Isaiah's Three C's

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Isaiah’s Three C’s: Confession, Commission and Cost. My focus is our first reading (Isaiah 6:1-13). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We recite those words every week as we confess our sins. The word confession is an acknowledgment of a fault or wrong. We disclose our sins however slight or great they are, and God – through the Church’s Pastor – grants us absolution or forgiveness in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I mention confession because Isaiah confesses that he is a man of unclean lips, dwelling in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Isaiah’s first six chapters have been written not in chronological order but in order to make a theological point.[1] The point is: if the people of unclean lips can have the same experience as he, the man of unclean lips, how can a corrupt, rebellious, defiant people ever become the promised, clean, obedient Israel from whom all the nations learn God’s teaching?

Read the first five chapters of Isaiah, and you see that Israel was corrupt from head to toe. Its leaders and its people were so addicted to sin that they were worse than the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah. They trampled the courts and celebrated pagan feasts. They exercised injustice and oppression. Murderers, prostitutes, thieves, psychics and the bribed ruled the land. As the threat of invasion loomed, its leaders sought alliances rather than trusting God. In short, these chapters, like the rest of the book, speak of God’s judgment. And yet, intertwined into judgment is hope.

The mentioning of the year that King Uzziah died is significant because it is with this death that Judah’s truly hopeless situation emerged. By this time the Assyrian emperor Tiglath-Pileser III had clearly established himself as a military conqueror to be feared.[2] As long as Uzziah was king, the threat was uncertain, but with his death danger was imminent. His son, Jotham, was no strong king, and Jotham’s son, Ahaz, was considered a puppet of the pro-Assyrian party in Judah.

Keep in mind that Jotham ruled as king for 11 years before his father’s death because the elder had a skin disease and he tended to spend a lot of time in the Temple burning incense. Hence, Jotham reigned as governor of the palace, and his father lived in a separate house as a leper.[3]

Jotham did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah had done. Nevertheless, the high places were not removed. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.[4]

Ahaz ascended to the throne after Jotham’s death, but because his father was weak, the young Ahaz called the shots. While the Kings of Israel and Damascus were desperate for some way of stopping the aggressive Tiglath, who by this time had captured all of Syria except the capital, Damascus, Ahaz aligned himself with the pro-Assyrian party in order to appease Tiglath. The two kings formed an alliance and approached Ahaz who trembled at the thought of Tiglath not only capturing Judah, but also forcibly resettling the Jews elsewhere and other peoples into his kingdom. Forced resettlement was one of Tiglath’s ways of keeping the peace. The other was brutal torture of the captives.

Chapter six serves as a prelude of how Ahaz trusted in the power of the world to deliver him, refusing to submit his plans and ways to God. The result was destruction. Later in the book, we see how King Hezekiah submits himself to God and calls on the people to do likewise. The result was deliverance. Chapters 7-39 contrast the ways of the two kings and depict a God who has the power to care for his servants. In short, Isaiah’s confession spoke of the sins of the king and the people who embraced not the ways of their God, but the ways and gods of other nations.

That brings me to my second point, Commission. The word comes to us from the Latin words commissio or committere meaning to unite, connect, combine or bring together. Its root words are com meaning with or together, and mittere meaning to release, send or throw.

There are a number of definitions for the word commission. As a verb, you can commission a ship or can commission your portrait to be painted or your biography to be written. The military commissions officers. As a noun, you can earn a commission when you sell real estate or vehicles. The commission Isaiah received was an authorization or command to act in a prescribed manner or to perform prescribed acts. It is a charge.

Upon the death of King Uzziah, Isaiah saw the rise and control of the pro-Assyrian party. As he pondered who is the king in this world, it was revealed to him. He exclaimed, “My eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”[5] What he saw was the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Let me read that again. The train of his robe filled the temple. It is within the context of this vision, a vision in which he saw not only the immensity of God, but also sensed His holiness, heard His thunderous voice, and smelled the thick smoke filling the temple, that he realized his powerlessness in the face of an all-powerful God. As he realized that he was doomed, and confessed his sinfulness, God removed his guilt and purged his sins.

We read that God did this through an angel who touched Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal. Now, we read elsewhere in the Bible of how fire, coal, smoke, incense and angels were used to cleanse people of their sins and heal them.[6] And I can tell you from personal experience of working at B&W, how hot the touch of that coal is. In the winter, when snow and ice rested on that load of scrap metal lowered into the furnace, if you didn’t take cover, the sparks would not only burn through your clothes but also through your skin. In that case, I was not purged of my sins. I digress.

Although Isaiah confessed that his lips were unclean, it was his way of saying that it was his heart that was unclean. Jesus explained this when he taught, “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”[7]

It was at this point that Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then [he] said, “Here I am! Send me.” And God said, “Go!”[8]His experience of divine grace cleansed his heart and he wanted to serve this holy Sovereign of the universe.[9] And then, God commanded him to say this: “’Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”[10]

Isaiah’s commissioning makes one wonder if God wanted to save His people or not. Now, suppose Isaiah chose to be among the false prophets who preached affirmation and encouragement that did not address the people’s sin directly. He could have attracted a large following if he only told people to make a place for God in their lives. They could have been “healed” but only temporarily and superficially, with no impact on the nation itself.[11]

Instead, he was commissioned to preach a message that would only push people further from God. Yet, some would heed his words and preserve them until the days of cauterizing fires of the Exile fall and there would finally be a generation willing to listen. Only then would real healing occur, and the stage would be set for the promised Messiah to come.[12] Isaiah’s call was not to success in the eyes of the world, but faithfulness to a difficult commission. I am sure the cost to preach this scorched earth message wrenched Isaiah’s heart and mind.

