Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 6:6
Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, [which] he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
6, 7. The ceremony of purification is in many respects unique, and seems to involve several ideas: (1) It shews that contact with the fire of the divine holiness is not necessarily destructive even to man. It is possible to “dwell with devouring fire” (ch. Isa 33:14). (2) It signifies the removal from the prophet of all in him which is incompatible with the holiness of Jehovah. Fire is both a symbol of holiness and an agent of purification (Num 31:23; Mal 3:2). “As earthly fire burns away external impurity, so the heavenly fire burns away the defilement of sin, first from the lips, but through them from the whole man” (Dillmann). (3) It is not without significance that the fire is taken “from off the altar.” The hot stone (A. V. live coal) was an implement used in common life for transferring heat from the hearth to where it was required. The meaning of the Seraph’s act is that the atoning efficacy of the altar is conveyed to the person of Isaiah, to his lips in particular, because there the sin of his nature had seemed to be concentrated.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then flew – Isaiah is represented as standing out of the temple; the seraphim as in it.
Having a live coal – The Vulgate renders this, A stone. This is, probably, the original meaning of the word; see 1Ki 19:6. It at first denoted a hot stone which was used to roast meat upon. It may also mean a coal, from its resemblance to such a stone.
From off the altar – The altar of burnt-offering. This stood in the court of the priests, in front of the temple; see the notes at Mat 21:12. The fire on this altar was at first kindled by the Lord, Lev 9:24, and was kept continually burning; Lev 6:12-13.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 6:6-7
Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand
The live coal from the altar
These words seem to address themselves in the way of encouragement and consolation–
I.
TO THE MINISTERS OF THE WORD SPECIALLY. Like Isaiah they feel the importance of the work to which they are called, and their inability to discharge aright the commission with which they are entrusted. The more they contemplate the holiness of Jehovah, the purity and excellency of His Word, the distance between God and the sinner, the awful majesty of the Almighty, and the ineffable glory in which He is enshrined, the more they perceive their own unworthiness, and grieve over the sinfulness which adheres to them. They feel their shortcoming, and are disposed to say with the prophet, Woe is me! etc. But they have consolation. The coal from the altar, when brought in contact with the prophets lips, purged his sin, cleansed his iniquity, and fitted him for the work to which he was Divinely called.
II. TO BELIEVERS GENERALLY. Not only to the prophet of old, nor yet to the minister of the Gospel, but to every child of Adam, is there need for cleansing of sin in order to effect reconciliation, and make him a child of God. (T. R. Redwar, M. A.)
The ceremony of purification
It shows that contact with the fire of the Divine holiness is not necessarily destructive even to man. It is possible to dwell with devouring fire. (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
The peace of forgiveness in Judaism
What was the meaning of this to Isaiah? If I am not mistaken, it is this: Up to this time all that system of sacred rites to which he had yielded all perfunctory obedience had been to him but as dead ceremonies, but now he sees that each of them is a living thing instinct with Divine life and power; each a splendid sacrament of grace to him who in conscious spiritual need will approach not it, but the God of Israel in and through it. And he realises how that, sinner as he is, he is by the providence of God in the midst of a great and glorious spiritual system in which his craving for peace is met, and where the Divine absolution is brought home to him. (Canon Body, D. D.)
The peace of forgiveness in Christendom
What is it that gives to this great system of Christendom the peace-giving power that by the confession of nineteen centuries it has? It is this. Behind all the ministries of the Church, vocal and sacramental, lies the pleading Priest, at the golden altar in heaven, forever present and pleading before the Father the consummated sacrifice of Calvary. That sacrifice takes the form of a great offering of propitiation. And it is this that lies behind all the Churchs rites, the powerful pleading by the living Christ of the death died on Calvary, through which pleading comes the living power of the Holy Ghost into the Divine society, holding her in her weird, mysterious life, through which pleading simple rites are Divinely efficacious, through which pleading the coal becomes the coal that burns with living fire. And it is in the midst of this wondrous system of sacred ministries that the blessed Jesus applies to each the peace of reconciliation. (Canon Body, D. D.)
The Holy Spirit as fire
Fire is something pure, burning, purifying; it lays hold of, penetrates, and, as it were, converts into its own substance whatever is susceptible of its action, thus hallowing the gifts laid on the altar. All these are the attributes of the Holy Spirit, whose office it is to purge and illuminate man, to excite him to the love of God, to affect him with zeal for His glory, to arouse him from sloth to fervour, to inflame him with courage and constancy, with energy and devotion of all his powers to the cause of God, and to enable him to make supplications to God according to His will. And in this place fire signifies the spirit of prophecy, which spirit, like fire, sanctifies men in a peculiar manner to this great work, kindles, inflames, makes them glow with zeal; and, what is true in itself and specially applicable here, converts them into seraphs. (C. Vitringa.)
A live coal
The rendering of the A.V., a live coal, i.e., a burning log (for of course in those days the fuel was wood), is totally wrong, and, indeed, the conception is too grotesque to be for a moment entertained. (P. Thomson, M. A.)
The hot stone
A stone kept in all ancient Oriental households as a means of applying heat to household purposes. In order to bake cakes 1Ki 19:6, cake baked on the hot stones), or to roast flesh, the stone was first heated in the fire, and the wet dough or the flesh spread out upon it, the stones as they grew cold being exchanged for hot ones fresh from the fire. To boil milk, the hot stone was plunged into it when contained in the leathern skin that served alike as cauldron and pitcher. In short, the heated stone was a primitive means of applying fire wherever fire was needed. The prophet, carrying the similitude of an earthly household into the heavenly palace, assumes the presence of such an utensil on the hearth, which here, of course, must be conceived as an altar on the model of Gods earthly dwelling place. (P. Thomson, M. A.)
