LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

EXEGESIS OF ISAIAH 6:1-13

A PAPER SUBMITTED TO
DR. ROY LUCAS OF THE LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
201240 Fall 2012 NBST 652-D01 LUO

LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

BY
KATHY L. MCFARLAND

LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA

8 DECEMBER 2012
 2 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS

OUTLINE 3

INTRODUCTION 4

CONTEXT 4

Historical 4

Literary 6

CONTENT 7

Isaiah 6:1a – Dated through death of King Uzziah 7

Isaiah 6:1b – Vision of Lord upon the throne and His connection to temple 8

Isaiah 6:2, 3 – Seraphim 9

Isaiah 6:4 – Posts of the door moved and house filled with smoke 10

Isaiah 6:5-7 – Isaiah’s sin purged by live coal 12

Isaiah 6:8 – Isaiah commissioned 13

Isaiah 6:9, 10 – The punishment of obduracy 13

Isaiah 6:11-12 – The prophecy of wasting and desolation 16

Isaiah 6:13 – The survival of a tenth of the holy seed 16

APPLICATION 17

CONCLUSION 17

BIBLIOGRAPHY 19
 3 
 
OUTLINE

I. Title Page

II. Table of Contents

III. Main Idea and Outline

IV. Introduction

Isaiah 6 clearly warns Judah of the coming desolation and records God's promotion of obduracy,
which highlights the relationship between understanding and redemption in the salvation process.

V. Context

A. Historical

B. Literary

VI. Content

A. Isaiah 6:1a – Dated through death of King Uzziah

B. Isaiah 6:1b – Vision of Lord upon the throne and His connection to temple

C. Isaiah 6:2, 3 – Seraphim

D. Isaiah 6:4 – Posts of the door moved and house filled with smoke

E. Isaiah 6:5-7 – Isaiah’s sin purged by live coal from the altar, in the hand of seraphim

F. Isaiah 6:8 – Isaiah commissioned

G. Isaiah 6:9, 10 – The punishment of obduracy

H. Isaiah 6:11-12 – The prophecy of wasting and desolation

I. Isaiah 6:13 – The survival of a tenth of the holy seed

V. Application

VI. Conclusion

VII. Bibliography
 4 
 
INTRODUCTION

Isaiah 6 is filled with brilliant imagery, passion, and religious depth that stir the calling of

God in the souls of believers, especially in the first eight verses of the chapter. But, the mood

quickly changes, as Isaiah 6:9-13 records the Prophet Isaiah’s eighth century declaration of

desolation for his homeland, with specific warnings of God’s intent to remove the spiritual

awareness of His people. This deadening of spiritual realization becomes critical to first century

Jews and Christians as the presence of Christ and His testimony establish the New Covenant of

the LORD God with believers. Isaiah 6 clearly warns Judah of the coming desolation and records

God's promotion of obduracy, which highlights the relationship between understanding and

redemption in the salvation process.

CONTEXT

Historical/ Cultural - The Book of Isaiah records the visions of Prophet Isaiah. It

contains 66 chapters that bear witness to God’s communication with His disobedient people.

These chapters show Israel’s refusal to heed God’s will because of their rebellion, pride, and

self-will to establish government on their terms. The prophetic genre is both poetic and narrative

in its approach, and meets the basic requirements of prophetic literature that speaks with the

Word of God about election and covenant, rebellion and judgment, compassion and redemption,

and consummation.1

The first six chapters show God’s judgment brought to bear upon Israel and Jerusalem,

but then continues to record Israel’s struggles to achieve political control fighting against God’s

help that leads to the arrival of Cyrus from Persia to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. Isaiah 6

is a climax to the troubles of Judah accounted in Isaiah 1-5, and bridges the Lord of hosts to

