Commentary - Isaiah 6:8-13

Bird's-eye view

In this latter portion of Isaiah 6, we come to the prophet's commission. Having been undone by the vision of God's holiness (v. 5) and then cleansed by a coal from the altar (vv. 6-7), Isaiah is now fit for service. The Lord poses a question to the heavenly council, and Isaiah, full of forgiven gratitude, volunteers immediately (v. 8). But the commission he receives is a hard and startling one. He is not sent to spark a national revival, but rather to preach a message that will judicially harden the people of Judah in their rebellion (vv. 9-10). This is a sovereign work of God, a judgment that is itself a message. When Isaiah asks how long this terrible ministry must continue, the answer is equally stark: until the land is utterly desolate and the people are exiled (vv. 11-12). And yet, in the final verse, after the pronouncement of near total destruction, a sliver of indestructible hope remains. A tenth will survive the first burning, and out of the final charred stump, a holy seed will remain (v. 13). This is the gospel promise of the remnant, the seed from which the Messiah will one day spring.

Outline

Context In Isaiah

This passage cannot be understood apart from what immediately precedes it. Isaiah's commission is not given to him in a vacuum. It is given to a man who has just seen the Lord, high and lifted up, whose train filled the temple. It is given to a man who has confessed his own utter sinfulness in the presence of that holiness. And most importantly, it is given to a man who has been graciously and sovereignly cleansed. His sin is atoned for. It is only the forgiven man who can undertake such a difficult ministry. A man still in his sins would either be crushed by the message or become proud in delivering it. But the forgiven man, Isaiah, is free to be a pure instrument, delivering the word of the Lord without fear or favor. His immediate and unhesitating "Here am I. Send me!" is the natural fruit of a soul overwhelmed by grace.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

The first thing to notice is the shift in pronouns. The Lord asks whom "I" shall send, and then immediately asks who will go for "Us." This is one of those places in the Old Testament where the curtain is pulled back for a moment and we catch a glimpse of the triune nature of God. The one God speaks as a plurality of persons. This is the divine council, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, determining to send a messenger to their rebellious people. Isaiah, having just been cleansed, overhears this heavenly consultation. His response is immediate. He does not ask about the pay, the difficulty, or the 401k plan. He simply volunteers. "Here am I. Send me!" This is the heart of true worship. A man who has truly seen his sin and God's grace is not looking for the easiest path, but for the opportunity to serve the God who saved him.

v. 9-10 He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not know.’ Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”

Here is the shocking nature of the commission. God tells Isaiah to go and preach in such a way that the people will be confirmed in their unbelief. The Word of God is a two-edged sword. It is a savor of life unto life for the elect, and it is a savor of death unto death for the reprobate. Isaiah's preaching is to be the instrument of this judicial hardening. God is not simply predicting their unbelief; He is commanding the means of it. This is a terrifying doctrine, but a biblical one. When a people persistently rebel against the light, there comes a point where God gives them over to the darkness they love. He commands Isaiah to "render" their hearts insensitive. The purpose of this hardening is stated negatively: "Lest they see... and hear... and understand... and return and be healed." God is sovereignly closing the door of repentance on this generation as a whole. This is a hard word, and it is the same word Jesus quotes to explain why He taught in parables (Matt. 13:14-15). The gospel itself divides the hearers into those who have ears to hear, and those who do not.

v. 11-12 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He said, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people, And the land is devastated to desolation, And Yahweh has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.”

Isaiah's response is one of pastoral anguish. "How long?" How long must this ministry of hardening continue? How long will this judgment last? The answer is breathtaking in its severity. This is not a temporary spiritual slump that will be followed by a quick revival. The judgment will continue until the entire social and civic fabric of the nation is destroyed. Cities, houses, and the land itself will be laid waste. The judgment culminates in exile, with the Lord removing the people far away. This is a prophecy of the Babylonian captivity, a total societal collapse. God's judgments are not half-measures. When He sets His hand to judge a rebellious covenant people, the judgment is thorough.

v. 13 Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or like an oak Whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump.”

And here, at the end of this bleak prophecy, the gospel shines forth. After the devastation, a remnant will remain, a "tenth portion." But even this remnant is not safe; it too will be "subject to burning." The judgment is comprehensive. But after all the cutting and burning, something remains. The nation will be like a great tree that has been felled, leaving only a stump. To all outward appearances, it is dead. But God says that within that dead-looking stump, there is life. "The holy seed is its stump." This is the doctrine of the faithful remnant, the indestructible promise of God. Though Israel as a nation will be judged, God will preserve a seed. This seed is the line of promise that runs all the way to Christ. The stump looks like a failure, like the end of the story. But God says it is the very place where the future is hidden. From this stump, the Branch of Jesse will one day grow (Isaiah 11:1). The hope of Israel, and of the world, is not in the health of the tree, but in the faithfulness of the God who preserves the holy seed in the stump.

Application

First, we must understand that a faithful ministry is not always a "successful" ministry by the world's standards. Isaiah was called to a ministry that would result in empty synagogues, not full ones. Faithfulness is measured by our obedience to the Word God has given us, not by the visible response of the crowd. Sometimes, the faithful preaching of the gospel hardens hearts, and this is also part of God's sovereign plan.

Second, we should not be surprised by the severity of God's judgments in history. When cultures and nations that have been blessed with the light of the gospel turn their backs on God, they should expect a judgment that is as thorough as the one described here. We should not be sentimentalists, thinking that God will not deal with our nation as He dealt with ancient Israel.

Finally, our ultimate hope must be located where God has located it, in the "holy seed." Our hope is not in political movements, cultural renewal, or our own efforts. Our hope is in the stump. It is in Jesus Christ, the one who was cut down and killed, buried in the ground like a dead seed. But from that death, He rose again, and He is the holy seed from whom the new creation grows. Even when everything looks like a wasteland, the promise of God in Christ is the one indestructible reality.