The symbolic act of the angel
This would, perhaps, be quite intelligible to the contemporaries of the prophet; but it is undoubtedly very obscure to us. The act is intended to shadow forth in some way the cleansing of the prophet from sin; but what is the connection between such cleansing and the touching of Isaiahs lips with the stone heated on the altar fire? The stone is a means of applying fire; when, therefore, it is brought to the lips of the prophet, it is the same as if the whole altar fire had been brought there; and that again is the same as if the prophets unclean lips had been laid on the altar. The everyday use of the stone would at once suggest this to the mind of Isaiahs hearers. The angels act, therefore, is as much as to say: Lo, I lay thy sinfulness on the altar fire; and thou art cleansed from sin thereby. But how should laying on the altar cleanse from sin? To lay on the altar is to give up to God–to make wholly His. Here, then, the angel says to Isaiah in substance this: Thy sin-defiled nature (lips) I lay on Gods altar. I make it all His again. The uncleanness of thy nature consisted in its opposition to God, for all sin is selfish action, as opposed to action for God, and now all the opposition of thy nature to God is taken away. Thy nature is, by this act, devoted wholly to God. By Divine power thou hast been suddenly, miraculously, turned into one from whom all selfish thoughts and words and deeds are taken away, into one whose every thought and desire is toward God; into one wholly consecrated and devoted to God; and therefore into one wholly pure. All this is done only in symbol, of course; not in reality. What the prophet receives is in truth only Gods twice-repeated assurance that He looks on the prophet as one thus cleansed and devoted; that He overlooks the prophets past sins; that He imputes to him the purity of consecration; or, in short, that God pardons and forgives him. The essential core of the idea of forgiveness, in the New Testament as well as in the Old, is just this, that God treats guilty but penitent men as if they were not guilty, with a view to freeing them from their guilt and making them righteous. Isaiah conceives of His forgiveness under forms familiar to his time. He, a sinful man, is laid on the altar of God, and made wholly clean in Gods sight, whatever the imperfections that may still cling to his nature, whatever selfishness or self-will may still mar his reconciliation to the will of God. Of course, however, the change of will does not long continue merely imaginary, or in symbol only; for, in all time, Gods treatment of men as if their wills were devoted to Him, Gods loving forgiveness of mens sins, has been the chief means of subduing mans will to Him in actual fact. (P. Thomson, M. A.)
Christ symbolised by fire
A traditional saying attributed to our Lord–He that is near Me is near fire. (B. F. Westcott, D. D.)
Holiness and service
Had the prophet need of a coal? Oh, then grant for me a whole globe of fire, to remove my impurity and make me a fit messenger to Thy people. (Bernard.)
Sin and Gods treatment of it
No intelligent man can read the entire Bible without discovering four things–
1. That God considers sin a positive element in human affairs, to be talked about and dealt with as a fact.
2. That sin is the one abominable thing God says He hates, and will heavily punish.
3. That every sin is inherent in some personal factor.
4. That Almighty God Himself has provided a way by which every sinner can be relieved from the penalty of his transgressions, and graciously restored to holiness. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
John Woolmans experience
That eminently holy man, Saint John Woolman, as the poet Whittier called him, who struck the first blow against domestic negro slavery in America, notwithstanding the Divine illuminations he had been blessed with in early boyhood, had to pass through an analogous baptism ere he was able to follow the Masters call into public service. I sought deserts and lonely places, and there with tears did confess my sins to God, and humbly craved His help. And I may say with reverence, He was near me in my troubles, and in these times of humiliation opened my ears to discipline. From an inward purifying, and steadfast abiding under it, sprang a lively operative desire for the good of others. All the faithful are not called to the public ministry; but whoever are, are called to minister of that which they have tasted and handled spiritually. (F. Sessions.)
Stephen Grellet
Of all the men of recent generations, Stephen Grellet, the French refugee nobleman, seems to have come nearest to the ancient Hebrew evangelical prophet, and to the apostles of Christ. Pope, emperors, kings, and princes were the objects of his solicitude, and to these exalted personages he was permitted access, and personally delivered messages from God, as straightforward and cogent as those he gave to the veriest offscourings of the slums and purlieus of European cities, or to the formalists of Catholic and Protestant creeds. One evening, as I was walking in the fields alone [this was when he was twenty-two years of age], my mind being under no kind of religious concern, nor in the least excited by anything I had heard or thought of, I was suddenly arrested by what seemed to be an awful voice, proclaiming the words Eternity, Eternity, Eternity! It reached my soul,–my whole man shook,–it brought me, like Saul, to the ground. The great depravity and sinfulness of my heart were set open before me, and the gulf of everlasting destruction to which I was verging. In this state he remained for many days, till it pleased God to deliver him, not by the agency of a hot stone brought by a winged angel from a visible altar, but by that of some loving sentences spoken by a lady preacher from England who was visiting the American home of the exile. No strength to withstand the Divine visitation was left in me. Oh, what sweetness did I then feel! It was indeed a memorable day. I was like one introduced into a new world; the creation and all things around me bore a different aspect,–my heart flowed with love to all. From that awful day, as he calls it, deep convictions laid hold of his mind, which, as he cherished them, led him to a full surrender, and a willingness to devote himself to the life of an ambassador of Christ to the rulers and peoples of the world. (F. Sessions.)
