness and restoration, the more eager does he become to save the blinded and fallen everywhere. A more genuine consecration in the average Christian, a clearer vision of God and of human sinfulness in the light of His holiness, would result in many a call which is now never heard, because we are not fitted to say, Here am I; send me. He wants to send us. He will send us if in true penitence we open the way for Him to touch our lips with heavens fire and burn away all our sin. Our first call is to such consecration.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Isa 6:8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord We have here the third part of this vision, comprehending, 1st, A trial of the disposition of the prophet, now sanctified, with his reply to the Lord, in this verse; 2d, The command delivered to him concerning the execution of the divine judgment upon the Jews, of blindness, &c., Isa 6:9-10; Isaiah 3 d, A more full and explicit declaration of a most grievous temporal judgment, which should be joined with the spiritual one, Isa 6:11-13. Vitringa. Whom shall I send? God asks this question, not as if he were unresolved whom to send, but that Isaiah might have an opportunity of voluntarily offering his service. And who will go for us? To deliver the following message. The change of the number, I and us, is very remarkable; and both being meant of one and the same Lord, do sufficiently intimate a plurality of persons in the Godhead. Then said I, Here am I, &c. Gods last and great favour to him both encouraged and obliged him to be thus forward in his service.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
God then asked for a volunteer to serve Him, evidently among any present in the throne room (cf. 1Ki 22:19-20). "Us" is a plural, and the plural in Hebrew (but in no other Semitic languages) adds intensification (cf. Gen 1:26; Gen 11:7; 1Ki 22:19-23). It only hints at plurality within the Godhead, but the New Testament makes that plurality clear (cf. Joh 12:41; Act 28:25). This may be a plural of majesty, or the Lord may have meant Himself, the seraphim, and the heavenly host.
Note the balance of divine sovereignty and human choice in His words: He would send someone, but that someone needed to be willing to go. God’s grace to him in not consuming him, but rather cleansing him, motivated Isaiah to volunteer to be God’s servant.
This section is a major revelation of the grace of God and the condition for spiritual cleansing. It is one of the premier salvation passages in the Old Testament. God’s grace on this occasion so impacted Isaiah that his ministry bore this hallmark, as we observe in this book.
"Here in this matchless passage we find the reason why so few are willing to serve God. They need above all the conviction of sin. Only when a man has been convicted of sin and has understood that the Redeemer has borne the guilt of his sin is he willing and ready joyfully to serve God, to go wherever God may call him." [Note: Young, 1:254.]
Many preachers of this passage have pointed out that the order of events is very significant. First, after gaining a greater appreciation for God’s holiness and his own sinfulness, Isaiah said "woe," acknowledging his own uncleanness. Second, the seraphim said "lo" ("behold" in the NASB), pointing to God’s provision for cleansing. Third, God said "go" (Isa 6:9), giving the prophet a mission to fulfill.