                                                      
 B. D. Napier, Song of the Vineyard: A Guide through the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 
1

1982), 250. 
 5 
 
become the Holy One of Israel (10:17, 12:6, 29:19, 30:11).2 The placement of Chapter 6 shows

its dependence upon chapters 1-5 that record accusations against the people’s unwillingness to

obey God.3

The assumed author4 of the Book of Isaiah is the Prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, who lived

and worked in Jerusalem from about 750 to 700 B.C.E. All that is known about Isaiah is

contained in this one Book of Isaiah; though it is not explicitly stated in Scripture, Isaiah 8:16

suggests Isaiah as the author to “bind up the testimony of God.”5

The narrative is easily dated to the eighth century because of the numerous historical

references throughout the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah 7-12 is dated to ca.733 based upon the historical

date of the Syro-Ephraimite crisis. The broad, introductory Isaiah 1-6 warns against Judah’s

wickedness around 745-740 before political danger comes their way.6 Specifically, Uzziah’s

death is dated around 742 by Bright,7 but it is hard to fix his reign because he shared it as a co-

regent with Jotham (2 Chronicles 6:21). Though most scholars from the early church to present

day think Chapter 6 of Isaiah to be in the perfect place to bridge 1-5 with 7 forward in a certain

                                                      
 Leon J. Liebreich, ʺThe Position of Chapter Six in the Book of Isaiah,ʺ Hebrew Union College 
2

Annual 25, (1954): 39. 
 
3 W. A. M. Beuken, ʺThe Manifestation of Yahweh and the Commission of Isaiah: Isaiah 6 Read 

against the Background of Isaiah 1,ʺ Calvin Theological Journal 39, no. 1 (2004): 73. 
 
4 The text never claims Isaiah as author; but, early readers assigned authorship to him.  Later, 

scholars questioned authorship because the historical data recorded in chapters 40‐66 occurred after 
Isaiah’s death; but, they continue to attribute the first 39 chapters to Prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz. (John D. 
W. Watts, Isaiah 1‐33, Revised Edition, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005), 
xliii.) 
 
5 ibid., xlii. 

 
6 Paul R. House, ʺIsaiahʹs Call and Its Context in Isaiah 1‐6,ʺ Criswell Theological Review 6, (1993): 

209. 
 
7 John Bright, A History of Israel, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1972), 254. 
 6 
 
chronological order, there is some debate with the placement of Chapter 6;8 however, the

argument seems mostly insignificant for exegesis purposes.

An important consideration in exegesis of Isaiah 6 is to avoid the tendency to break the

narrative up into two sections with Isaiah 1-8 that leads to the commission of Isaiah and 9-13

which announces the coming spiritual desolation of God’s people. Exegesis of Isaiah 6 demands

both parts to be connected as one unit, because neither exists without the other; Isaiah’s

obedience to God and the purging of his sin recorded in Isaiah 6:1-8 is in direct contrast to God’s

people’s disobedience to Him, and their plunging to blindness and deafness a direct result of

their sinful nature against God.9 Isaiah 6, interpreted as one unit, is critical to fully develop the

things God reveals through the Prophet and the book He penned.

However, it should be noted that a fresh collection of prophecies begins in Isaiah 6, and

seems to introduce the group of prophesies contained with Isaiah 7:1-9:7. This group speaks

prophecies from Isaiah that is connected with the historical setting of the Syro-Ephraimitic

invasion, which culminates in the Messianic identification embodied in Isaiah 9:1-6.10

Literary - Isaiah 6:1-13 is a first-person, datable, narrative monologue that connects

chapters 1-4 in a bridge with chapters 7-35.11 It is the second time that Isaiah claims divine

authority12 as he declares the condition of spiritual desolation that will come against the land.13

                                                      
8 House: 216. 
 
9 Donald E. Gowan, ʺIsaiah 6:1‐8,ʺ Interpretation 45, no. 2 (1991): 173. 
 
 G. H. and S. R. Driver Box, The Book of Isaiah: Translated from a Text Revised in Accordance with the 
10

Results of Recent Criticism (New York: The Macmillan Co. , 1909), 44. 
 
11 Watts, 103. 

 
12 ibid. 

 
 7 
 
Thematically, Isaiah 6:1-4 describes Isaiah’s vision of the LORD God and claims to present

specific words from God originating from a face-to-face encounter. Isaiah experiences a sense of

unworthiness in 6:5-7 and receipt of God’s commission in 6:8-13 in a structure similar to other

Old Testament call stories that contains divine confrontation (6:1-2), introductory word (6:3-7),

commission (6:8-10), objection (6:11a) and reassurance (6:11b-13).14 That the call to Isaiah to

minister to the rebellious nation comes in the middle of Isaiah’s book garners debate through its

curious lateness;15 but, when one considers chapter 6 as the beginning of a fresh series of

prophecies independent of chapters 1-5, but bridging towards the next set of prophecies, Isaiah’s

call to minister to Israel becomes heightened and critical to the thematic development of the

book.

