Some of the clearest moments with God come in seasons we never would have chosen: the year a parent died, the year the job ended, the year everything we leaned on fell away.
Isaiah 6 — KJV
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
Isaiah 6 — WEB
1 In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew. 3 One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. 7 He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” 8 I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!” 9 He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand. You see indeed, but don’t perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until cities are waste without inhabitant, houses without man, the land becomes utterly waste, 12 and Yahweh has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many within the land. 13 If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed, as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stump remains when they are cut down; so the holy seed is its stock.”
Explanation
"In the year that king Uzziah died." Uzziah had ruled Judah for about fifty-two years. For most people alive at the time, he was the only king they had ever known. His death would have felt like losing the patriarch of a family: the person who held everything together is gone, and nobody's sure what comes next.
Into that uncertainty, Isaiah sees the real King. The earthly throne is empty, but heaven's throne is not. The Lord is high and lifted up, and just the hem of His robe fills the temple. Seraphim, whose name connects to the word for burning, cover their faces and feet and call to one another, "Holy, holy, holy." The doorposts shake. Smoke fills the house.
Isaiah's first response isn't excitement. It's "Woe is me! for I am undone." He is a man of "unclean lips," and he lives among people with unclean lips. Notice which body part he names. A prophet's whole job is his mouth, and that's exactly where he feels most unworthy. So that's exactly where God touches him. A coal from the altar is pressed to his lips: "thine iniquity is taken away." God cleanses us at the very point of our calling.
Only then does Isaiah hear the question: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And he answers, "Here am I; send me." No job description. No guarantee of success. In fact, the assignment that follows is hard. The people won't listen. When Isaiah asks, "Lord, how long?" the answer is sobering: until the land is empty. And yet the chapter ends with a stump, a tenth that remains, a "holy seed." Even after the cutting down, God leaves something alive to grow again.
Listen to Isaiah's words, "Here am I." On Sunday, in our lesson The Lord Calls Samuel, a young boy will say those same words, "Here am I," three times in the dark, running to the wrong person each time until he learns who's really calling. Isaiah and Samuel both show us that a calling starts with presence before it ever becomes performance.
Maybe you feel undone this week. Maybe you're sure your past, your mouth, your temper, or your lack of education disqualifies you. Isaiah felt the same way. God didn't wait for him to clean himself up. God did the cleansing, then asked the question. You don't have to know how it turns out to say yes. Some of us are standing in an "in the year that" season right now. It may be the year you finally see the King clearly.
Thought for the Day
Undone, cleansed, and sent. Here I am, Lord.
Reflection Question
What makes you feel unqualified for what God may be asking of you, and what would it look like to say "Here am I" anyway?
Prayer
Holy God, when the things we've leaned on fall away, show us that Your throne is still occupied. Touch the places in us that feel unclean and unworthy. We don't know everything You'll ask of us, but we want to answer like Isaiah. Here we are, Lord. Send us.
This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: The Lord Calls Samuel.