Isaiah 6 Study Notes: Isaiah's Vision and Commission
In the year King Uzziah dies, Isaiah sees the Lord enthroned in the temple while seraphim proclaim His holiness. Confessing his sin, Isaiah is cleansed by a coal from the altar and volunteers to go, but is sent with a hardening message until the land is ruined and only a holy stump remains.
General
What does the seraph declare after touching Isaiah's lips with the coal (6:6-7)?
Answer: His guilt is removed and his sin is fully covered
A seraph flew to Isaiah with a burning coal lifted from the altar with tongs and touched his mouth with it, declaring that his iniquity was taken away and his sin atoned for (6:6-7). Atonement means sin is covered and dealt with so that the sinner can be accepted by God. Isaiah did not cleanse himself; God took the initiative, using fire from the altar, the place of sacrifice. Grace came before the commission: the man who confessed his unclean lips is cleansed at the lips and then sent to speak. Zechariah saw the same grace when the high priest Joshua's filthy clothes were taken off and he was told that his iniquity had been removed (Zechariah 3:4). David calls blessed the one whose sins God has covered (Psalm 32:1), and John writes that Jesus' blood cleanses believers from every sin (1 John 1:7), the sacrifice to which every altar pointed.
- Isaiah 6:6-7 (BSB)“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And with it he touched my mouth and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for.””A seraph touches Isaiah's lips with a coal from the altar and declares him cleansed.
- Zechariah 3:4 (BSB)“So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.””The high priest Joshua likewise has his iniquity removed and is promised splendid robes.
- Psalm 32:1 (BSB)“Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”David calls blessed the one whose sins God has forgiven and covered.
- 1 John 1:7 (BSB)“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”John points to the blood of God's Son as what cleanses from all sin.
Theological
What declaration accompanies the touch of the coal in 6:6-7?
Answer: His guilt is removed and his sin is fully covered
The seraph takes a live coal off the altar and applies it to Isaiah's lips, declaring his guilt removed and his sin atoned for (6:6-7). The cleansing is wholly God's initiative, drawn from the altar of sacrifice and applied to the very point of confessed uncleanness; forgiveness precedes and qualifies the commission. Zechariah 3:4 shows the same gracious removal of iniquity from the high priest Joshua, Psalm 32:1 pronounces blessed the one whose sin is covered, and 1 John 1:7 names the blood of Christ as the reality to which the altar pointed.
- Isaiah 6:6-7 (BSB)“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And with it he touched my mouth and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for.””A seraph touches Isaiah's lips with a coal from the altar and declares him cleansed.
- Zechariah 3:4 (BSB)“So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.””The high priest Joshua likewise has his iniquity removed and is promised splendid robes.
- Psalm 32:1 (BSB)“Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”David calls blessed the one whose sins God has forgiven and covered.
- 1 John 1:7 (BSB)“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”John points to the blood of God's Son as what cleanses from all sin.
General
How does Isaiah answer the Lord's call in 6:8?
Answer: He offers himself at once, asking to be sent
The Lord then asks whom He will send to go on His behalf, and the cleansed prophet immediately volunteers, asking to be sent (6:8). The order matters: Isaiah is first humbled, then forgiven, then sent. His readiness is the response of a forgiven man, not the boast of a worthy one. Jeremiah was told he must go to everyone to whom the LORD sent him and speak whatever He commanded (Jeremiah 1:7). Jesus told His disciples to pray that the harvest's Lord would send laborers (Matthew 9:37-38), and Paul asks how people will hear unless preachers are sent (Romans 10:14-15).
- Isaiah 6:8 (BSB)“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!””The Lord's call and Isaiah's answer.
- Jeremiah 1:7 (BSB)“But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.”Jeremiah is told he must go wherever the LORD sends him and speak His words.
- Matthew 9:37-38 (BSB)“Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.””Jesus tells His disciples to pray that God will send laborers.
- Romans 10:14-15 (BSB)“How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!””Paul shows that people hear God's message only when preachers are sent.
Theological
What is Isaiah's response to the divine call in 6:8?
Answer: He offers himself at once, asking to be sent
The Lord asks whom He will send, and Isaiah, newly cleansed, answers at once by offering himself (6:8). The sequence of the chapter is significant: vision, conviction, atonement, commission. Service flows from grace received, not from prior worthiness. Jeremiah 1:7 shows the sent prophet's obligation, Matthew 9:37-38 grounds the sending of laborers in the harvest's Lord, and Romans 10:14-15 makes the sending of messengers necessary for the hearing of faith.
- Isaiah 6:8 (BSB)“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!””The Lord's call and Isaiah's answer.