Another inward vision
He tells us that once again an inward vision came to him. It was during a period of silent worship among the members of the religious body to which this quondam disciple of Voltaire had joined himself. He was here granted such a view and sense of his sinful nature, though he was at that time a converted man, that he was like one crushed under millstones. My misery was great, and my cry was not unlike that of Isaiah, Woe is me, for I am undone! Then there came to him a revelation of perfect salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. (F. Sessions.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. A live coal] The word of prophecy, which was put into the mouth of the prophet.
From off the altar] That is, from the altar of burnt-offerings, before the door of the temple, on which the fire that came down at first from heaven (Le 9:24; 2Ch 7:1) was perpetually burning. It was never to be extinguished, Le 6:12-13.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, by Gods command, having a live coal; both a token and an instrument of purification, as the next verse explains it.
From off the altar of burnt-offering, which stood in the court of the priests near the porch, and which had always coals of fire upon it, Lev 6:12,13. Hence he took it, to show that men are to expect purification and expiation of sin only by such means as God hath appointed, and particularly by Christ, whom that altar did manifestly represent, Heb 13:10.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. unto meThe seraph had beenin the temple, Isaiah outside of it.
live coalliterally, “ahot stone,” used, as in some countries in our days, to roastmeat with, for example, the meat of the sacrifices. Fire was a symbolof purification, as it takes the dross out of metals (Mal 3:2;Mal 3:3).
the altarof burntoffering, in the court of the priests before the temple. The fire onit was at first kindled by God (Le9:24), and was kept continually burning.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then flew one of the seraphim unto me,…. When the prophet had confessed his sin; for upon that follows the application of pardon; and when the seraph, or minister of the Gospel, had an order from the Lord to publish the doctrine of it: it is God’s act alone to forgive sin; it is the work of his ministers to preach forgiveness of sin, and that to sensible sinners; who when they are made sensible of sin, and distressed with it, the Lord takes notice of them, and sends messengers to them, to comfort them, by acquainting them that their iniquity is forgiven; who go on such an errand cheerfully and swiftly; and though they do not know the particular person, yet the Lord directs their ministration to him, and makes it effectual.
Having a live coal in his hand: by which is meant the word of God, comparable to fire, and to a burning coal of fire, Jer 23:29 for the light and heat which it gives both to saints and sinners, and for its purity and purifying nature:
[which] he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; of burnt offering, where the fire was always burning; which was a type of Christ, and his sacrifice; and this shows what particular doctrine of the word it was the seraph or Gospel minister took, and delivered in this visionary way; it was the doctrine of pardon, founded upon the sacrifice and satisfaction of Christ. To this sense of the words the Targum agrees, which paraphrases them thus,
“and there flew to me one of the ministers, and in his mouth a word which he received from his Shechinah, upon the throne of glory, in the highest heavens, above the altar,”
See Re 14:6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This confession was followed by the forgiveness of his sins, of which he received an attestation through a heavenly sacrament, and which was conveyed to him through the medium of a seraphic absolution. “And one of the seraphim flew to me with a red-hot coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said, Behold, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away; and so thy sin is expiated.” One of the beings hovering round the Lord (there were, therefore, a large and indefinite number) flew to the altar of incense – the heavenly original of the altar of incense in the earthly temple, which was reckoned as belonging to the Most Holy Place – and took from this altar a ritzpah , i.e., either a red-hot stone (Vulg. Calculum , Ar. radfe or radafe ), or, according to the prevailing tradition, a red-hot coal (vid., ratzeph – rashaph , to scatter sparks, sparkle, or glow: syn. gacheleth ), and that with a pair of tongs, because even a seraph’s hand cannot touch the vessels consecrated to God, or the sacrifices that belong to Him. With this red-hot coal he flew to Isaiah, and having touched his mouth with it, i.e., that member of his body of whose uncleanness he had more especially complained (cf., Jer 1:9, where the prophet’s mouth is touched by Jehovah’s hand, and made eloquent in consequence), he assured him of the forgiveness of his sins, which coincided with the application of this sacramental sign. The Vav connects together what is affirmed by naga (hath touched) and sar (a taker away) as being simultaneous; the zeh (this) points as a neuter to the red-hot coal. The future tecuppar is a future consec., separated by Vav conversive for the purpose of bringing the subject into greater prominence; as it is practically impossible that the removal of guilt should be thought of as immediate and momentary, and the expiation as occurring gradually. The fact that the guilt was taken away was the very proof that the expiation was complete. Cipper , with the “sin” in the accusative, or governed by , signifies to cover it up, extinguish, or destroy it (for the primary meaning, vid., Isa 28:18), so that it has no existence in relation to the penal justice of God. All sinful uncleanness was burned away from the prophet’s mouth. The seraph, therefore, did here what his name denotes: he burned up or burned away ( Comburit ). He did this, however, not by virtue of his own fiery nature, but by means of the divine fire which he had taken from the heavenly altar. As the smoke which filled the house came from the altar, and arose in consequence of the adoration offered to the Lord by the seraphim, not only must the incense-offering upon the altar and this adoration be closely connected; but the fire, which revealed itself in the smoke and consumed the incense-offering, and which must necessarily have been divine because of its expiatory power, was an effect of the love of God with which He reciprocated the offerings of the seraphim. A fiery look from God, and that a fiery look of pure love as the seraphim were sinless, had kindled the sacrifice. Now, if the fact that a seraph absolved the seer by means of this fire of love is to be taken as an illustrative example of the historical calling of the seraphim, they were the vehicles and media of the fire of divine love, just as the cherubim in Ezekiel are vehicles and media of the fire of divine wrath. For just as, in the case before us, a seraph takes the fire of love from the altar; so there, in Eze 10:6-7, a cherub takes the fire of wrath from the throne-chariot. Consequently the cherubim appear as the vehicles and media of the wrath which destroys sinners, or rather of the divine doxa , with its fiery side turned towards the world; and the seraphim as the vehicles and media of the love which destroys sin, or of the same divine doxa with its light side towards the world.
