Read Isaiah 6

“Here I Am! Send Me!”

The sixth chapter of Isaiah is a record of his calling to the prophetic office. It also offers an awe-inspiring glimpse at the throne of God, His robe, and the seraphim who worshiped Him. Their words of praise echo throughout the history of the world: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).

Why is the word “holy” repeated three times? Two possibilities have been suggested. One, the symbolism of the number three represents perfection or completeness. Thus, repeating the word three times emphasizes God’s perfect or complete holiness.

A second explanation is that the word is repeated three times, once for each Person of the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Later in the chapter, Isaiah heard the “voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’” (Isaiah 6:8). The plurality of the Godhead is a Scriptural concept that was not new to the writers of the New Testament, though it was perhaps misunderstood to an extent until Jesus and the Holy Spirit revealed more in the first century.

Upon witnessing this grand scene of worship, Isaiah declares himself unfit for any service. “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). God, however, showed the prophet that he could be forgiven of his sin. It is after Isaiah’s forgiveness that the Lord asks for a volunteer to “go for Us” (Isaiah 6:8).

Isaiah’s answer is one of zeal and determination: “Here I am! Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). Guy N. Woods commented on this passage in the first quarter of the 1964 Adult Gospel Quarterly, “He did not ask if the work were easy, the task light; he did not inquire whether the effort would be long or short; nor what advantages would accrue to him in so doing. It was an unqualified, and unconditional surrender to the will of God.”

God wants servants today who are willing to serve in the same manner, unconditionally committed to the cause of the truth without regard for personal gain in this life. He calls for people of faith to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). Are we doing all that we can for the Lord? Do we recognize His call and respond, “Here I am! Send me!”?

Read Isaiah 5:1-7

Isaiah’s Parable of the Vineyard

When we hear the word “parable,” our minds typically turn to the New Testament parables Jesus employed in his teaching. However, there are examples of parables in the Old Testament as well. Isaiah uses the image of a vineyard to teach a message about God’s care for and disappointment in His people.

God is portrayed as “my Well-beloved,” the one who has planted a vineyard. Isaiah says that this vineyard is “on a very fruitful hill” (Isaiah 5:1). God gave this vineyard every advantage to succeed: “He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; so He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes” (Isaiah 5:2).

“My Well-beloved” expresses His disappointment in the vineyard. “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?” (Isaiah 5:4).

With all the advantages given to Israel, why did they fail? Was God to blame? He called on them to judge for themselves (Isaiah 5:3), then proceeded to explain His intentions going forward. “And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it” (Isaiah 5:5-6).

Judgment was coming. God wanted His vineyard to succeed but “wild grapes” were the result. Still today, God wants to save lost souls. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

He will not violate man’s free will and force compliance. It is each person’s choice whether they will serve God or become modern-day “wild grapes” like Israel of old.

Read Isaiah 1:1-20

The Reasonableness of Serving God

Some of the most beloved passages of prophecy come from the writing of Isaiah, sometimes referred to as the Messianic prophet because of his focus on the coming Messiah. There are some who believe Isaiah was related to King Uzziah and possibly enjoyed access to the throne because of that familial relationship. However, his possible family connections did not quash the boldness of the message.

Isaiah prophesied during a time that Judah was “laden with iniquity” and a “brood of evildoers” and “corrupters” (Isaiah 1:4). The sins of the nation caused suffering among the people, and the prophet calls for them to repent and restore their relationship with the Almighty. God declares through Isaiah, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:16-17).

God promises, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). As long as one has the breath of life in him, he can come to God and be forgiven according to God’s will.

God says, “Come now, and let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18). Is it reasonable to serve God? Is it reasonable to repent and live righteously? As one reads through the Scriptures, it is easy to see that reason plays a big part in one’s relationship with the Lord.

Throughout his missionary efforts, Luke often writes that Paul reasoned in the synagogues and with the Jews (Acts 17:2, 17; 18:4, 19; 19:8-9). Even when he was brought before the governor Felix, Paul “reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come” (Acts 24:25). Likewise, to Festus, Paul defended himself, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason” (Acts 26:25).

The apostle made an appeal to the church at Rome to live selfless, godly lives. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). It is reasonable to serve God!