- Jeremiah 1:7 (BSB)“But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.”Jeremiah is told he must go wherever the LORD sends him and speak His words.
- Matthew 9:37-38 (BSB)“Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.””Jesus tells His disciples to pray that God will send laborers.
- Romans 10:14-15 (BSB)“How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!””Paul shows that people hear God's message only when preachers are sent.
General
When Isaiah asks how long, what final picture of hope does the Lord give in 6:13?
Answer: A holy seed remaining like a stump from a felled tree
Isaiah asks how long this hardening will last, and the Lord answers: until the cities are ruined and empty, the houses deserted, the land wasted, and the people sent far away (6:11-12). Even if a tenth is left, that too will be burned (6:13). Yet the chapter ends with hope: just as a terebinth or an oak leaves a stump after it is felled, a holy seed will remain like the stump of a felled tree (6:13). This is the remnant, the part of God's people He preserves through judgment. Job notes that a felled tree can sprout again from its stump (Job 14:7-9), and Isaiah later promises a new shoot from Jesse's stump (11:1). Isaiah says that only a remnant of Israel would come back though they were as many as the sand (10:22), and Paul speaks of a remnant God chose by grace (Romans 11:5).
- Isaiah 6:11-13 (BSB)“Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged, until the LORD has driven men far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will be burned again. As the terebinth and oak leave stumps when felled, so the holy seed will be a stump in the land.””The Lord answers how long the hardening will last and ends with a surviving stump.
- Job 14:7-9 (BSB)“For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail. If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil, at the scent of water it will bud and put forth twigs like a sapling.”Job notes that a felled tree's stump can sprout again.
- Isaiah 11:1 (BSB)“Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.”Isaiah later promises a shoot from the stump of Jesse.
- Isaiah 10:22 (BSB)“Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overflowing with righteousness.”Isaiah says only a remnant of Israel will return.
- Romans 11:5 (BSB)“In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.”Paul grounds the remnant in God's gracious choice.
Theological
In answer to Isaiah's question of how long, what closing image of hope does 6:13 give?
Answer: A holy seed remaining like a stump from a felled tree
The hardening lasts until judgment runs its full course: cities desolate, houses empty, the land ruined and the people removed far away (6:11-12), with even a surviving tenth burned again (6:13). Yet the chapter ends with the stump of a felled terebinth or oak: the holy seed is that stump (6:13). The remnant survives judgment by God's preserving purpose, and the stump image anticipates the shoot from Jesse's stump in 11:1 (compare Job 14:7-9). The same remnant theology appears in 10:22 and is grounded by Paul in election by grace (Romans 11:5).
- Isaiah 6:11-13 (BSB)“Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged, until the LORD has driven men far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will be burned again. As the terebinth and oak leave stumps when felled, so the holy seed will be a stump in the land.””The Lord answers how long the hardening will last and ends with a surviving stump.
- Job 14:7-9 (BSB)“For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail. If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil, at the scent of water it will bud and put forth twigs like a sapling.”Job notes that a felled tree's stump can sprout again.
- Isaiah 11:1 (BSB)“Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.”Isaiah later promises a shoot from the stump of Jesse.
- Isaiah 10:22 (BSB)“Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overflowing with righteousness.”Isaiah says only a remnant of Israel will return.
- Romans 11:5 (BSB)“In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.”Paul grounds the remnant in God's gracious choice.
General
In 6:9-10, what effect is Isaiah's preaching said to have on the people?
Answer: It will harden them so they neither understand nor turn
God sends Isaiah with a hard message: the people will keep hearing without understanding and keep looking without perceiving, and his preaching will make their hearts dull, their ears heavy and their eyes shut, so that they do not turn and receive healing (6:9-10). This is judicial hardening, God's judgment on a people who had already abandoned Him and scorned Him (1:4). Hardening means God confirms people in the blindness they have chosen. They remain fully responsible, and God is not the author of their sin; He justly gives them over to what they insisted on. Jesus said that this prophecy was fulfilled in those who heard His parables without understanding (Matthew 13:13-15). John explains that the people could not believe in Jesus, quoting Isaiah's words that God had made their eyes blind and their hearts hard (John 12:39-40). In Rome, when some of the Jewish listeners were persuaded but others would not believe, Paul quoted the same words to them as they left (Acts 28:24-27).
- Isaiah 6:9-10 (BSB)“And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.””Isaiah's commission includes a message that will harden its hearers.
- Isaiah 1:4 (BSB)“Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who act corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.”Before this commission the people had already forsaken the LORD and turned their backs on Him.
- Matthew 13:13-15 (BSB)“This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’”Jesus says this prophecy is fulfilled in those who hear His parables without understanding.
