Isaiah 6:8 - Here Am I; Send Me.
Isaiah 6:8 - Here Am I; Send Me.
Isaiah 6:8 (NKJV) Also 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."
CONTEXT
Isaiah's Commission: Isaiah 6:1-13.
COMMENTARY APPLICATION with Emphasis on v. 8.
In a time of moral and spiritual decay in the kingdom of
Judah, the prophet Isaiah was allowed to witness the glory of God's
holiness. Holy means morally pure, perfect, and set apart from all sin.
When Isaiah saw the seraphim (angels), the throne, and the Lord whose
robe filled the Temple, he realized his own unworthiness to be in the
Lord's presence. Then one of the seraphim touched his lips with a
burning coal and told Isaiah that his sins had been forgiven. It was not
the coal that brought forgiveness, but God's willingness to cleanse
Isaiah from his unrighteousness. Isaiah responded by giving himself
over totally to God's service.
We have no hope of measuring up to God's holiness on our own.
But when we confess our sins and submit to God's control, God is
faithful to forgive and cleanse us. The process may be as painful as a
hot coal, but it is necessary. Isaiah never set out to be a prophet,
but his encounter with the holy God changed his life forever.
Imagine what God can do through you if you'll let him! [The One Year
Bible for New Believers re Isa.6:1-8]
As the prophet listened, the glory, the power, and the majesty
of the Lord was opened to his vision; and in the light of this
revelation his own inward defilement appeared with startling clearness. His
very words seemed vile to him. In deep humiliation he cried, "Woe is
me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips: . . . for
mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." {GW 21.3}
Isaiah's humiliation was genuine. As the contrast between
humanity and the divine character was made plain to him, he felt
altogether inefficient and unworthy. How could he speak to the people the
holy requirements of Jehovah? {GW 22.1}
"Then flew one of the seraphim unto me," he writes, "having a
live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the
altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched
thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."
{GW 22.2}
Then Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I
send, and who will go for us?" and strengthened by the thought of the
divine touch, he answered, "Here am I; send me." {GW 22.3}
As God's ministers look by faith into the holy of holies, and
see the work of our great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary,
they realize that they are men of unclean lips, men whose tongues
have often spoken vanity. Well may they despair as they contrast
their own unworthiness with the perfection of Christ. With contrition
of heart, feeling wholly unworthy and unfit for their great work,
they cry,"I am undone." But if, like Isaiah, they humble their hearts
before God, the work done for the prophet will be performed for them.
Their lips will be touched with a live coal from off the altar, and
they will lose sight of self in a sense of the greatness and power of
God and His readiness to help them. They will realize the sacredness
of the work entrusted to them, and will be led to abhor everything
that would cause them to dishonor Him who has sent them forth with
His message. {GW 22.4}
The live coal is symbolical of purification, and it also
represents the potency of the efforts of God's true servants. To those who
make so full a consecration that the Lord can place His touch upon
their lips, the word is spoken, Go forth into the harvest-field. I
will co-operate with you. {GW 23.1}
The minister who has received this preparation will be a power
for good in the world. His words will be right words, pure and true,
fraught with sympathy and love; his actions will be right actions, a
help and a blessing to the weak. Christ will be to him an abiding
presence, controlling thought, word, and deed. He has pledged himself to
overcome pride, covetousness, selfishness. As he seeks to fulfil this
pledge, he gains spiritual strength. By daily communion with God he
becomes mighty in a knowledge of the Scriptures. His fellowship is with
the Father and the Son; and as he constantly obeys the divine will,
he becomes daily better fitted to speak words that will guide
wandering souls to the fold of Christ. {GW 23.2}
There are those who have known the pardoning love of Christ and
who really desire to be children of God, yet they realize that their
character is imperfect, their life faulty, and they are ready to doubt
whether their hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. To such I
would say, Do not draw back in despair. We shall often have to bow
down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our shortcomings and
mistakes, but we are not to be discouraged. Even if we are overcome by the
enemy, we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected of God. No;
Christ is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us. Said the beloved John, "These things write I unto you, that ye
sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous." 1 John 2:1. And do not forget the words
of Christ, "The Father Himself loveth you." John 16:27. He desires
to restore you to Himself, to see His own purity and holiness
reflected in you. And if you will but yield yourself to Him, He that hath
begun a good work in you will carry it forward to the day of Jesus
Christ. Pray more fervently; believe more fully. As we come to distrust
our own power, let us trust the power of our Redeemer, and we shall
praise Him who is the health of our countenance. SC62-4
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for
me. Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)
www.aBible.com
