The Call of Isaiah (Ch. 6). 

        Many have failed to see the prophet’s call here, and have looked on his experience as a sort of “second blessing.” There is nothing to be said for such a view; it only hinders our understanding of the prophet’s message; it would seem to be based upon the failure to realize that in the Scriptures chrono­logical order is always subordinated to the spiritual lesson to be learnt.

        Isaiah was in the Temple court, in fact or in vision, probably at the great autumn feast celebrating God’s sovereignty. The dying leper king symbolized to him the people’s sinfulness.  Now the worship of the seraphim brought home to him the sinfulness of the people’s worship (“unclean lips”). The Israelite recognized that God was holy (qadosh), i.e. separate (See Snaith: The Distinctive Ideas of the Old Testament, ch. II.) from man, but understood it mainly physically, cf. Judges 6:22 (R.V.), 13:22; ISam. 6:19; IISam. 6:6ff. et al. (Obviously the people had to learn respect for God first). Now Isaiah realized that it was above all sin that created the barrier between man and God, though it did not exist for the earth. Note that Isaiah probably did not see the form of Jehovah, for the LXX are correct in interpreting “his face,” “his feet” as referring to God. In any case, it was the glory of the pre-incarnate Son that he saw (John 12:41).

        This stress on the holiness of God runs right through Isaiah, especially in the phrase “the Holy One of Israel,” which occurs twenty-five times in the prophecy, including thirteen times in the second half. (It is found in only six passages out­side Isaiah). Not only is God holy, but Israel should alos be holy.

        Isaiah’s message is one of doom, for his task is one of hardening (6:91). This passage is cited on three occasions in the New Testament, Mark 4; 11f (and parallels); John 12:37-41; Acts 28:25-28; and underlies the whole argument of Rom. 9-11. It should be clearly noted that the New Testa­ment teaching is that the hardening in part (Rom. 11:7, 25, R.V.) came upon Israel because he rejected Christ.

        It is from this moment that Judah ceases to function as a nation in God’s purposes, though her national existence continued for over a century and a half. From now on, God is working out His purpose through a remnant, which is dimly seen in 6:13. The picture is of the tree of the nation hewn down, but the stock or stub left in the earth; from it new life can spring (cf. 11:1).

        We can now justify the position of ch. 6. It will only have as Isaiah saw the people getting harder that he himself have fully realized the implications of his task. Further, we can more easily understand God’s action in the light of chs. 2-5. Though God hardens, there is an antecedent cause in the one hardened.