- John 12:39-40 (BSB)“For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.””John quotes this passage to explain why the people did not believe in Jesus.
- Acts 28:24-27 (BSB)“Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe. They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit was right when He spoke to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’”When some in Rome refused to believe, Paul quoted these words to his departing hearers.
Theological
What effect does 6:9-10 say Isaiah's ministry will have on the people?
Answer: It will harden them so they neither understand nor turn
Isaiah's commission is a ministry of judicial hardening: his preaching will render the people's hearts insensible, their ears dull and their eyes closed, lest they perceive, repent and find healing (6:9-10). The hardening is judgment on a nation that had already forsaken the LORD (1:4); God confirms them in their chosen unbelief, righteously and without being the author of their sin, while they remain wholly culpable. The New Testament applies the text to those who heard Jesus' parables without understanding (Matthew 13:13-15), to the people who could not believe in Jesus because God had made their eyes blind and their hearts hard (John 12:39-40), and to the Jewish hearers in Rome, some of whom refused to believe Paul's preaching (Acts 28:24-27), showing God's sovereignty over both the giving and the withholding of spiritual sight.
- Isaiah 6:9-10 (BSB)“And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.””Isaiah's commission includes a message that will harden its hearers.
- Isaiah 1:4 (BSB)“Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who act corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.”Before this commission the people had already forsaken the LORD and turned their backs on Him.
- Matthew 13:13-15 (BSB)“This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’”Jesus says this prophecy is fulfilled in those who hear His parables without understanding.
- John 12:39-40 (BSB)“For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.””John quotes this passage to explain why the people did not believe in Jesus.
- Acts 28:24-27 (BSB)“Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe. They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit was right when He spoke to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’”When some in Rome refused to believe, Paul quoted these words to his departing hearers.
General
What do the seraphim call to each other in 6:3?
Answer: That God is utterly holy and His glory fills the whole earth
Above the Lord stood seraphim, heavenly beings each with six wings: two covering their faces, two covering their feet, and two for flying (6:2). They called to one another with a threefold cry of God's holiness and declared that His glory fills all the earth (6:3), and at the sound the doorposts shook and smoke filled the house (6:4). Holiness means God is set apart, utterly pure and above all creation; saying the word three times stresses it to the highest degree. The living creatures around God's throne in Revelation never stop giving the same threefold cry (Revelation 4:8). In a solemn oath God declared that His glory fills the world (Numbers 14:21), and Habakkuk looks for knowledge of that glory to cover the earth as fully as the sea is covered by water (Habakkuk 2:14).
- Isaiah 6:2-4 (BSB)“Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.”The seraphim's appearance and cry, and the temple's response.
- Revelation 4:8 (BSB)“And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!””The living creatures around God's throne give the same threefold cry without ceasing.
- Numbers 14:21 (BSB)““Yet as surely as I live and as surely as the whole earth is filled with the glory of the LORD,”In a solemn oath God declares that His glory fills the world.
- Habakkuk 2:14 (BSB)“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”Habakkuk looks for the day when knowing the LORD's glory covers the earth.
Theological
What do the seraphim proclaim as they call to one another in 6:3?
Answer: That God is utterly holy and His glory fills the whole earth
The six-winged seraphim, covering face and feet in reverence (6:2), call to each other the thrice-repeated holiness of the LORD and the filling of the whole earth with His glory (6:3); the thresholds shake and smoke fills the house (6:4). The threefold repetition expresses holiness in the superlative: God is utterly set apart in majesty and moral purity. Revelation 4:8 takes up the same cry around the throne, while Numbers 14:21 and Habakkuk 2:14 speak of the earth filled with the LORD's glory.
- Isaiah 6:2-4 (BSB)“Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.”The seraphim's appearance and cry, and the temple's response.
- Revelation 4:8 (BSB)“And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!””The living creatures around God's throne give the same threefold cry without ceasing.
- Numbers 14:21 (BSB)““Yet as surely as I live and as surely as the whole earth is filled with the glory of the LORD,”In a solemn oath God declares that His glory fills the world.
- Habakkuk 2:14 (BSB)“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”Habakkuk looks for the day when knowing the LORD's glory covers the earth.
General
How does Isaiah respond when he sees the King in 6:5?
Answer: He cries woe, confessing his own sin and his people's
Isaiah's first response is not excitement but dread. He cries woe on himself and says he is ruined, because his own speech is unclean and he lives among a people whose speech is unclean too, yet he has seen the King with his own eyes (6:5). Just before, Isaiah pronounced six woes on Judah (5:8-23); now he pronounces one on himself. Seeing God's holiness exposes the sinfulness of the prophet as well as the nation. God had told Moses that a person cannot see His face and live (Exodus 33:20). Job, after meeting God, despised himself and repented (Job 42:5-6), and Peter, seeing Jesus' power, fell at His knees confessing that he was sinful (Luke 5:8). Every person has sinned and lacks God's glory (Romans 3:23); no one can stand before the Holy One on his own merit.
