Tuesday, May 15, 2012

THE BOOK OF ISAIAH // CHAPTER 6: Send Me


Chapter 6 –Tells the story of Isaiah’s call and his vision of God where he was commissioned as a prophet.
-       Verse 1-2: Isaiah saw God seated on his throne, with two seraphim on either side.
-       Verse 3: The seraphim repeated ‘Holy, holy, holy…’ In Hebrew, emphasis is achieved by repetition, meaning this was the way in the Hebrew language to ascribe the highest holiness to God.
-       Verse 5: Isaiah’s encounter with God and His holiness has revealed to Isaiah his own sinfulness, and he feels unworthy. Compared to God’s holiness, we are nothing.
-       Verse 6-7: Isaiah endures purification by fire, where the seraphim touch his mouth, where speech comes from, with burning coals from the altar of God.
-       Verse 8: Lecrae and 116: Send Me.
-       Verses 9-10: These two verses are Isaiah’s commissioning. He is essentially told by God to go to Judah and preach to the people there, but they will not hear what he says, understand what he says, because their hearts will be hardened so that they will not be able to turn to God and be healed. God has decided that he will purify them through His judgment.
o   This affirms to us that successful evangelism is not winning lives to Jesus Christ. It is taking he initiative, as Isaiah did, to go and submit yourself to sharing God to the people whom you feel He has sent you, and leaving the rest up to Him.



It's short but it's loaded. To start out with lets just look at the image of God that Isaiah presents in the first 4 verses. Imagine a seraphim, a six-winged creature whose voice shakes the Temple's foundations. Imagine the image of God seated on a throne with His robe so long it fills the room. Now imagine you're there before Him, a sinful being, who lives in a sinful world. and now after seeing the face of the Holy God, you are going to die. I love what Isaiah says haha, it's so funny to me. I can just see him throwing his hands up and saying, "That's it. It's been real and it's been fun but it ain't been real fun. I'm doomed." haha. I don't know why that is funny to me but it is. But it's so true. Isaiah knows he's sinful, and he knows that as sinful as he is laying his eyes on the Holy God will bring his death. But God says no, he purifies Isaiah by fire in the symbolic touching of a burning coal from the altar of the Lord to Isaiah's lips. Then Isaiah hears God asking whom shall I send, and Isaiah owns up and says simply, "Me. Send me." Isaiah doesn't know where he is going. He doesn't know who he is going to. He doesn't know what he is supposed to say, he just says, you are God, I am Isaiah, send Me. Thats incredible. I pray for that type of faith and obedience. To not want to know all the details of my life or God's plan, but to just simply say, 'OK God, you win, use me. In whatever way you need. Just use me.'


If you know me you know I couldn't pass up the chance to put a plug in for Lecrae and christian rap music. Not his video but I thought it was pretty cool to go with the song.


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