The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1917-06-28
LESSON FOR JULY I
lSAiAH'S CALL TO HEROIC
SERVICE.
LESSON TExT-IsaIah 6

OF the LORD saying, whom shall i send
and who will go for us7 Then said /,
Here am !: send me.-Isa. 6:s.
The lesson committee now turn for
third quarters lesson to n series of
studies In the Ola Testament as found
In II Kings, Ezra and Nehemiah. As
an introduction, they have chosen this
chapter In the book Of Isaiah.
Isaiah prophesied In the latter half
Of Uxziah's reign, II. G. 7GO and down
to the early years Of the reign Of
Manasseh about II. @. 694 (ch. ! III.
This event took place probably Il. @.
755. The place was Jerusalem; the
kingdom Of Israel was still In exist
ence (for - years longer) being ut
terry destroyed In II. @. 721. The
name Isaiah means '.the salvation Of
jehovah" his wife IL called ''the
prophecies two Of HE sons are
named and his social position was high,
as shown by his intimacy with kings.
Isaiah lived In troublous times. He
was a reformer seeking to rescue his
nation from the sins growing out Of
their disobedience to God. He was
the leading statesman of his time. the
greatest Of the prophets, an author.
a heroic. single-minded. patriotic. fear
less. undaunted man Of great personal
power and influence. He was proph-
ct Of hope: he wrote out Of his long
life of faithfulness and fellowship with
God. The book Of Isaiah falls into
two great divisions; chapters 1-39 be-
ing chiefly historical. interspersed with
songs and poems; chapters 40-68 are
q collection OF prophecies that have
to do chiefly with the return from
the Babylonian exile and the days Of
future glory for the kingdom Of God.
.. Visions wv. ~. As We have
said. Isaiah prophesied In n time Of
great need. The prophet was very
much discouraged. In this passage he
locates his vision Mt a special time
and place (ch. I'D. Every mans
great need today Is real vision Of
God. We are not so much In need Of
theories about God, as a vision OF
God himself. Uzziah's long reign Of
81 years. In which the kingdom pros
pered and the kings name was spread
abroad. stopped as suddenly as an
earthquake. and his glory was eclipsed
(see ii Chron. 20 1919. The place In
which Isaiah saw his vision was the
house Of God. Perhaps not In the tenn
pie, but seeing the vision from the
temple the prophet looks to a house
not built with hands. Jehovah's own
heavenly palace. Therein he saw "the
Lord sitting on a throne and
his train filled the temple" Above II.
or around II. were arranged lowering
couriers and the seraphic choir. The
majesty of this vision is Indicated In
verse two. Its glory In verse three,
and Its power Is indicated In verse
four. The whole earth was filed with
Gods wondrous wisdom. love and pow
er. Literally "the whole earth Is full
of his glory" The Hebrew word for
holiness comes from a word meaning
''to set apart-set a distance from"
The holy Lord Is not only sinless but
he IL sublime and absolute also. II
may seem difficult to harmonize
Isaiah's vision with John ! :18. yet
these manifestations were one and the
same. for all that saw Jesus saw God
(John IA :9). King Uzziah was dead
but the real king was living still. high
and lifted up. The attempt to reason
about him. what he must be and what
he must not be. as II he were one
Of ourselves (Eph. 1 20. 21) Is absurd.
u. Divisions (vv. 5-13). O The
vision Of the prophet wv. Sd. This
vision brought conviction because II
showed how far separated from God
the prophet was. II also brought
In that he acknowledged
himself to be unclean. himself and his
to be vile. II also led to
cleansing, for the king heard the voice
Of the prophet. removed his guilt and
purged his sin. (2) The voice and
from the king wv. 8-13).
The king called for messenger ". 81
and at once the prophet is found.
Someone has said that "a task without
4 vision Is drudgery; vision with
,ut a task Is a dream; while a task
linked to a vision will move the
world" Not only did the king ask for
/ messenger, but he gave the message
which the messenger was to utter
wv. 9-12). The message was to be
% his own people; 1t was not to be
| pleasant one. Verse Is shows US
his message In prophecy. Isaiah ought
o fully proclaim the truth, but the
people would not understand 1t, and
he whole effect Of his proclamation
would be to harden them.
The Application.
What is your application Of this
,islon for Isaiah? We are a Chris
Ian nation, but there are many de-
frees and kinds Of Christians; those
who sincerely try to follow Jesus;
hose who live under a Christian gov
and are unaffected by Chris
ian influences. There Is only one
way 10 save this nation from going the
way OF Nineveh and Tyre; that is, that
Justice and righteousness shall govern,
nd that justice and righteousness shall
10 the fruit Of regenerated lives. The
nv Is for a better social environment |