(Note: Seraphic love is the expression used in the language of the church to denote the ne plus ultra of holy love in the creature. The Syriac fathers regarded the burning coal as the symbol of the incarnate Son of God, who is often designated in poetry as the “live or burning coal” ( Kemurto denuro ): DMZ. 1860, pp. 679, 681.)
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verse 6-13: CLEANSING AND A NEW COMMISSION
1. In response to Isaiah’s anguished confession, one of the seraphims took a live coal from off the altar, laid it upon his mouth, and declared his iniquity atoned for; his sin purged, (Verse 6-7; comp. Jer 1:9; Dan 10:16; Isa 40:2; Isa 53:5-6; Isa 53:11; 1Jn 1:7).
2. It is then that the Lord’s own voice is heard: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And the response of the prophet is immediate: “Here am I; SEND ME!”
3. Only after Isaiah’s whole-hearted commitment to proclaim the Lord’s message does the Lord reveal that it is to be a hardening, deafening, blinding and condemning word – the result of Judah’s persistent rebellion and unbelief, (Verse 9-10; Neh 9:24-31).
4. In response to the prophet’s impassioned cry of “How long?” the Lord tells him that the message of impending judgment must be proclaimed until the sentence is fully executed in: the laying waste of their cities and farmlands, the vacating of their luxurious houses, and their deportation to a strange land, (Verse 11-12; Psa 79:5; Lev 26:31; Isa 1:7; Isa 3:8; Isa 3:26; Jer 4:29).
5. Though a remnant be spared (a holy seed), it will be subjected to constant testing; but, the Redeemer of Israel will not leave Himself without a people for his own possession and service! (Deu 7:6-10; 1Pe 2:9-10).
a. God will not utterly forsake them (2Sa 7:24); the discipline of dispersion and desolation is but a proof of their election (Amo 3:2); the casting off will not be permanent, (Zec 10:6).
b. A holy remnant (root-stump) will remain – ultimately to sprout, bud, blossom and bear fruit to the glory of God!
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. Then flew one of the seraphim to me. The Prophet shows what kind of relief was brought to him, when he was so terrified as to think that he was a dead man; and this confirms what we have already said, that purity of lips comes from God alone; for men can produce nothing of themselves but what is filthy and abominable. If it be objected that it is absurd to say that the Lord now cleansed him, as if his tongue had formerly been impure and profane, though it had been the instrument employed by the Holy Spirit, I have already replied sufficiently to that objection. The Lord had already cleansed him, but according to his degree. The cleansing which is now added is greater; for it has its enlargements and additions, which no man can obtain all at once.
We must not conclude, therefore, that Isaiah’s lips were impure, because they are now cleansed; but we ought to inquire why it is done. It was because the Lord intended to enlarge and extend his favor towards him, and to raise him to higher dignity, that he might have greater influence over the people; and this was rendered necessary by the character of the times, and the change which had taken place in the state.
The fire was taken from the altar, to intimate that it was divine or heavenly; for the law forbade any strange fire to be brought to it, (Lev 10:1,) because in sacred things every human mixture is absolute profanation. By this figure, therefore, Isaiah was taught that all purity flows from God alone.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) Then flew one of the seraphims.In presenting the vision to our minds eye we have to think of the bright seraph form, glowing as with fire, and with wings like the lightning-flash, leaving his station above the throne, and coming to where the prophet stood in speechless terror. The altar from which he took the live coal literally, stone, and interpreted by some critics of the stones of which the altar was constructedis commonly thought of as belonging, like that of Rev. 8:5; Rev. 9:13, to the heavenly Temple which was opened to the prophets view. There seems, however, a deeper meaning in the symbolism if we think of the seraph as descending from the height above the throne to the altar of incense, near which Isaiah actually stood. It was from that altar that the glowing charcoal was taken. What had seemed part of the material of a formal worship became quickened with a living power. The symbol became sacramental. So in Psa. 51:7, the prayer of the penitent is Purge me with hyssopi.e., make the symbol a reality. Fire, it need hardly be said, is throughout the Bible the symbol at once of the wrath and the love of God, destroying the evil and purifying the good (Num. 31:23; Mal. 3:2; Mat. 3:11; 1Co. 3:15; Heb. 12:29; 1Pe. 1:7). Isaiah passed, as it were, through the purgatory of an instantaneous agony.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Flew The seraph spread his middle pair of wings and “flew” from the throne, first to the altar of incense, then to the prophet with a glowing coal. This “coal” is originally taken from the atoning great altar before the temple door, and so Isaiah was pardoned through the atonement; it was taken by the angel from the holy altar of incense, and so, applied to the prophet’s mouth, purified his lips for the coming terrible utterances they were to deliver.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Reader! do remark with me, the infinite grace of the Lord! see how, amidst all the sanctities of heaven, the case of a poor sinner upon earth was taken notice of, and provided for. Depend upon it, the Lord is continually so doing for all his people. By one of the seraphim flying to Isaiah and performing this act of grace, I confess that I am but the more strengthened in my belief, that the seraphim were representations of Jehovah in Christ. It is the office of the Holy Ghost to take of the things of Jesus, and show them unto the people. The altar can mean no other than Jesus. And it is the blood of Jesus which alone cleanseth from all sin. But while I thus express my views of the passage, I desire to do it with the lowest reverence. I only humbly inquire if it may not be so? Very, very far from speaking decidedly upon it. Lord, take away the iniquity both of my lips and pen, as thou didst in mercy, remove the prophet’s guilt!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 6:6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, [which] he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
Ver. 6. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me. ] Relinquit chorum illum sanctissimum ut serviat polluto; He leaveth that holy company that he may do service to a poor polluted creature! The brightest angel in heaven thinketh not himself too good to serve the saints. Heb 1:14 If there come to us at any time a messenger, one of a thousand, to declare unto us our righteousness, to be unto us a minister of reconciliation, we are to receive him as an angel of God.