It should be noted that some scholars’ claim that verses 6:12-13 were added in the sixth-

century and sometimes disregard them because of this supposition.16 Regardless, the focused

content leading to Isaiah’s call cannot be disregarded; the impact of this supernatural contact

with the LORD God is evident through the words of Isaiah in chapter 6.

CONTENT

Isaiah 6:1a opens to the announcement that King Uzziah has died. This opening fails to

account for how the death of King Uzziah affects Isaiah, but since he was the only king Isaiah

had known, as well as the growing sense of doom building from the Assyrian threat by Tiglath-

                                                                                                                                                                           
 Isaiah 1:1 shows Isaiah receiving the first vision to pronounce God’s Words to Judah and 
13

Jerusalem.  
 
14 House: 213. 

 
15 Ibid., 214. 

 
16 ibid. 

 
 8 
 
Pileser III’s ascendancy, it might have affected him greatly.17 Isaiah’s confidence in the king of

his youth must have been smashed as Judah’s leader succumbs to shame, stupor, leprosy and

finally death; certainly the stability of his homeland without its king was in his worries.18 It is

likely that Isaiah knew of the Prophets Hosea and Amos19 (2 Chronicles 26) earlier warnings to

the economically and militarily successful King Uzziah and his people that their societal sins

would bring punishment from God.20 Without question, at the time of his death, his people are

ripe for judgment against their sins by an angry LORD God that had lost His patience.21

It is important to note that young Isaiah saw his king rot and succumb to the leprosy of

uncleanness, and at his king’s death, he visualizes standing in the midst of God’s realm with

supernatural visions that reveal the righteous and holy, holy, holy Lord of hosts sitting upon His

throne, lifted high above the degeneration of human depravity that was encroaching the land of

Judah (v. 1, 8).

The opening perceptions of Isaiah where he sees the Lord sitting in verse 1 connects

strongly to verse 8 where he hears the voice of the Lord.22 These words that indicate Isaiah’s

seeing and hearing the Lord interconnect with the message He is given to by the Lord to deliver

to His people in verse 8b: “Hear ye indeed, but understand not; And see ye indeed, but perceive

not.” That Isaiah clearly sees and hears the Lord is surety that his heart is not fat, his ears are not
                                                      
17 John Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1‐39 (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 177. 
 
 Robert L. Cate, ʺWe Need to Be Saved (Isaiah 1:1‐20, 5:1‐12, 6:1‐13),ʺ Review & Expositor 88, no. 2 
18

(1991): 146. 
 
19 Isaiah’s sermons against the evil‐doers compare unified to prophesy spoken by Amos (1:4, 5, 

23; cf. Amos 2:6; 5:10, 11). 
 
20 House: 210. 

 
21 ibid. 

 
22 Beuken: 74. 
 9 
 
heavy, his eyes are not shut as the condition of spiritual blindness and deafness is revealed in

verse 10. This spiritual connection of Isaiah to the Lord further assures the reader that he

understands God with his heart and is fully converted and healed by Him as revealed through his

ability to both see and hear the holy Lord giving further testimony to his duties to God’s people

as His Prophet. It is only his lips that are unclean, preventing his words from being spoken in the

Lord’s presence; this condition will be addressed further in the Isaiah 6:5 section of this paper.

Isaiah 6:1b - The Lord’s throne is accentuated by Poet/Prophet Isaiah’s descriptive words

“high and lifted up” Each of these descriptions differs from another, though both can be

represented by either Hebrew word that holds similar meaning. Isaiah purposely describes the

place of the Lord with these separate, purposefully chosen Hebrew words ‫רוּם‬ (highly exalted),23 

‫נָשָׂ א‬ (even more highly exalted)24 to express the separation of the full glorious presence of the

Lord rising above those who stood in His presence in this holy place. But, it should also be noted

that the spiritually purified Seraphim stood above the throne, reminiscent of the Tabernacle Holy

of Holies, where the image of two cherubim angels spread wings that shelters the Ark of the

Covenant of the Lord, that contained the two stone tablets of law and the filling of a cloud of

glory from LORD God’s presence in the midst of the congregation of Israel (1 Kings 8:6-11).

