Isaiah 6 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes
Isaiah 6 Short Summary:
In the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah had a vision of God sitting on His throne. Isaiah’s sins were atoned for when an angel touched his lips with a burning coal, and he accepted God’s commission to be a prophet to Judah. God told him to preach to the people even though He knew they were too stubborn to listen.
Isaiah 6 Bible Study
TIMELINE:
As mentioned previously, the prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
The opening of this chapter informs us that the events recorded in chapter 6 occurred the year King Uzziah died. The year is debated, perhaps 739 BC.
KEY CHARACTERS:
Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.
God – God appears to Isaiah in a vision.
Seraphim – Spiritual beings that serve at the throne of God. The text says they had 6 wings, 2 to cover their faces, two to cover their feet, and 2 for flying.
DEFINITIONS:
Terebinth (6:13) – A small tree native to the Mediterranean. It is related to the cashew and pistachio tree.
OUTLINE:
ISAIAH’S VISION OF GOD AT THE TEMPLE (6:1-7):
In the year that Uzziah, the king of Judah, died Isaiah had a vision of God.
God was sitting on His throne in His glory. He had on a long robe and the train of the robe filled the Temple.
Above God were heavenly beings called seraphim.
They each had six wings, and they called to one another, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”
When these words were spoken, the doors of the Temple shook, and the whole structure was filled with smoke.
Isaiah immediately felt his smallness and spoke of himself as a man unworthy to be in the presence of God because he was a man of “unclean lips.” Perhaps he used this language because he felt his lips were unworthy to praise God along with the seraphim, or because he felt unfit to speak God’s words to the people.
But then, one of the seraphim took a coal from the altar in the Temple and touched it to Isaiah’s lips, saying, “Behold this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sins atoned for.”
GOD’S JOB FOR ISAIAH (6:8-13):
God asked, “Who shall I send, and who will go for us?”
Isaiah volunteered himself to do the work the Lord needed to be done.
God commissioned him to prophesy and preach to the people of Judah even though He knew Isaiah’s preaching would only make them more stubborn, obstinate, and rebellious.
When Isaiah asked how long he should preach, God told him to preach until destruction rained down on Judah, till their cities were desolate, and the people were removed out of the land.
When God’s judgement was complete, only a small number of the faithful would remain, and these He described as a stump. They would be all that remained of the tree of Judah that God cut down and burned.
APPLICATION:
Did you notice how eager Isaiah was to volunteer to work for God?
He was quick to respond, “Here I am! Send me,” when God inquired about who He could send to the people of Judah.
God is still very active in our world, and He has work to assign to all His servants.
God works through the willing and the eager.
Next time you’re presented with an opportunity to serve Him, take it! Or even better, go search out and ask for opportunities before they’re presented to you.