Having a live coal in his hand.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isaiah
VISION AND SERVICE
Isa 6:1 – Isa 6:13
WE may deal with this text as falling into three parts: the vision, its effect on the prophet, and his commission.
I. The Vision. -’In the year that King Uzziah died’ is more than a date for chronological accuracy. It tells not only when, but why, the vision was given. The throne of David was empty.
God never empties places in our homes and hearts, or in the nation or the Church, without being ready to fill them. He sometimes empties them that He may fill them. Sorrow and loss are meant to prepare us for the vision of God, and their effect should be to purge the inward eye, that it may see Him. When the leaves drop from the forest trees we can see the blue sky which their dense abundance hid. Well for us if the passing of all that can pass drives us to Him who cannot pass, if the unchanging God stands out more clear, more near, more dear, because of change.
As to the substance of this vision, we need not discuss whether, if we had been there, we should have seen anything. It was doubtless related to Isaiah’s thoughts, for God does not send visions which have no point of contact in the recipient. However communicated, it was a divine communication, and a temporary unveiling of an eternal reality. The form was transient, but Isaiah then saw for a moment ‘the things which are’ and always are.
The essential point of the vision is the revelation of Jehovah as king of Judah. That relation guaranteed defence and demanded obedience. It was a sure basis of hope, but also a stringent motive to loyalty, and it had its side of terror as well as of joyfulness. ‘You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.’ The place of vision is the heavenly sanctuary of which the temple was a prophecy. Eminently significant and characteristic of the whole genius of the Old Testament is the absence of any description of the divine appearance. The prophet saw things ‘which it is not lawful for a man to utter,’ and his silence is not only reverent, but more eloquent than any attempt to put the Ineffable into words. Even in this act of manifestation God was veiled, and ‘ there was the hiding of His power.’ The train of His robe can be spoken of, but not the form which it concealed even in revealing it. Nature is the robe of God. It hides while it discloses, and discloses while it hides.
The hovering seraphim were in the attitude of service. They are probably represented as fiery forms, but are spoken of nowhere else in Scripture. The significance of their attitude has been well given by Jewish commentators, who say, ‘with two he covered his face that he might not see, and with two he covered his body that he might not be seen’ and we may add, ‘with two he stood ready for service, by flight whithersoever the King would send.’ Such awe-stricken reverence, such humble hiding of self, such alacrity for swift obedience, such flaming ardours of love and devotion, should be ours. Their song celebrated the holiness and the glory of Jehovah of hosts. We must ever remember that the root-meaning of ‘holiness’ is separation, and that the popular meaning of moral purity is secondary and derivative. What is rapturously sung in the threefold invocation of the seraphs is the infinite exaltation of Jehovah above all creatural conditions, limitations, and, we may add, conceptions. That separation, of course, includes purity, as may be seen from the immediate effect of the vision on the prophet, but the conception is much wider than that. Very beautifully does the second line of the song re-knit the connection between Jehovah and this world, so far beneath Him, which the burst of praise of His holiness seems to sever. The high heaven is a bending arch; its inaccessible heights ray down sunshine and drop down rain, and, as in the physical world, every plant grows by Heaven’s gift, so in the world of humanity all wisdom, goodness, and joy are from the Father of lights. God’s ‘glory’ is the flashing lustre of His manifested holiness, which fills the earth as the train of the robe filled the temple. The vibrations of that mighty hymn shook the ‘foundations of the threshold’ Rev. Ver. with its thunderous harmonies. ‘The house was filled with smoke’ which, since it was an effect of the seraph’s praise, is best explained as referring to the fragrant smoke of incense which, as we know, symbolised ‘the prayers of saints.’
II. The effect of the vision on the prophet. -The vision kindled as with a flash Isaiah’s consciousness of sin. He expressed it in regard to his words rather than his works, partly because in one aspect speech is even more accurately than act a cast, as it were, of character, and partly because he could not but feel the difference between the mighty music that burst from these pure and burning lips and the words that flowed from and soiled his own. Not only the consciousness of sin, but the dread of personal evil consequences from the vision of the holy God, oppressed his heart. We see ourselves when we see God. Once flash on a heart the thought of God’s holiness, and, like an electric searchlight, it discloses flaws which pass unnoticed in dimmer light. The easy-going Christianity, which is the apology for religion with so many of us, has no deep sense of sin, because it has no clear vision of God. ‘I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth Thee: wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.’
