Sunday School Lesson

2. Isaiah 6:1-13
God Sends
September 13, 2020
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi 39216
USA

3. What’s the number one thing?
The Glory of God!
1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you
do, do all to the glory of God.

4. References
•MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Study Bible NKJV
(Nashville, Nelson Publishers, 1997).
•McGee, J. Vernon, THE PROPHETS: Isaiah, Chapters 1-
35 (Nashville, Nelson Publishers, 1991).
•Wiersbe, Warren W., BE COMFORTED: Isaiah
(Colorado Springs, Chariot Victor Publishing, 1992).

6. The Role of the Old Testament Prophets
•Chosen by God to communicate His message to the
world.
•Also called “seers” because they could see, spiritually
speaking, as God gave them insight.
•Their message often pronounced judgements and
prediction of future events.
•A prophet often led a hard life of ridicule, persecution
and martyrdom.

8. Introduction to Isaiah the Prophet
•Isaiah’s name means “salvation of the Lord.”
•Isaiah ministered in the Jerusalem area as a prophet
from 739-686 B.C. (53 years) during the reigns of 4
kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah.
•Married and had 2 sons.
•Believed to be cut in two with a wooden saw by King
Manasseh (Hebrews 11:37).

9. Isaiah as God’s Scribe
•In the NT, Isaiah is quoted directly over 65 times and
his name is mentioned over 20 times.
•His writing style has no rival in its versatility of
expression, brilliance of imagery, and richness of
vocabulary.
•Wrote the biography of King Hezekiah and the account
of Sennacherib’s death (Isaiah 37:38).

10. Introduction to Isaiah 6
•Chapter 1:
‐ God’s solemn call to the universe to come to the
courtroom to hear God’s charge against the nation of
Israel.
‐ Their behavior does not reflect God’s teachings.
•Chapter 2:
‐ Prophecy concerning the last days.
‐ The wrath of God during the Tribulation and the
Millennium reign of Christ.

11. Introduction to Isaiah 6
• Chapter 3:
‐ The cause of Israel’s undoing.
‐ Weak government.
‐ Loose and low morals.
• Chapter 4:
‐ Description of conditions in Jerusalem during the Babylonian
captivity and in the last days.
• Chapter 5:
‐ The song of the vineyard and the six woes that follow.
‐ Covetousness.
‐ Drunkenness.
‐ Carelessness.
‐ Deception.
‐ Pride.
‐ Injustice.

12. Introduction to Isaiah 6
•Isaiah has presented the big picture of God’s
displeasure with Israel in Chapters 1-5 with prophecy
about the future.
•Chronologically, Chapter 6 precedes Chapters 1-5.
•Chapter 6 is the official calling and commissioning of
Isaiah as a prophet.
•Isaiah begins his book by presenting God’s case before
presenting himself as the prophet messenger.

13. King Uzziah – The Glory Days of Israel.
•Reigned in Judah (southern kingdom) 790-739 BC.
•Developed Judah into a strong commercial and
military state with a commerce port on the Red Sea.
•Victorious over the Philistines and other nations.
•After his death, the national glory of Israel died and
has never been recovered to this day according to
scholars.

14. Isaiah 6:1 NKJV (Isaiah saw the Lord)
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting
on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe
filled the temple.
•After 52 years of reigning, leprosy caused the death
of Uzziah in 739 BC (2 Chronicles 26:16-23).
•God had afflicted him with leprosy when trying to
pridefully usurp the role of the priests.
•He lived in isolation until his death.

15. Isaiah 6:1b NKJV (Isaiah saw the Lord)
1b I saw the Lord sitting on a throne,
•We do not know if Isaiah was in Solomon’s Temple
when he had this vision of seeing God.
•Isaiah’s vision was of the heavenly throne.
•John’s experience in Revelation 4:1-11 was similar to
Isaiah’s vision of the heavenly throne.

16. Use of “the Lord” in Isaiah 6:1
•Use of “the Lord” vs. “LORD.”
•“the Lord” in Hebrew translates to Adonai, which is
the title of God, meaning “sovereign one.”
•Adonai is the title given to Jesus in the New Testament
when He is called Lord.
•“LORD” (all caps) in Hebrew translates to Yahweh,
which is the name of God.

