No. 781
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:8)
In preceding papers (July and August 2022), we traced the history of the Jewish nation (natural Israel) in its two divisions: the ten-tribe kingdom, called Israel, and the two-tribe kingdom, called Judah. We saw the truthfulness of the Lord’s statement: “They have corrupted themselves . . . they are a perverse and crooked generation.” (Deut. 32:5) We saw that both kingdoms continually gravitated toward idolatry. Even when corrected through divine judgments at the hands of their enemies, their reformation was only temporary, and they soon delved into idolatry again, requiring new chastisements from the Lord. This history leads us down to about the time of the Prophet Isaiah.
The first five chapters of the prophecy of Isaiah are denunciations against Israel and Judah, mingled with exhortations to reformation, in which God called out to them: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. . . . Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isa. 1:3, 16-20)
These offers of divine mercy were not heeded; consequently, the Lord later sent a different message through Isaiah.
THE VISION WAS A CALL TO SERVICE
Because this new message would be a difficult one to proclaim, Isaiah was given a vision. (Isa. 6:1-13) The purpose of the vision was to encourage Isaiah and lead him to volunteer to be the bearer of the message. The vision prophesied the establishment of the Kingdom of God during the Millennium, as described later in Isaiah’s prophecy: “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isa. 40:5)
In this vision, God presented Himself to Isaiah as a King above all kings, whose glory made the false majesty and grandeur of earthly kings appear as mere dross. God’s glory and holiness is forcefully brought to our attention by the refrain of the seraphim: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isa. 6:3) These words of the seraphim could only be true from a prophetic standpoint, for the whole earth has never yet been filled with the Lord’s glory. Quite to the contrary, the earth is full of sin and violence, and every evil work prospers under the dominion of the great Adversary of God and righteousness, “the prince of this world.”
This prophecy was specifically written for the benefit of the spiritual “sons” of the Gospel Age. (1 Pet. 1:12) God wanted them to know that evil will not always prevail; eventually God’s Kingdom will come, and His will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, just as expressed in the Lord’s Prayer. With evil and evil-doers destroyed and the knowledge of the Lord filling the earth, the prophecy will be fulfilled and the whole earth will be full of the Lord’s glory. In the meantime, the Lord’s people are to wait patiently for Him, serving Him while enduring opposition from the world. They see Him although He is invisible, and recognize His glory which is as yet only a vision and a promise.
Everything in the vision served to impress upon Isaiah the idea of God’s holiness as well as His grace. The very door-posts reverberated at the cry of the seraphim, and the Prophet himself was overwhelmed with the sight and the message. His first thought was naturally and properly of his own sinfulness and imperfection as a member of the fallen human race. He felt himself unworthy to even see such a great sight: “Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Isa. 6:5)
Those who are brought closest to the divine presence, realizing most fully the holiness and perfection of our God, are those who feel their own shortcomings and unworthiness the most. They actually are far superior to others, otherwise they would never be granted such insights into the divine plan and character. “Humbleness of mind” is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit pointed out by the Apostle. (Col. 3:12) Whoever has that deep humility, that intense appreciation of his own faults and of the divine perfection, is in the proper condition of heart to be ready for divine blessing and usefulness in divine service. On the other hand, those who claim perfection for themselves are in a deplorable condition of heart, and are wholly unfit for the Lord’s service.
In the vision, Isaiah lamented his own imperfection, saying that his lips were “unclean” and thus wholly inadequate to tell of the divine glory. A seraphim then brought a live coal from the altar and touched the Prophet’s lips, saying, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” (Isa. 6:7) Thus, the Lord symbolically told Isaiah that because of his humility he would be granted powers of expression that were not his own – his lips would be cleansed and inspired by the Lord to tell the message of the great salvation, the message of love, the message of the great sacrifice and the grand results.
The vision had its designed effect upon Isaiah, establishing more firmly his faith, manifesting to him the divine greatness and power. Thus Isaiah’s heart was quickened with a desire to further engage in the divine service, no matter what message the Lord would send. Then he heard the Lord ask for a faithful servant, and his response was immediate: “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:8)
It is the same with those called by the Lord to His service during this Gospel Age. None are forced into divine service: all soldiers of the cross must be volunteers – none will be drafted. The Lord does not even try to persuade anyone to become His servant, but as with Isaiah, He shows the faithful His character and plan, and lets them know that He is seeking those to worship and serve Him, as worship and serve “in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23) This knowledge constitutes His “call” and it is quite sufficient for all who have appreciatively tasted of the Lord’s grace to know that there is an opportunity of rendering service to the King of kings. They volunteer their services and pray that the Lord will grant them the privilege of doing all that their talents qualify them to do in His service. These only are true mouthpieces of the Lord. The false prophets and teachers of error are those who give the appearance of serving the Lord’s cause for selfish reasons – money, the praise of others, self-aggrandizement, etc.