The next stage in Isaiah’s experience is that sin recognised and confessed is burned away. Cleansing rather than forgiveness is here emphasised. The latter is, of course, included, but the main point is the removal of impurity. It is mediated by one of the seraphim, who is the messenger of God, which is just a symbolical way of saying that God makes penitents ‘partakers of His holiness,’ and that nothing less than a divine communication will make cleansing possible. It is effected by a live coal. Fire is purifying, and the New Testament has taught us that the true cleansing fire is that of the Holy Spirit. But that live coal was taken from the altar. The atoning sacrifice has been offered there, and our cleansing depends on the efficacy of that sacrifice being applied to us.
The third stage in the prophet’s experience is the readiness for service which springs up in his purged heart. God seeks for volunteers. There are no pressed men in His army. The previous experiences made Isaiah quick to hear God’s call, and willing to respond to it by personal consecration. Take the motive-power of redemption from sin out of Christianity, and you break its mainspring, so that the clock will only tick when it is shaken. It is the Christ who died for our sins to whom men say, ‘Command what Thou wilt, and I obey.’
III. The prophet’s commission. -He was not sent on his work with any illusions as to its success, but, on the contrary, he had a clear premonition that its effect would be to deepen the spiritual deafness and blindness of the nation. We must remember that in Scripture the certain effect of divine acts is uniformly regarded as a divine design. Israel was so sunk in spiritual deadness that the issue of the prophet’s work would only be to immerse the mass of ‘this people’ farther in it. To some more susceptible souls his message would be a true divine voice, rousing them like a trumpet, and that effect was what God desired; but to the greater number it would deepen their torpor and increase their condemnation. If men love darkness rather than light, the coming of the light works only judgment.
Isaiah recoils from the dreary prospect, and feels that this dreadful hardening cannot be God’s ultimate purpose for the nation. So he humbly and wistfully asks how long it is to last. The answer is twofold, heavy with a weight of apparently utter ruin in its first part, but disclosing a faint, far-off gleam of hope on its second. Complete destruction, and the casting of Israel out from the land, are to come. But as, though a goodly tree is felled, a stump remains which has vital force or substance in it, so, even in the utmost apparent desperateness of Israel’s state, there will be in it ‘the holy seed,’ the ‘remnant,’ the true Israel, from which again the life shall spring, and stem and branches and waving foliage once more grow up.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 6:6-13
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7He touched my mouth with it and said, Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven. 8Then 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!
9He said, Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
10Render the hearts of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.
11Then I said, Lord, how long? And He answered,
Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
12The LORD has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled.
The holy seed is its stump.
Isa 6:6 This verse is very detailed imagery. Isaiah was having a vision of the heavenly temple, the abode of Deity. It is always hard to know what is real and what is imagery! We see through a fog into the spiritual realm. We are not meant to develop a detailed understanding of heaven from texts like this. It is the general impression/truth that is crucial.
The amazing thing is that God has initiated revelation with fallen humanity. He reveals (1) Himself; (2) His plans; and (3) continuing, as well as future, rejection of His people (cf. Isa 6:9-13). Judah refuses to hear and see, but Isaiah, who admits his sin, is cleansed and is available (cf. Isa 6:8).
the altar This (BDB 258) seems to refer to either (1) the incense altar before the veil or (2) altar of sacrifice in front of the Holy Place. It touching Isaiah’s mouth symbolized ritual, cultic cleansing.
Isa 6:7 touched my mouth This method of cleansing and commissioning is similar to Jer 1:9 and Dan 10:16. However, Ezekiel was told to eat a scroll (cf. Eze 2:8-10; Eze 3:3), which is similar to Jer 15:16 and Rev 10:8-11. All of these are metaphors for internalizing the Word of God so as to speak it truly to others.
your iniquity is taken away The VERB (BDB 693, KB 747, Qal PERFECT) means to turn aside or take away. Here it is parallel to forgiven (lit. covered, atoned for, BDB 497, KB 493, Pual IMPERFECT, cf. Isa 22:14; Isa 27:9; Isa 28:18). Isaiah has been changed in his confrontation with YHWH. The past has been effectively dealt with and the future will be different. This is declared by the Seraphim, who speaks for YHWH! This is a tremendous passage on grace, much like Paul’s Damascus road encounter with the risen Christ (cf. Acts 9).
The mechanism for the full and complete forgiveness and atonement is not clearly stated in this text, but from Isa 53:5-6 the key role of the Messiah, the Suffering Servant, and the concept of vicarious, substitutionary atonement is revealed (i.e., Gen 3:15; Mar 10:45; Rom 5:12-21; 2Co 5:21).
Isa 6:8 who will go for Us The us implies plurality (there are several places in the OT where this plurality is seen cf. Gen 1:26; Gen 9:6; Deu 6:4-5; Psalms 110, as does the PLURAL title Elohim, Gen 1:1; Gen 5:1). Philo and Eben Ezra say this is the plural of majesty; others claim it is the heavenly council (i.e., Rashi, cf. 1Ki 22:19-23; Job 1:6-12; Job 2:1-6). It could refer to a foreshadowing of the concept of a Triune God.
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TRINITY
Here am I This is a common Hebrew idiom for availability (cf. Gen 22:1; Gen 22:7; Gen 22:11; Gen 27:1; Gen 31:11; Gen 46:2; Exo 3:4; 1Sa 3:4-6; 1Sa 3:8; 1Sa 3:16; 1Sa 22:12; 2Sa 1:7).
