Isaiah Sees the Lord
The year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He sat on a throne, towering and majestic. His robe swept across the temple floor, filling every corner. Above him hovered angels—seraphim. Each had six wings: two covering their faces, two covering their feet, and two for flight. They called out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands heaven’s armies! His glory floods the whole earth!” The doorposts shook at the sound of their voices. Smoke filled the temple.
Cleansed and Called
I cried out, “I’m done for! I’m a man with a filthy mouth, living among people with filthy mouths. And I’ve just seen the King—the Lord who commands heaven’s armies!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me. In his hand he held a burning coal he’d taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “This has touched your lips. Your guilt is gone. Your sin is wiped clean.” Then I heard the Lord’s voice: “Who should I send? Who will go for us?” I said, “I’m here. Send me.”
A Hard Message
He said, “Go tell this people: ‘You’ll hear but never understand. You’ll see but never really get it.’ Make their hearts dull. Plug their ears. Cover their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts—and turn back and be healed.”
I asked, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until the cities lie in ruins with no one left. Until the houses stand empty and the land is completely destroyed. Until the Lord drives everyone far away and the land is abandoned. Even then, a tenth will remain. But they’ll be destroyed again—like an oak or terebinth cut down, leaving only a stump. That stump is the holy seed.”