17. Isaiah 6:1b, c NKJV (Isaiah saw the Lord)
1b, c sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train
of His robe filled the temple.
•The throne was greatly elevated, emphasizing the
Most High God.
•The “train” refers to the hem or fringe of the Lord’s
glorious robe that filled the temple (God’s glory).
•The throne of God is in the heavenly temple.

18. Isaiah 6:2 NKJV (The Seraphim)
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with
two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet,
and with two he flew.
•The seraphim are an order of created angelic
creatures with six wings.
•Two wings cover their faces, because they dare not
gaze directly at God’s glory.

19. Seraphim – Created angelic creatures.
•Two wings cover their feet, acknowledging their
lowliness even though engaged in divine service.
•Two wings are used to fly in serving the One on the
throne.
•The seraphim in Isaiah’s vision are protecting the
holiness of God.

20. Isaiah 6:3 NKJV (Seraphim Shout Praises)
3 And one cried to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
•Trihagion – Repetition of “holy” three times
to emphasize God’s separateness from and
independence of His fallen creation.
•Secondarily, it also represents the Trinity.

21. Revelation 4:8 NKJV (Another Trihagion of Praise in
Heaven)
8 The four living creatures (cherubim), each having six
wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do
not rest day or night, saying:
“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”

22. “The whole earth is full of His glory”
•The fallen earth is the worldwide display of His
immeasurable glory, perfections, and attributes as
seen in creation
•Romans 1:20 NKJV
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible
attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even His eternal power and
Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

23. Isaiah 6:4 NKJV (Shaking Doorposts and Smoke)
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him
who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
• The shaking and smoke symbolize God’s holiness as it
relates to His wrath and judgment
• Revelation 15:8 NKJV
8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God
and from His power, and no one was able to enter the
temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were
completed.

24. Isaiah 6:5 NKJV (Isaiah Sees His Sin)
5 So I said:
“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.”

25. “Woe is me,”
•The vision of God’s holiness vividly reminded Isaiah of
his unworthiness which deserved judgment.
•If the lips are unclean, so is the heart.
•Experiencing God’s holiness causes us to see our sin.
•Job 42:5-6 NKJV
5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.
6 Therefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.”

26. Peter came to the same realization.
• Luke 5:5-8 NKJV
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have
toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your
word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done
this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net
was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the
other boat to come and help them. And they came and
filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When
Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying,
“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

27. Isaiah 6:6-7a BKJV (The Live Coal)
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his
hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from
the altar. 7a And he touched my mouth with it,
•The live coal taken from the alter in heaven is
emblematic of God’s purifying work.
•“The live coal represents the cleansing blood of Christ
that keeps on cleansing us from all sin.”
‐ J. Vernon Magee

28. The 7th Seal Opened During the Tribulation
• Revelation 8:3-5 NKJV
3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and
stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he
should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the
golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke
of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended
before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took
the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to
the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings,
and an earthquake.

29. Isaiah 6:7 NKJV (Isaiah’s Commissioning Ceremony)
7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said:
“Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin purged.”
•God was cleansing Isaiah’s mouth and heart
for a special service and message.

30. The Meanings of Isaiah 6:7
•Isaiah’s salvation was based on his “faith” in God as
described in Hebrews 11.
•This was not a salvation ceremony for Isaiah.
•Touching Isaiah’s mouth with the live coal (literally or
figuratively) was a cleansing for presenting the pure
and holy message of the coming Messiah and future
salvation for all people who believe.

31. Isaiah 6:8a NKJV (“And who will go for Us?”)
8a Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”
•The plural pronoun (Us) strongly implies the
Trinity.
•Genesis 1:26a NKJV
26a Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our
image, according to Our likeness;

32. Isaiah 6:8b NKJV (The Servant’s Response)
8b Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
• Genesis 22:1 NKJV
1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested
Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
• Exodus 3:4 NKJV
4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God
called to him from the midst of the bush and said,
“Moses, Moses!”
And he said, “Here I am.”

33. Isaiah 6:9-10 NKJV (God’s Message for Isaiah)
9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 “Make the heart of this people dull,
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed.”