Send me The VERB send (BDB 1018, KB 1511) is a Qal IMPERATIVE used as a prayer request. This is Isaiah’s response to YHWH’s question. It clearly reveals his availability.
One wonders how much this Hebrew concept of divinely sent one is typological of Jesus as the sent one in John’s Gospel and believers as His sent ones into the world (cf. Joh 17:18; Joh 20:21). God is reaching out to His rebellious creation! I recently heard a line from a new Christian song that says God sent His Son, He sends His children still. Powerful words about God and about His people!
Isa 6:9-10 As YHWH reveals His purpose for Isaiah’s ministry, He also reveals to Isaiah the response his message will have on Judah.
1. go, Isa 6:9, BDB 229, KB 246, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. tell, Isa 6:9, BDB 55, KB 65, Qal PERFECT
3. keep listening, Isa 6:9, Qal IMPERATIVE and Qal INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE of BDB 1033, KB 1570
4. but do not perceive, Isa 6:9, BDB 106, KB 122, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense, cf. Isa 1:3; Isa 5:21; Isa 10:13; Isa 29:14
5. keep looking, Isa 6:9, Qal IMPERATIVE and Qal INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE of BDB 906, KB 1157
6. but do not understand, Isa 6:9, BDB 393, KB 380, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
7. render the hearts of this people insensitive (lit. fat), Isa 6:10, BDB 1031, KB 1566, Hiphil IMPERATIVE
8. their ears dull, Isa 6:10, BDB 457, KB 455, Hiphil IMPERATIVE
9. and their eyes dim, Isa 6:10, BDB 1044, KB 1612, Hiphil IMPERATIVE
These IMPERATIVES are followed by the consequences (three IMPERFECTS of previously used VERBS, see, hear, and perceive). God knows (either by His foreknowledge or His hardening of their already wayward hearts/minds) that they will not respond and be saved.
1. lest they repent, BDB 996, KB 1427, Qal PERFECT negated
2. lest they be healed, BDB 950, KB 1272, Qal PERFECT negated
Isaiah will preach and though some may respond, the vast majority of his people/his society will not (cf. Rom 1:24; Rom 1:26; Rom 1:28; Eph 4:19) or cannot respond (cf. Isa 29:9-10; Deu 29:4; Mat 13:13; Rom 11:8)! Isaiah is not an evangelist here, but a prophet of covenant disobedience/consequences (cf. Mat 13:13; Mar 4:12; Luk 8:10). His message of hope is for a future day, not his day!
Isa 6:10 dim This (BDB 1044, KB 1612) is literally covered with secretions (cf. Isa 29:9; Isa 32:3).
return In the OT this term (BDB 996, KB 1427) means a change of action. In the NT repentance means a change of mind. Both concepts are involved!
SPECIAL TOPIC: REPENTANCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
Isa 6:11 how long This refers to the length of time God’s message will be rejected.
Isa 6:12 has removed men far away This refers to an exile, but whether Assyria taking the northern tribes or Babylon taking the southern tribes is uncertain (possibly purposeful ambiguity).
Isa 6:13 Yet there will be a tenth portion in it See Special Topic: THE REMNANT, THREE SENSES . Also note (1) Isaiah’s son, Shear-jashub, Isa 7:3, means a remnant shall return also (2) note the discussion at Isa 10:20-22.
it will be subject to burning Isa 6:13, lines b and c, could be understood in two ways.
1. literary context – God’s people in the metaphor of a great tree has been cut and burned, but there is life in the stump. A shoot will come forth (i.e., the Messiah or Messianic community, cf. Isa 4:2; Isa 11:1; Isa 53:2; Jer 23:5; Jer 33:15; Zec 3:8; Zec 6:12). But future problems remain (i.e., burning).
2. historically, culturally – the Canaanite fertility idols (i.e., Asherah) will be completely burned. God’s people will be freed from idolatry one day!
Whose stump remains when it is felled Isa 6:13 has two words used only here in the OT, key words!
1. felled, BDB 1021 I, same root used of a gate in the temple (cf. 1Ch 26:16). The root’s basic meaning is to throw, to cast, or to fling.
2. stump, BDB 663, usually used of sacred stone pillars
a. by Patriarchs and Moses
b. by Canaanite fertility worshipers (i.e., Ba’al)
The holy seed is its stump This, like Isa 4:2, has Messianic connotations. See note at Isa 11:1. This phrase is left out of the LXX.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. Why did Uzziah’s death affect Isaiah so deeply?
2. Who did Isaiah see?
3. Why was Isaiah’s message rejected?
4. How does Isaiah’s day compare to our own?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
flew. Compare “ran” (Luk 15:20).
the tongs. Reference to Pent, (Exo 25:38; Exo 25:37. Exo 25:23 (“snuffers”). Num 4:9). App-92.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 6:6-8
Isa 6:6-8
“Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin forgiven. 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.”
The forgiveness of Isaiah’s sin here was not final and absolute, because the ultimate price of all human redemption from sin had not at that time been paid in the bloody sacrifice of Jesus Christ himself. The meaning is simply that God “passed over” his sins as explained in Rom 3:23-26. Rawlinson observed that the symbolical “forgiveness” achieved here by means of the live coal from off the altar actually demonstrated that (1) sin could indeed be purged; but that the highest supernatural creatures, even one standing before God Himself could alone procure such a forgiveness. If this should be allowed, then the live coal from off the altar would be a symbol of that greater and all-sufficient sacrifice in Christ that the ancient altar typified.