There is a deep contrast in Isaiah 6 from the start as Isaiah stands between a degenerating

homeland with a dead king and in the presence of the throne room filled with the glory of the

Lord, whose train drops down to His Temple making contact with the human world from the

heavenly place. It is not only the differences between Isaiah’s world and the Lord that his words

reveal, but, the connection the Lord holds with humanity through the Temple of God that will

                                                      
 James Strong, The New Strongʹs Expanded Exaustive Concordance of the Bible, Red‐letter ed. 
23

(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001), H7311. 
 
24 ibid., H5375. 
 10 
 
soon be raised again as Cyrus the builder’s arrival is announced in Isaiah 44:28. Isaiah 6 bridges

the fallen state of Judah with the raising of a Temple connecting God’s people to the Lord with

His throne in Heaven.

Isaiah 6:2, 3 - The three-fold echoing of God’s “Holy, Holy, Holy” nature by the six-

winged, burning Seraphim fly above the majestic, luminous Lord upon His throne and reveals

the Omnipresence of God with His glory shining forth as their instantaneous and uncontrollable

shout outs of praise to declare His glory. A connection of the Seraphim in Isaiah 6:2, 3 seems

likely with similar four beasts with six wings in Revelations 4:8 that speaks “Holy, holy, holy

Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” Also, John’s supernatural visions

recorded in Revelations 4 amplifies the atmosphere surrounding the majestic throne of God, with

elaboration of the full spectacle of glory, adding a depth of visualization that is first reported

through Isaiah’s supernatural vision. Both accounts support and confirm the other, and give

believers insight into the realm that the Lord reigns from.

It seems Isaiah becomes transformed through the words of unending praise from the

Seraphim, as if his very spirit is raised high to join them in the praise of His Lord then plunges to

the depth of despair when he realizes the condition of his unclean lips (v. 5).

Isaiah 6:4 – Some scholars think that with the post of the doors shaking and smoke filling

the house as a result of one of the angels speaking, that the fiery nature of the Seraphim are

linked with the theophany of the LORD God revealed in the thunder and lightning in the Old

Testament, especially in Psalms 18:8-9 and Baal’s seven thunders and lightnings.25 Others,

especially the secular scholars, make a connection of Isaiah 6:2-4 account of the Seraphim with

                                                      
 John Day, ʺEchoes of Baalʹs Seven Thunders and Lightnings in Psalm 29 and Habakkuk 3:9 and 
25

the Identity of the Seraphim in Isaiah 6,ʺ Vetus testamentum 29, no. 2 (1979): 149. 
 11 
 
the Egyptian Uraei (winged sphinxes), symbols of human and divine kingship.26 This view often

leads to the false conclusion that the thunder and lightning recorded in Psalm 24, Habakkuk 3:9,

and Isaiah 6 are a personification of a god nature that is paralleled from a Baal mythology in the

Ugaritic text.27

Biblical exegesis of Isaiah 6 must avoid the typological connection of Psalm 18:9-10 to

Isaiah 6; that the LORD God thunders and shakes the foundations of the earth, that smoke comes

out of his nostrils, and the fire from his mouth devours in the poetic tome that captures the

deliverance of a believer by God does not represent the shaking of the door posts by a Seraphim.

The deliverer of the praise to the Lord at his throne in Isaiah 6 is not God, and the result of post

shaking and smoke filling the room are not representative of His deliverance, at least in the very

literal sense. However, there are several different types of smoke, those in Rev. 8:4 and 15:8

associated with the heavenly altar, Rev. 9 speaks of smoke from the abyss where the locusts

demons arise, and smoke as proof of the eternal torment of the prostitute of Babylon and the

beast’s followers is in Rev. 14:11, 18:18.28 The smoke in the purification associated with God’s

altar that links to the power and glory of God as captured in Isaiah 6:4 is clearly related to this

type described in Rev. 8:4 and 15:8.

