Isaiah 6 records one of the most powerful moments in all of Scripture: Isaiah’s direct vision of the Lord. It becomes the foundation for his entire prophetic ministry.
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple.”
Above Him stood the seraphim—heavenly beings with six wings. With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And they cried out to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”
The moment Isaiah describes is overwhelming. The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of the seraphim, and the temple filled with smoke. This is not a symbolic vision—Isaiah is seeing the holiness of God unveiled.
Isaiah’s Response: “Woe is me”
Isaiah’s immediate reaction is fear:
“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips… for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
In Scripture, anyone who sees God is expected to die because no sinful flesh can stand before perfect holiness. Isaiah knows this. He understands his own uncleanness and the uncleanness of the people he lives among.
But instead of judgment, God sends mercy.
One of the seraphim flies to Isaiah with a burning coal from the altar, touches his lips, and says:
“Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
This is a picture of forgiveness. God cleanses Isaiah so he can stand in His presence and carry out His mission. God does not call without cleansing, and He does not send without equipping.
The Call: “Whom shall I send?”
Then Isaiah hears the Lord speak:
“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
Isaiah responds with the famous words:
“Here I am. Send me.”
But the assignment he receives is not what we might expect.
A Message They Will Not Hear
God tells Isaiah to preach a message that the people will hear—but will not understand. They will see—but will not perceive. Their hearts will be hardened, their ears will be dull, and their eyes will be blind.
Not because God doesn’t want repentance, but because judgment is coming. The people have rejected God repeatedly. Their hard hearts have consequences.
Isaiah asks, “How long, O Lord?”
And God answers:
“Until the cities lie waste without inhabitant… the land is a desolate waste… and though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again… The holy seed is its stump.”
Judgment would fall on the land until only a remnant remains—the “holy seed.” Even the stump would be scorched, but it would not be destroyed. God always preserves a remnant, even in judgment.
Why God Sends a Warning Even When People Won’t Listen
Isaiah is told from the beginning that the people will not respond. But God still sends him.
Why?
Because when the destruction comes—when cities lie waste, when the land is stripped bare—the people will know that the Lord warned them. The purpose of prophecy is not only to turn people before judgment but also to reveal God in judgment. When the events unfold exactly as He said, there will be no question who is in control.
This is God’s mercy even in wrath:
He warns so that when the shaking comes, the people will know that it was the Lord.