Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Pre-exilic Prophets 2 (4)
Pray Psalm 71.23, 24.
My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You,
And my soul, which You have redeemed.
My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long;
For they are confounded,
For they are brought to shame
Who seek my hurt.
Sing Psalm 71.23, 24 (3).
(Solid Rock: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less)
My lips with joy and praises ring; to You, Redeemer, praise I bring!
I praise Your goodness all day long; LORD, humble all who do me wrong.
Refrain
A Rock of habitation be; command Your Word to rescue me;
my Rock and Fortress ever be.
Read and meditate on Isaiah 6.1-13.
Preparation
1. What did God call Isaiah to do?
2. What did he tell him about his ministry?
Meditation
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). Our God is a sending God, and we, like Isaiah, are all sent to live and speak for Him. Our model in this is Jesus, Who sends us to our world in the same way the Father sent Him (Jn. 20.21). More on that shortly.
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 same way He Himself was sent. 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.
Jesus calls us every day to follow Him in bringing the Kingdom of God near to our world. As He was sent, so also are we, like Isaiah, to proclaim Good News and show the difference knowing, loving, and serving Jesus can make. No matter that few will respond (Is. 6.13). We have been sent to embody and proclaim the Good News. The disposition of the seeds we sow is in the hands of the Lord (1 Cor. 3.5-7).
How long must we persevere in this (v. 11)? Until the good pleasure of God is fulfilled, and all His enemies are destroyed and His chosen ones are gathered unto Him.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
When we can fully see and understand the holiness of God, our only response will be, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” (Is. 6.5).
The LORD God sitting on His majestic throne, with the train of His robe filling the temple, while six-winged seraphim cry out loudly to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” is a very powerful and overwhelming scene. This is not a God to be trifled or tinkered with. Or a God to be ignored. His glory and perfection illuminate our undoneness. Conviction and repentance our only response. “For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Is. 6.5).
We have seen the redemptive power of Jesus, the King. As Job proclaimed: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19.25-27).
We have been saved for a purpose. And that purpose is to do the will of God. And our response should be as measured and true as Isaiah’s, whose response “was to the One Who called him, and not to any of the particulars of what he was being called to do”. With the job description still undisclosed he willingly proclaimed: “Here am I! Send me” (Is. 6.8).
When God asks His children (more specifically you and me): “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (Is. 6.8), our immediate response should be: “send me”. That was Isaiah’s and Jesus’ response. And Jesus graciously added us into the equation: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (Jn. 20.21).
Precedent set.
Terms clarified and simplified:
“You follow Me” (Jn. 21.22). Period.
Hark, the voice of Jesus calling, “Who will go and work today?
Fields are white, and harvest waiting, who will bear the sheaves away?”
Loud and long the Master calleth, rich reward He offers free;
Who will answer, gladly saying, “Here am I; send me, send me”?
If you cannot be the watchman standing high on Zion’s wall,
Pointing out the path to heaven, offering life and peace to all,
If you cannot speak like angels, if you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus, you can say, “He died for all”.
Let none hear you idly saying, “There is nothing I can do”,
While the souls of men are dying, and the Master calls for you:
Take the task He gives you gladly; let His work your pleasure be;
Answer quickly when He calleth, “Here am I; send me, send me”.
(Daniel March, 1868)
Reflection
1. What task has Jesus give you for today? How will others know that you have taken it gladly?
2. How can you make Isaiah’s response to the Lord a more permanent feature of your own prayers?
3. How would you explain to a new believer what it means to be called and sent by Jesus?
O divine secrets of Scripture! As long as Isaiah’s tongue was treacherous and his lips unclean, the Lord does not say to him, Whom shall I send, and who shall go? His lips are cleansed, and immediately he is appointed the Lord’s spokesman… Jerome (347-420), Homilies on the Psalms 41 (Psalm 119)
Pray Psalm 71.17-22.
Pray that the Lord will continue to teach and equip you every day, that He will revive you and fill you with His Spirit, and that He will be with you as you work your Personal Mission Field today.
Sing Psalm 71.17-22 (3).
(Solid Rock: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less)
O LORD, I praise Your righteousness Who me from youth have taught and blessed.
Forsake me not when I am old, ‘til I Your mercies all have told!
Refrain
A Rock of habitation be; command Your Word to rescue me;
my Rock and Fortress ever be.
Your righteous deeds are great and true. O God, there is no one like You!
Though many troubles I have seen, You will revive my soul again!
Refrain
Increase my greatness, comfort me, and unto You shall praises be.
Your truth I will exalt full well, O Holy One of Israel!
Refrain
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