- Isaiah 6:5 (BSB)“Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.””Isaiah's response to seeing the King.
- Exodus 33:20 (BSB)“But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.””God told Moses that a person cannot see His face and live.
- Job 42:5-6 (BSB)“My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes.””Job, after seeing God, despised himself and repented.
- Luke 5:8 (BSB)“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.””Peter, confronted with Jesus' power, confessed his sinfulness at Jesus' knees.
- Romans 3:23 (BSB)“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”Paul states that every person has sinned and falls short of God's glory.
Theological
What is Isaiah's response to the vision of the King in 6:5?
Answer: He cries woe, confessing his own sin and his people's
Isaiah pronounces a woe on himself: he is undone, a man whose lips are unclean, living in the midst of a nation in the same condition, for his eyes have beheld the divine King (6:5). After the six woes on Judah (5:8-23), a woe now falls on the prophet himself. The vision of God's holiness exposes universal sinfulness, prophet included. Exodus 33:20 explains the dread, Job 42:5-6 and Luke 5:8 show the same response of self-abasement before God's presence, and Romans 3:23 states the universal condition behind it.
- Isaiah 6:5 (BSB)“Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.””Isaiah's response to seeing the King.
- Exodus 33:20 (BSB)“But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.””God told Moses that a person cannot see His face and live.
- Job 42:5-6 (BSB)“My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes.””Job, after seeing God, despised himself and repented.
- Luke 5:8 (BSB)“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.””Peter, confronted with Jesus' power, confessed his sinfulness at Jesus' knees.
- Romans 3:23 (BSB)“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”Paul states that every person has sinned and falls short of God's glory.
General
When did Isaiah's vision take place, and how did he see the Lord (6:1)?
Answer: The year Uzziah died; enthroned on high, His robe filling the temple
Isaiah dates his vision to the year King Uzziah died (6:1). Uzziah had become a leper and was barred from the temple until his death (2 Chronicles 26:21). In that year Isaiah saw the true King: the Lord enthroned on a lofty, exalted throne, the long train of His royal robe filling the temple (6:1; see 6:5). Like the prophet Micaiah, who saw the LORD on His throne with heaven's armies beside Him (1 Kings 22:19), Isaiah is shown the heavenly court. John's Gospel adds a striking detail: the glory Isaiah saw was the glory of Jesus, and Isaiah was speaking about Him (John 12:41). The Lord on the throne is the eternal Son, who shares the one divine glory with the Father and the Spirit.
- Isaiah 6:1 (BSB)“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple.”Isaiah dates and describes his vision of the Lord.
- 2 Chronicles 26:21 (BSB)“So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He lived in isolation, leprous and cut off from the house of the LORD, while his son Jotham had charge of the royal palace and governed the people of the land.”Uzziah spent his last years as a leper, barred from the temple, until he died.
- 1 Kings 22:19 (BSB)“Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.”The prophet Micaiah was likewise shown the LORD on His throne in the heavenly court.
- John 12:41 (BSB)“Isaiah said these things because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him.”John identifies the glory Isaiah saw as the glory of Jesus.
Theological
How does 6:1 date Isaiah's vision, and how is the Lord described?
Answer: The year Uzziah died; enthroned on high, His robe filling the temple
The vision is set in the year King Uzziah died (6:1), the end of a reign that closed with the king a leper excluded from the LORD's house (2 Chronicles 26:21). Against that backdrop Isaiah sees the true King, the Lord enthroned high and lifted up, His royal robe filling the temple (6:1, 5), a throne-room vision like Micaiah's (1 Kings 22:19). John 12:41 states that the glory Isaiah saw was Jesus' glory and that Isaiah spoke of Him: the Lord of Isaiah 6 is identified with the preincarnate Son, who shares the one glory of the triune God.
- Isaiah 6:1 (BSB)“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple.”Isaiah dates and describes his vision of the Lord.
- 2 Chronicles 26:21 (BSB)“So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He lived in isolation, leprous and cut off from the house of the LORD, while his son Jotham had charge of the royal palace and governed the people of the land.”Uzziah spent his last years as a leper, barred from the temple, until he died.
- 1 Kings 22:19 (BSB)“Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.”The prophet Micaiah was likewise shown the LORD on His throne in the heavenly court.
- John 12:41 (BSB)“Isaiah said these things because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him.”John identifies the glory Isaiah saw as the glory of Jesus.