“And thy sin forgiven …” “This forgiveness was not accomplished by any physical effect of fire to cleanse from sin, but in relation to that altar-sacrifice, of which Messiah in his death was to be the antitype.
God’s challenging question, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” raises the problem of who is meant by “us.” Some think that God here included members of his heavenly court; but our own view is that we have here exactly the plural that was used when God said, “Let us make man, etc.” The Trinity is therefore the most logical answer to the question; but this is not absolutely certain. because, “The plural may merely indicate majesty.
Isa 6:5-7 THE GRACE: The cry of need. Isa 6:5. Isaiahs vision of the Holiness and glory of Jehovah brought conviction of his own sinfulness.
(a) I am cut off, destroyed. He had seen God and could not expect to live. Exo 33:20. Doomed to die.
(b) My lips are unclean! And if his lips are unclean, then his heart is unclean. Jas 3:2; Mat 12:34.
(c) “My people are unclean,” 1Co 15:33.
(d) “Mine eyes have seen the king” – The Real King.
Isa 6:6 THE DIVINE RESPONSE: A glowing coal from the altar – a hot stone. Altar of Incense – Prayer. Isaiahs prayer of confession of sin is answered as the angel takes a coal from Altar of Prayer to cleanse his impure lips. Here is revealed the Grace of God:
1. The prayer of the sinner is heard.
2. The song of the Seraphim is hushed that the prayer of the sinner might be answered.
Isa 6:7 DIVINE FORGIVENESS: Thy sin is forgiven.
(a) Sin can be purged.
(b) The highest angelic nature alone cannot purge it.
(c) God never acts alone in saving men from sin.
(d) Forgiveness from sin is always conditional upon the following:
1 Desire on part of sinner
2 Intervention of second person (messenger – servant)
3 Application of divinely appointed means.
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 challenge-Here 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.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
flew: Isa 6:2, Dan 9:21-23, Heb 1:7, Heb 1:14
having: etc. Heb. and in his hand a live coal, Eze 10:2, Mat 3:11, Act 2:3, Rev 8:3-5
which: Lev 16:12, Heb 9:22-26, Heb 13:10, Rev 8:3-5
Reciprocal: Exo 25:38 – the tongs Num 16:46 – from off Jer 1:9 – and touched Eze 1:8 – General Eze 10:8 – General Rev 14:6 – another Rev 16:7 – out
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 6:6-7. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me By Gods command; having a live coal in his hand Both a token and an instrument of purification, as the next verse explains it; which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar Of burnt-offering, which stood in the court of the priests, where the prophet appeared to himself to be during the vision. The seraph took it from the altar, to show that men are to expect the expiation of sin, and purification from it, only by such means as God hath appointed, and particularly by the mediation of Christ, whom that altar manifestly represented, and by that purifying and refining grace of the Holy Spirit, which was signified by this live coal, and is conferred on none except through the merit of Christs sacrifice; see Heb 9:14; Heb 13:10. And he laid it upon my mouth So as only to touch my lips, and not to burn them. This was done to signify, not only that all the gifts and graces that purify the mind, and fit us for the discharge of any particular duty or function, come from God; but that there must be a real application and communication of them to our souls. It is not sufficient that we hear, think, and speak of them; or even that we desire them, and believe them to be attainable; but we must really receive and possess them. Observe this, reader. It is of infinite consequence to thy salvation. Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thy iniquity is taken away This is a sign that the guilt of thy sin is removed by pardoning mercy, and thy corrupt disposition and inclination to sin, by renewing grace; and, therefore, nothing can hinder thee from being accepted of God, as a worshipper, in concert with the holy angels; or from being employed for God, as a messenger to the children of men. Those only, who are thus purged from an evil conscience, are prepared to serve the living God, Heb 9:14. The taking away of sin is necessary, in order to our speaking with confidence and comfort, either to God in prayer, or from God in preaching. Nor are any so fit to display to others the riches and power of gospel grace, as those who have themselves tasted the sweetness, and felt the influence of that grace.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
6:6 Then one of the seraphims flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, [which] he had taken with the tongs from off the {m} altar:
(m) Of the burnt offerings where the fire never went out.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Isaiah only acknowledged his hopeless condition-he did not plead with God or make vows to God-and God then went into action. Confession must precede cleansing (cf. 1Jn 1:9). The altar from which the seraph took the coal was probably the brazen altar in heaven, in which case the coal itself symbolizes substitute sacrifice. [Note: Motyer, p. 78.] Fire from the brazen altar lit the incense on the incense altar in Israel, so, whichever altar may be in view, the coal connects with sacrifice. Fire in the Old Testament symbolizes the wrath of God (Gen 3:24; Num 11:1-3), the holiness of God (Exo 3:2-6; Exo 19:18-25), His purifying process (Num 31:22-23; Mal 3:2-3), and the context of the Law (Deu 4:12; Deu 4:33; Deu 4:36).
"A seraph peels off from his flight path around the throne, diving straight for Isaiah. He’s holding a burning coal that he took from the altar with tongs, but not because it is hot. After all, a seraph himself is a burning one. He took this coal with tongs because it is a holy thing. It belongs to the place of sacrifice and atonement and forgiveness. But this holy thing touches Isaiah’s dirty mouth, and it does not hurt him, it heals him. What we must see, in the context of the whole Bible, is that this burning coal symbolizes the finished work of Christ on the cross." [Note: Ortlund, pp. 79-80.]