There are typological significances in the shaking of the door posts and the house filled

with smoke that connect firmly with other Scripture to give us a deeper understanding of this

account in Isaiah 6:4. It is a fact confirmed by Scripture that God had the Israelites paint the

door posts of their dwelling places with the blood sacrificed from the lamb so on that terrible

                                                      
 
26  ibid., 150. 
27  ibid., 143. 
 
 Kendell H. Easley, Revelation, Holman New Testament Commentary, vol. 12 (Nashville, TN: 
28

Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 149‐150. 
 12 
 
night when death was given to the firstborn Egyptians, God might see the dwelling place of His

people and passover them (Exodus 12:3-14). The teachings of Christ speak of a house built upon

a solid foundation which makes connection to the house of a believer built upon the solid

foundation of Christ able to endure difficult times (Matthew 7:24-27). The Lord also speaks a

parable about sheep entering through the door, His door, to follow their shepherd through (John

10:1-18). Without the need to jump to unsupported conclusions, the posts of a door can be easily

connected to symbolize the spiritual entry place of a believer; it is the entrance place that leads to

where a believer’s heart, mind, and soul are contained, and it opens with the door of Christ and

reveals the actual dwelling place of that believer. When this is combined with the purifying

smoke associated with the heavenly throne room in Isaiah 6, an easy connection to the purifying

smoke emitting from the fire-sacrificed lambs (Leviticus 1-9), then a deeper understanding of

Isaiah 6:4 can be gained.

With those deeper associations of door posts and smoke in mind, Isaiah 6:4 shaking posts

and the smoke-filled house seem to penetrate Isaiah past his human awareness, to a deep spiritual

awareness of his inward parts. It is at that very significant moment, when Isaiah cries out in

agony, “Woe is me! For I am undone,” that his sins are able to be purged and his iniquity

removed. Isaiah has been given supernatural visions of the glorious Lord sitting upon His

throne, with odd creatures with six wings standing over the throne; he is able to hear their praises

to the Lord, he is able to recognize his Savior, and he is able to process everything that is going

on. But, until the door posts are shaken, until the house fills with smoke, Isaiah is too

contaminated by sin to fully participate in this supernatural event unfolding through his vision.

Isaiah 6:5-7 – “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in his

holy place?” asks the Psalmist in Psalm 24:3. Verse 4 answers it is “He that hath clean hands,
 13 
 
and a pure heart; Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, Nor sworn deceitfully.” It is

apparent that Isaiah meets all of these requirements, or he would not be standing in the holy

throne room of the Lord. Even though he was able to be present with the Lord, he suffers a

dirtiness of unclean lips and he dwells in the midst of people of unclean lips. It is noteworthy,

that Isaiah blames himself, not the people he dwells with that also suffer from this sinful

condition; this accountability, most certainly is made possible through self-evaluation because of

the purifying smoke that penetrates his being, and the powerful viewing with his own eyes the

King, the Lord of hosts, that brings repentance and shame.

Isaiah 6:6 records the cleansing of Isaiah’s lips touched by a hot, fiery coal held by the

tongs of one Seraph that sears the impurities, takes the iniquity away, and purges the sin. It is

interesting that Isaiah speaks of two results to the touching of his lips with the hot coal to be

“thine iniquity (‫ﬠָוֹן‬ ‐ wrongdoing29) is taken away” and “thy sin (‫חַ טָּ אָ ה‬ - wickedness30) purged.”

Both the unholy action and the wicked result are purged from Isaiah by the fiery coal (‫רצְ ָפּה‬ – 
ִ

glowing coal31).32 It is through the coals purification of Isaiah’s lips in this purging rite that gives

him the right to speak and parallels Temple sacrifices for cleansing of sin.33

Isaiah’s recognition of the Lord of hosts as his King connects the death of his human king

to the very alive and powerfully reigning King of Kings. Any despair that Isaiah feels upon the
                                                      
 James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament), 
29

electronic ed., vol. 1997 (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), H5771. 
 
30 ibid., H2403. 

 
31 ibid., H7531. 

 
32 The Hebrew word for glowing coal is used only once in Scriptures; thus, the general action of 

purging can be noted; but, there is no reliable typology that should be construed since a pattern cannot be 
established. 
 
33 Watts, 108. 
 14 
 
death of King Uzziah has been replaced by the recognition of his awesome, glorious and eternal

King and Lord that sits upon the throne of God.

