Isaiah’s prophecies are dated in the 700s BC range. The nation had to wait until 538 BC for the prophecy about Cyrus, the Persian king, to be realized and be freed to return home from exile.
It’s not easy to wait. That’s why instant popcorn and faster Internet service are so popular. Imagine the wait to be endured for the fortunes of millions of exiles to change during one generation after another.
My cell phone was out of service for a day or two recently. I didn’t need it, but still found myself checking over and over again to see if it was back in service. Needless to say, I am not very good at waiting.
Can you imagine living year after year in oppressive exile in a foreign land? The Hebrew people were defeated in war and living as slaves. We can be certain that God heard both complaints and appeals for mercy from these people.
The people didn’t see how God was working in their history, and neither did they comprehend the depth of His character. Isaiah’s words in chapter 45 highlight both God’s activity and His character.
Woe to those who strive with their Maker,
earthen vessels with the potter!
Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making”?
or “Your work has no handles”?
Woe to anyone who says to a father, “What are you fathering?”
or to a woman, “With what are you in labor?”
Thus says the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel and its Maker:
Will you question me about my children
or command me concerning the work of my hands?
I made the earth
and created humankind upon it;
it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their host. (Isaiah 45:9-12)
If we are not fully formed with complete information about God’s character, it is natural to see Him as nothing more than a bigger version of a human being.
Suppose we have experienced loving parents, then the next step is to see God as a bigger and better version of a loving father or mother. On the other hand, if we have been injured by a violent, judgmental, or worse parent, it is difficult to call God, “Father.”
The sheer size of the universe can be a challenge to faith when we contemplate God as the Creator. It’s almost beyond comprehension to attribute to God large enough powers to create and order the universe. A God who is understood as a bigger and better human may be inconceivable as the Creator of the material universe.
Faith is needed to see God as something completely different from a bigger version of a human. After all, we have no frame of reference in the natural world to understand such a Being.
It helps us to understand God by way of analogy. We are familiar with pottery and comprehend how the potter has complete freedom to fashion the clay. The clay creation is the potter’s work, and the final product is their responsibility.
It is inconceivable for clay pots to gather together and argue with the potter about what they are doing.
We may tire of slow-cooking popcorn and Internet speeds. We may complain that our cell phone service is not working properly. We may even cry out over oppression and abuse that takes place over generations. All of these complaints do not take into consideration God’s character and activity on our behalf.
The Hebrews didn’t see defeat and the exile as prefigured in Isaiah’s call. Let’s take a look at Isaiah’s call for a minute and relate it to God’s work in these events.
(1) Isaiah 6:1-4 details the time when Isaiah saw God in a completely new way. God was more than a bigger-than-human version of a deity. God’s awesome presence shook the prophet’s understanding and experience of Him.
Isaiah’s audience and people today are in desperate need of a similar encounter with God. When we pray, “Hallowed be Your Name” (Matthew 6:9), we are asking God to transport our hearts and minds to a place where we revere His character and nature. It is in this place we begin to see God for who He actually is.
(2) All pride and self-confidence is lost in the presence of God. Isaiah knew his lips expressed the character of his heart, and it was not good.
And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5)
Israel’s exile was essential because the people needed to understand their spiritual condition before God. They had to be stripped of their self-serving and arrogant attitudes.
Exile, whether physical or spiritual, sometimes takes a long time because humans need to fully recognize our “lost” nature before we turn to God in faith and obedience.
(3) In Isaiah’s vision, a seraph touched a live coal to his lips, signifying forgiveness.
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.
The seraph touched my mouth with it and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” (Isaiah 6:6-7)
Israel’s exile was the “live coal” experience of their lives. Had they been able to see the world through Isaiah’s vision, they may have more readily accepted their desperate condition. Instead, it took years for the clay to realize that they were being molded by the potter.
The same is true for us. Sometimes, it takes years of spiritual and emotional exile for us to drop our pride and self-will. The path to the Lord is often painful because the journey from willfulness to willingness is difficult.
We all will do well to respond to God’s call through the prophet.
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:22)
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 