The message Isaiah was thus commissioned to convey was that all the warnings, threats, and chastisements upon Israel and Judah, both past and then future, would fail to reach their hearts and turn them to repentance: “And he said, Go, and tell this people, 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.” (Isa. 6:9-10)
As a consequence of their failure to repent, the land would be made desolate and the people would be carried away into captivity: “Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.” (Isa. 6:11-12)
Such a message would be difficult to deliver to any people, yet this was the message the Lord prepared His servant to send. We are not surprised to learn that the people resented the message, and although Isaiah lived to the good old age of seventy, there seems to be reasonable grounds for believing the traditional claim that he eventually died a martyr’s death, being sawn asunder.
The vision concludes with a ray of hope – the suggestion that a remnant of the people, a “holy seed,” would be spared and returned to their land, and the national hope thus revived. (Isa. 6:13) The proud and self-willed people to whom the message was delivered no doubt considered this as adding insult to injury.
It was not long after Isaiah had this vision that the ten tribes were carried away into captivity, and although Judah underwent a reformation, it was only temporary. Judah’s share in the prophesied captivity occurred about one hundred and fifty years later.
A NEW DOORWAY
The Lord Jesus referred directly to Isaiah’s vision and showed us its meaning. (Matt. 13:14-15; John 12:38-41) In fulfilment of the divine promise, Jesus at His First Advent offered Himself to natural Israel as their great King of Glory, the promised great Mediator of the New Covenant. (Jer. 31:31) God knew that Jesus would be rejected, but still the offer was made. Had He been received, it would have meant that a sufficient number of the Jewish nation would have accepted Him with their whole heart, and would have constituted the complete number of the Bride class. No offer would have been made to the Gentiles to become joint-heirs with Messiah in His glorious Kingdom – the entire blessing would have gone to Israel. The Kingdom would have been established immediately and the nation of Israel, accepting Messiah, would have at once become the channel of divine blessing to all nations.
Instead, Israel rejected Messiah and the nation as a whole was rejected by the Lord and scattered among all the nations of the earth. In Isaiah’s vision, the shaking of the door-posts and the darkness clouding the glorious scene indicated that the world was not ready to receive the message of God’s glory filling the earth. The fulfilment of this we see in the fact that the Jewish nation, which was to be the doorway to the promised glory, was not in the proper condition. A new doorway had to be provided through which the glories of the King of kings would flow to the world.
St. Paul declared that the shaking of anything, in a typical sense, represents its instability, its removal – in order that something superior might be established in its place. (Heb. 12:26-27) The Jewish nation was removed from its favored position and a new nation, a new doorway, a new channel of access between God and men, has since been in the process of being established.
Since no other nation in the world was more worthy of the honored position than Israel, God proceeded to make a new nation composed exclusively of saints, “a royal priesthood, an holy nation.” (1 Pet. 2:9) A “remnant” of “Israelites indeed” accepted Messiah and became the nucleus of the new nation, being received as sons of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord. (John 1:12; Rom. 11:5-11) The selection processes have continued throughout this Gospel Age, and with its close the Holy Nation will be completed by the power of the First Resurrection. Then all will be ready, and the whole earth will actually be filled with the glory of God and the world will be blessed – natural Israel being promised a prominent share in connection with this grand work.
ISAIAH A TYPE OF THE LITTLE FLOCK
In Isaiah’s vision, a glimpse of the Lord’s glory showed him his own defects and the defects of those around him. The teachings of Jesus had the same effect upon all who received His message. They saw the Law more clearly than ever before and realized that they violated it more than they knew – not only in actions, but also in words and thoughts. The holy ones, as represented by Isaiah, took the matter to heart and humbled themselves before the Lord. They acknowledged that they were not fit to be teachers of men, but that the whole Jewish nation and all others were imperfect, and that any message which their lips could carry would be imperfect.
When Isaiah’s lips were touched with a live coal from the altar, it illustrated how the saintly of Israel and from all nations have had the required blessing upon their lips during this Gospel Age. God has desired to send His message of grace and the invitation to sacrifice to all who would have the ear to hear. He asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” The sanctified, typified by Isaiah, have throughout the age responded, “Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:8) They have proclaimed the divine invitation: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom. 12:1) This message, enkindled by the live coal from God’s altar of sacrifice, has gone throughout the world for nearly twenty centuries, teaching of the cleansing from sin and service to God.
