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The Scriptorium

Isaiah Called

Isaiah's call is a model for our own.

Isaiah’s Remit: Isaiah 1-6 (6)

Pray Psalm 115.1.
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.

Read Isaiah 6.

Reflect.
1. Isaiah’s calling to serve the Lord was pretty dramatic. Are all callings like this? Do all believers have a calling from the Lord?

2. How did God prepare Isaiah for his calling?

Meditate.
In chapters 1-5, God set forth His case against the people of Israel. He also declared that His judgment would fall on them, and that a time of restoration would come, when a remnant of His people would be redeemed and restored to Him. These are the primary motifs of the book of Isaiah, and we shall see how God unpacks more of the details of each theme as the prophet’s book unfolds.

Now God needs someone to represent Him and to make known His will to His people. The calling of Isaiah marks the formal beginning of the prophet’s work.

Uzziah has died, and now Jotham is on the throne (2 Kgs. 15.32-38). He himself did what was right before the Lord, but the people continued to transgress against the Word and will of God, and Jotham seems to have gone along with at least some of their idolatrous behavior. This would leave the door open for his son, Ahaz, to pursue outright rebellion against the Lord (2 Kgs. 16.1-4).

Isaiah’s call begins with a powerful vision of the Lord (vv. 1-4). God knows that, unless we see Him clearly and experience being in His presence, we will not be likely to go out to serve His will (cf. Mk. 3.14, 15). Isaiah’s response to the holiness of God is, appropriately, fear, humbling, and confession of sinfulness (v. 5). God’s response is to cleanse Isaiah and thus to prepare him for his calling (vv. 6, 7).

Let’s consider Isaiah’s calling in broad outline, so that we can better see our own calling in the light of his. First, God declares His intention to send someone (v. 8). Similarly, Jesus has declared that He is sending us to the world in the say way He Himself was sent (Jn. 20.21). Without knowing what he’s being sent for, Isaiah stands forth: “Here am I! Send me!” And only after his willingness to go is determined does God unfold the details of his calling. We can see that Isaiah’s response was to the One Who called him, and not to any of the particulars of what he was being called to do.

Isaiah is called to preach to a people who will not hear him, and will neither understand nor believe his message (v. 9). Indeed, his preaching will only make the people harder of heart and more determined in their rebellion against the Lord (v. 10). Naturally, Isaiah wants to know how long he is to pursue this calling (v. 11). God’s response is: Until the judgment you proclaim begins to occur (vv. 11, 12). We note that Isaiah’s persistence in his calling has nothing to do with people responding favorably, and everything to do with obeying the Lord. 

His calling also includes the promise of restoration for some, even though they will look as dead and unpromising as an old stump (v. 13).

Without a vision of God, and that experience of His presence and cleansing, it is doubtful Isaiah would have taken up such an “unpromising” call. But because he saw the Lord, because he experienced the presence of God and understood the Lord’s will, he could do nothing other than to embrace his calling and carry it out faithfully.

The same must be true for us.

Prepare.
1. Meditate on John 20.21. Why was Jesus sent to the world? Why is He sending you to the world? Can you say that this calling guides and motivates all you do? Explain.

2. How important were Isaiah’s vision and experience of God to his taking up God’s calling for him? What does this suggest for us about fulfilling the calling appointed to us?

3. How would Isaiah measure the success of his calling? How should we measure our success in fulfilling the calling to serve God in our Personal Mission Field?

Do you desire to learn how the powers above pronounce that name; with what awe, with what terror, with what wonder? “I saw the Lord,” says the prophet, “sitting upon a throne, high, and lifted up; around him stood the seraphim; and one cried to another and said, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Do you perceive with what dread, with what awe, they pronounce that name while glorifying and praising him? But you, in your prayers and supplications, call upon him with much listlessness; when it would become you to be full of awe and to be watchful and sober!  John Chrysostom (344-407 AD), Homily Concerning the Statues 7.9

Show me Your glory, Lord, radiating out from Your Word, and send me today to…

Pray Psalm 115.1-18.

We glorify God when we daily fulfill the calling He has appointed to us. Working at our calling is not always pleasant, nor does it always yield abundant fruit for the Kingdom. Offer your calling to the Lord for His glory, and seek His strength to carry it out faithfully today.

Sing to the Lord.
Psalm 115 (Plainfield: Nothing But the Blood of Jesus)
Not to us, O God, not us, but unto Your Name give glory!
For Your love and faithfulness, ever to Your Name be glory!
Why should the nations cry, “Where is their God on high?”
You rule us, Lord, on high: Ever to Your Name be glory!

Idols made by men’s own hand – ever to Your Name be glory –
see nor hear nor understand – ever to Your Name be glory!
They neither feel nor walk, nor can they speak or talk;
All those who serve them fall, but unto Your Name be glory!

All who trust in Jesus yield – ever to His Name be glory –
find in Him their help and shield: Ever to Your Name be glory!
O Israel, trust the Lord!  He helps us evermore!
Fear Him obey His Word: Ever to Your Name be glory!

Blessings from our gracious Lord – ever to Your Name be glory –
will attend us evermore: Ever to Your Name be glory!
Bless all who fear You, Lord, all who obey Your Word,
All who Your Name adore: Ever to Your Name be glory!

Grant us, Savior, great increase: Ever to Your Name be glory!
Bless us with eternal peace: Ever to Your Name be glory!
Heaven and earth are Yours; let every soul adore
And bless You evermore: Ever to Your Name be glory!

T. M. Moore

Where do the prophets fit with the rest of Scripture? How can I be a better student of God’s Word? Our course, Introduction to Biblical Theology, can help you gain a better approach to and understanding of the Scriptures. Watch this brief preview video, then register at The Ailbe Seminary and enroll in this free online course.

Forward today’s lesson to some friends, and challenge them to study with you through this series on Isaiah. Each week’s lessons will be available as a free PDF download at the end of the week. Get a copy for yourself and send the link for the download to your friends. Plan to meet weekly to study Isaiah’s important message.


If you value Scriptorium as a free resource for your walk with the Lord, please consider supporting our work with your gifts and offerings. You can contribute to The Fellowship by clicking the Contribute button  at the website or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).

 

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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