Isaiah 6:8 – The call of God starts with a question that demands an answer, “Who shall I

send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah’s purged, clean lips answers “Here am I; send me.” Then

God commissions Isaiah as His mouthpiece, “Go, and tell this people.” The message that

follows spoken by Isaiah, God’s messenger, with the words directed for him to say, will affect

God’s People, both the Jews and later the Christians, from that point on as God warns of

desolation to come upon His people as spiritual obduracy is placed upon them in punishment for

their disobedience to Him.

Isaiah 6:9-10 – The Rabbinic interpretation of Isaiah 6:9-10 is preserved with the harsh

words written in our Scripture; that it is preserved in this manner argues for “original meaning”

exegesis. Unlike other texts, that carefully presents harsh ideas with softened words, Isaiah 6:9-

10 fully holds its meaning and implication.34 Usually, Isaiah 6:10 is used by Rabbis to teach that

there is a connection between understanding and repentance, and that the former governs the

latter.35

Frankly speaking, Isaiah is used by God to bring a hardening of Israel’s heart and cause their

unbelief. The words he spoke to them reveal a great deal:

Hear ye indeed, but understand not; And see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Make the heart of this people fat, And make their ears heavy, and shut their
eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, And understand
with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

                                                      
 
 Craig A. Evans, ʺIsaiah 6:9‐10 in Rabbinic and Patristic Writings,ʺ Vigiliae christianae 36, no. 3 
34

(1982): 275. 
 
35 ibid., 276. 
 15 
 
Judgment comes upon God’s people because of their disobedience and covenant

disloyalty to Him. However, a connection to the worship of idols is noticed when Isaiah 6:9-10

are compared; both speak of the same condition of blindness and deafness, one upon people, and

the other upon idols (Psalm 135:15-18):36

The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. They
have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not; They have
ears, but they hear not; Neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that
make them are like unto them: So is every one that trusteth in them.

When this connection to idols is considered, a strong case can be made that the punishment of

Israel for their disobedience has stirred the jealous heart of the LORD God to the place He makes

the punishment fit the specific crime that has brought Him such deep distress.

A connection to Christ’s explanation of why He speaks in parables with a direct reference

to Isaiah (Matthew 13:11-17) also gives light to the purpose of spiritually deadening the hearts,

blinding the eyes and dulling the ears:

Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,
but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and
he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be
taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables:
because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they
understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By
hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and
shall not perceive: 15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are
dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their
heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed are
your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto
you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things
which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear,
and have not heard them.

                                                      
 
 Gregory K. Beale, ʺIsaiah 6:9‐13 : A Retributive Taunt against Idolatry,ʺ Vetus testamentum 41, 
36

no. 3 (1991): 258. 
 16 
 
Christ’s teachings confirm Isaiah 6:9-10 that the closed eyes, dulled ears, and hardened

hearts are deliberately forced upon God’s disobedient people in order to prevent them from

understanding, choose conversion, and receive healing. He also confirms that Christ’s followers

have both eyes that see and ears that can hear, a blessing that is graced by God in his choosing to

give faith to those that follow His Son.

But, it is also important to note that the idea of a “remnant” of God’s people remaining

with full eyesight and hearing, without hardened hearts, is possible if one considers that Isaiah

maintains his vision and hearing after the disobedient receive God’s punishment.37 Isaiah was set

apart from the people with the unclean lips; possibly there were others. This conclusion supports

the many Jews that actually receive conversion after receiving the teachings of Christ. Also, this

conclusion can be supported because Isaiah 6:9 shows God sends Isaiah to “Go, and tell this

people” indicative of those with unclean lips that Isaiah dwells with; possibly an argument could

be formed that indicates it is a group, not the entire people of God that receives this message.

Isaiah 6:11-12 – When the utter desolation described in verses Isaiah 6:11-12 is factored

into this interpretation, it becomes apparent that a great deal of God’s people will be made blind

and deaf from the eighth century B.C. if the land is to be prepared for the great forsaking.