That brings me to my third point, Cost. The word, cost, comes to us from the Latin word costare, meaning to stand at or with. Costare is formed from com meaning with or together and stare meaning to stand. Most of the time, we use the word cost when we discuss some economic topic, such as the cost of living, food, gas, education and so on. We also use it when we discuss the cost of freedom or success, like the loss of soldiers or time away from family.

In our passage today, there are costs. As I mentioned a moment ago, there is a cost to Isaiah preaching God’s message. Standing with God cost him popularity. Read the oracles of the next 30 chapters. Hear Isaiah’s words as his recipients heard them because when you hear his prophecies of judgment and doom, you will not want to stand with him.

The cost to the Kingdom of Judah was near total destruction. As we read in the final verses of today’s passage, Isaiah was to preach this message “until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.”[13] And if you think that’s the end of it, think again. “Though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.”[14]

            There is no other way. If these people were allowed to continue as they were, there would be no hope. Their religion was half-pagan, and if they were allowed to continue, they would be completely pagan. God would not allow this to happen. After this frighteningly thorough cleansing, one of the burned-out stumps would still have life in it.[15]

            The last words of God’s message are, “The holy seed is its stump.”[16] Biblical scholars debate the meaning of this verse. Some say that the holy seed can mean the people of God, while others think it means the Messiah. The point is that the people’s only hope is in God alone.

The people’s only hope is in God alone. Our only hope is in God alone. When I read and study these passages, I struggle. During prayer, like Isaiah, I realize that I too am a person of unclean lips. Like Peter, I realize that I am a sinful man. And when I look around, I see that I am living among sinful people; people of sinful lips, sinful hearts and minds. And I realize that our only hope is in God alone.

So, what am I to do? I must say that when I read, study and pray over this passage, I struggle not only with my sin, but also with my call to follow Christ and the cost of discipleship. In prayer Isaiah’s vision of God is immense. The train of God’s robe filled the temple. In comparison, Isaiah realizes that that he is a puny, sinful man. Yet, God manifests Himself through this puny, sinful man. And God can show Himself to the world through you and me, and through us as the Body of Christ, as Church.

This past week, I read two items that caused me to reflect on this passage. One is a quote from the 17^th century philosopher, Baruch Spinoza, whose naturalistic views on God, the world, the human being and knowledge served to ground a moral philosophy centered on the control of the passions leading to virtue and happiness. He once wrote that we feel we are eternal. Our instincts tell us that we will live forever.[17] Yet, experience tells us that we will not. We all have an expiration date, and are best used before that date.

That said, the other item I read was about the 1% rule.[18] The author points out that of those who make New Year’s resolutions, over 90% do not keep them beyond January 12^th. He went on to cite how a new trainer of the Olympic British Cycling Team, which had not won the Tour de France or Olympic Gold in over a century, got them to win 178 World Championships and 66 Olympic and Paralympic gold medals between 2007-2017. He did it by refusing to underestimate the power of small things. In essence, the new trainer made mediocre cyclists into great athletes by aiming to be 1% better every day.

That is what Isaiah spoke to the people later in the book. He said, “It is not enough for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribe of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”[19]

Indeed, you and I are sinners living in a world of sinners, unbelievers, pagans and scoffers. Confessing our sins, we are redeemed for a divine commission – to bring salvation through Christ Crucified to the ends of the earth. The cost in the world’s terms is great, but it has already been paid by Jesus Christ on the Cross. He is the payor and the price paid for you and me. So, it’s not enough for us to simply gather for worship or tune in via social media. God commissions us to bring His salvation to sinners yet to be saved. As we depart from here, may Jesus’ love and the Holy Spirit increase in us love for the Father’s will each and every day by 1%. When that happens, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] John N. Oswalt, Isaiah: The NIV Application Commentary: From Biblical text to Contemporary Life. Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan (2003), p. 125.

[2] Oswalt, 126.

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jotham

[4] 2 Kings 16:5-6.

[5] Isaiah 6:5.

[6] Revelation 8:3; Numbers 16:46; Ezekial 10:2; Matthew 3:11; Leviticus 16:12.

[7] Matthew 15:18-19; see also James 3:9-12.

[8] Isaiah 6:8-9a.

[9] Oswalt, 127.

[10] Isaiah 6:9-10.

[11] Oswalt, 128.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Isaiah 6:11-12.

[14] Isaiah 6:13.

[15] Oswalt, 128.

[16] Isaiah 6:13.

[17] Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange, Thomistic Common Sense: The Philosophy of Being and the Development of Doctrine. Translated by Matthew K. Minerd. Steubenville OH: Emmaus Academic (2021). p. 111.

[18] Mike Schmitz, “Just 1 Percent,” The Word Among Us, February 2022 (Volume 41: Number 3), pp. 4-9.

[19] Isaiah 49:6. (Berean Study Bible)