34. The Meanings of Isaiah 6:9-10
•Isaiah’s message (prophecy) was to be God’s
instrument for relaying hidden truths to an
unreceptive people.
•That message included multiple prophecies about the
coming of the Messiah that were fulfilled at Christ’s
birth.
•Many prophecies will not be fulfilled until the “last
days” (end times).

35. The Meanings of Isaiah 6:9-10
•These verses are quoted six times in the New
Testament.
•Jesus similarly taught in parables to hide the truth
until the proper time for revelation.
•Jesus used Isaiah 6 in teaching parables.
•Paul used these verses in Romans 11:7-10, 25 to
explain the current spiritual status of the Jews and
their salvation.

36. Jesus explains teaching in Parables.
• Matthew 13:11-14 NIV
11 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of
heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an
abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be
taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

37. The Jews Did Not Believe Jesus.
• John 12:37-38 NIV
37 Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in
their presence, they still would not believe in him.
38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
“Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
(Isaiah 53:1)

38. The Jews Did Not Believe Jesus.
• John 12:39-41 NIV
39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says
elsewhere:
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and deadened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about
him.

39. Isaiah 6:11-12 NKJV (“Lord, how long?”)
11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?”
And He answered:
“Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant,
The houses are without a man,
The land is utterly desolate,
12 The Lord has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the
land.

40. Meaning of Isaiah 6:11-12
•“how long?” Because of the rejection of the message,
Isaiah asks how long to preach it.
•God answers that it must continue until the cities are
desolate and the people have gone into exile.
•Isaiah began his message in 739 BC and Jerusalem was
destroyed in 586 BC (153 years).
•Isaiah was martyred in 686 BC after 53 years as a
prophet of this message.

41. Isaiah 6:13 NKJV (God Keeps A Remnant)
13 But yet a tenth will be in it,
And will return and be for consuming,
As a terebinth tree or as an oak,
Whose stump remains when it is cut down.
So the holy seed shall be its stump.”

42. Meaning of Isaiah 6:13
•“tenth” = a remnant; what is left of a community after
it undergoes a catastrophe.
•The tenth, also called the “stumps” and “holy seed”,
represents the faithful remnant in Israel who will be
the nucleus who hear and believe.
•God always preserves a continuing remnant of His
people.

43. Closing Thoughts from Isaiah 6:1-13
1. God is still on His throne and in control of the
world.
2. The Holy Spirit takes our prayers to the throne and
intercedes for us.
3. God offers forgiveness of sins.
4. Believers are commissioned to GO, just as Isaiah.

44. 1. God is still on His throne.
• Matthew 10:29-31 NKJV
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them
falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs
of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of
more value than many sparrows.

45. 2. The Holy Spirit takes our prayers to the throne
and intercedes for us.
• Romans 8:26 NKJV
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not
know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself
makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

46. 3. God’s Offer of Forgiveness.
•Isaiah 1:18 NKJV
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the
Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be
as white as snow; though they are red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.
‐ God offers His forgiveness – then and now!

47. The Live Coals in the Altar
•The system of burnt sacrifices in the OT was instituted
to impress the idea of atonement on Israel.
•The price of sin was death, but animals symbolically
paid the price for the people.
•The burning coals on the altar represent God’s
provision for man’s sin.
•Jesus paid the death penalty to atone for man’s sin,
once and for all.

48. Forgiveness of Sins and Peace with God through
Jesus
•Romans 5:1-2, 8 NIV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom we have gained access by faith into
this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the
hope of the glory of God.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

49. 4. Our Great Commission.
•Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo,
I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Amen.

50. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
John 3:16-17 NKJV
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His
Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved.”
John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through Me.”

51. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
Romans 3:23 NKJV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a NKJV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this
life to pay the penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the “second death”
explained in Revelation 21:8.

52. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
Revelation 21:8 NKJV
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the
lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
• Anyone who’s lifestyle is one or more of the sins listed in Revelation
21:8, will experience the “second death,” if they do not repent.
• To Repent means to turn around, to go in the opposite direction, to turn away
from sin and believe in Jesus.
Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.

53. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
Romans 6:23b NKJV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Revelation 21:7 NKJV
7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will
be his God and he shall be My son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explain to us how to be overcomers.

54. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

55. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900
or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/