Isaiah 6:13 – Sinful Israel is again depicted with idolatry metaphors38 that begin in Isaiah

6:9-10 with the mention of the tenth of the teal and oak trees burning (Isaiah 1:29-31):39

                                                      
 Craig A. Evans, ʺIsa 6:9‐13 in the Context of Isaiahʹs Theology,ʺ Journal of the Evangelical 
37

Theological Society 29, no. 2 (1986): 141. 
 
38 Trees in Scripture are often typological representations of different spiritual lives assumed by 

humans.  For the purposes and length requirements of this paper, discussion of this connection of oak 
trees to Israel, and the general idea that their choice of idols will fade their fervor for the LORD God and 
dry up His waters of grace that have in the past to quench their thirst, will suffice. 
 
39 Beale: 259. 
 17 
 
For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, And ye shall be
confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. For ye shall be as an oak
whose leaf fadeth, And as a garden that hath no water. And the strong shall be
as tow, And the maker of it as a spark, And they shall both burn together, and
none shall quench them.

However, it should be noted that some argue that Isaiah 6:13 is a “midrashic” addition which

entered into the Hebrew text between the earliest translation of Isaiah and the time of Origen.40

With this addition, Isaiah 6:13 seems to suggest that after the complete desolation and

depopulation of the land, there will be a tenth that survives and subjected to further destruction.41

This argument can only be developed through the conditional clause inclusion (excluded from

the KJV); with it inclusion, the definite destruction is prophesized to come to the tenth of God’s

people that remain in the desolate land.42

APPLICATION

Isaiah 6 is filled with many applications for Christians. Isaiah’s dirtied lips show that

when dwelling amongst others of sinfulness, the dirty condition is apt to come upon even the

most devoted to God. The process of spiritual awareness and understanding is critical upon the

eyes and ears and heart. These three senses are controlled by God; it is His grace that opens

them for His spiritual message to be received. And it is God that closes these senses down to

prevent the disobedient from receiving his teachings and grace. The Lord Jesus Christ is fully

aware of this condition that is brought upon the disobedient, and patterns His teachings to His

followers to give them new spiritual understanding without revealing the same to those God has

brought obduracy upon. Even today, the condition of obduracy prevents Jewish interpreters
                                                      
 
 Samuel Iwry, ʺMassēbāh and Bāmāh in 1q Isaiaha 6:13,ʺ Journal of Biblical Literature 76, no. 3 
40

(1957): 226. 
 
41 ibid. 

 
42 ibid., 225. 
 18 
 
from reaching the Christian understanding of prophecy in matters like contained in Isaiah 7:14

about the future virgin birth of Christ, and the prophecy Christ’s suffering in Isaiah 53.43

Isaiah 6 is filled with deep spiritual teachings that provide believers with understanding

of the holiness of God, His will for His People, and the desolation that disobedience to Him

brings. Correct exegesis gives Christians a deep understanding of Scripture, especially in the

areas of spiritual knowledge and understanding importance in the redemptive process that brings

salvation.

The testimony and teachings of Christ are often unheeded; a definite observation of

blinded eyes, dulled hearing, and hardened hearts can sometimes be seen of those that reject the

message of Christ. Frankly, it seems a good waste of time and effort to witness to those under

such a condition. If God has not opened the eyes to see, the ears to hear, and the heart to

understand, then He has not graced them with faith. Without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,

salvation cannot be received. Redemption will never come to a person with such a spiritual

desolation created by the condition of obduracy that is upon a person; if God has placed that

spiritual deadening then no amount of witnessing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will remove it.

CONCLUSION

In final analysis, Isaiah 6 gives Christians today both an understanding of the rejection of

Christ by Jews who remain blinded and deaf to God’s Truth. But, it also guides our own

witnessing efforts, to recognize that though the Lord Jesus Christ came to offer salvation to

mankind, it is fully dependent upon whether that Good News can be received. Isaiah 6 shows us

that God is ultimately in control of that process. It is His grace, and His grace alone, that

determines the giving of faith and understanding to a believer. With that faith valve turned on,

                                                      
43 Watts, l. 
 19 
 
eyes can see, ears can hear, and hearts can understand. But, those of disobedience, those that

choose idols over God, and those that dwell among the immoral and participate in their activities

will not have the ability to hear and receive Christ’s redemption; they will only be eligible to

receive His judgment on that terrible and desolate day to come.

 20 
 
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