The Master and His Apostles began this proclamation, and it has continued throughout the Gospel Age. Few have heard and few have received the blessing of forgiveness and begetting of the Holy Spirit. We are not to be discouraged by this, because the “little flock” have gotten this blessing and have been preparing to constitute the Kingdom class, the new doorway or threshold connecting God with the world of mankind.
SPIRITUAL ISRAEL’S WAKING VISION
Since we find from the Scriptures that natural Israel was a type of spiritual Israel, we are not surprised to find that a message similar to the one Isaiah delivered to natural Israel has been sent to spiritual Israel here at the end of the Gospel Age. The message is that the time of harvest has come and that God is gathering out His jewels. The message is also that nominal spiritual Israel, Christendom, is hereafter to be known as “Babylon” (confusion), and that all who are truly the Lord’s people are to hear His voice and flee out of it: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Rev. 18:1-4)
This particular feature of the message of present truth, the calling of God’s people out of Babylon, is in many respects like the message Isaiah delivered to the faithful of Israel in his day. It is a message that is unpopular and it sparks resentment and reproach from those who love sectarianism and human creeds more than they love the Lord, even when it is presented in the most gentle and loving manner.
Those who desire to speak the message of present truth in love, yet with courage, need the same encouragement the Lord granted to Isaiah. They need the eyes of their understanding to see a vision of the King in His beauty; and they need to hear clear assurance that ultimately the Lord will establish His Kingdom, which will fill the whole earth with His glory. It is such a message the Lord is now granting to those He would use as servants and mouthpieces. The present truth now provided by our Lord in His Parousia is a waking vision of the Lord’s glory. We see the divine character as never before: the divine wisdom, justice, love and power, fully coordinated and operating in absolute harmony in all the great work of our God in the past, the present, and the future.
Spiritual Israel’s vision, like Isaiah’s, includes the testimony of the seraphim: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is [will be] full of his glory.” They can see the future work of our God, through the Millennial Kingdom of the glorified Christ, Head and body, who are to bless all the families of the earth. At the end of this Gospel Age, it is those who thus see divine grace in its brilliance, while also seeing their own imperfection and unworthiness, who have been granted the opportunity of being mouthpieces of God. They have been touched with an antitypical coal from the antitypical altar. They are anxious to render service to our Lord, and are commissioned to bear the message of present truth to others.
HEZEKIAH’S GREAT PASSOVER
Isaiah’s vision and his commission to announce the fall of Israel was “in the year that King Uzziah died.” (Isa. 6:1) Uzziah was succeeded to the throne of Judah by Jotham, who ruled for sixteen years, and then by the wicked king, Ahaz, who also reigned for sixteen years. Despite being very wicked, it appears Ahaz had an excellent wife, Abijah, under whose careful training their son, Hezekiah, was prepared for the kingdom, and became in many ways a model ruler, and a faithful servant of God.
It is evident that Hezekiah was already well instructed and thoroughly consecrated to the Lord when he became king, because he immediately began to implement religious reforms. His first public work was to open and repair the Temple of the Lord, which had been closed for years and had fallen into disrepair. The king called the divinely appointed tribe of Levi to aid him in this work. The cleansing of the Temple proceeded according to the Law of Moses, and when it was complete its first use was for a great sin-offering.
Being broadminded, Hezekiah instructed the offering to be not only for the people of Judah, the two tribes, but for “all Israel and Judah,” including the separated ten tribes. (2 Chron. 30:1) He properly recognized that the twelve tribes were still in some respects one nation, because the divine promises were made to all of the seed of Abraham. Therefore, anyone among all the tribes who would recognize the Lord God and seek His face was properly esteemed a brother, a fellow Israelite.
The king determined to reinstitute the proper observance of the Passover Feast commemorating the Lord’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt, which had been neglected due to the general religious laxness and disorder. He stipulated that it be preceded by all the proper arrangements of the law – the cleansing of the people and the putting away of leaven, etc. However, the time was too short for the people to be ready to observe the Passover on its appointed day, the 14th day of the first month, and hence the 14th day of the second month was observed instead – as the Lord had permitted. (Num. 9:10-11) Special messengers were sent to publicly invite all Israelites of every tribe to return to the worship of the Lord and to come for the observance of this feast.
Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the carrying away of Israel into captivity was already in progress. The ten tribes were then paying tribute to Assyria, and many of the people had actually been carried away. Those who had the faith and zeal to recognize that their impending captivity was a punishment for their rejection of the Lord were thus prompted to return to the Lord’s worship, as King Hezekiah’s letters exhorted: “Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord . . . And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see. . . . yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary . . . that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.” (2 Chron. 30:6-8)
However, the majority of the people in the northern kingdom laughed at the messengers. As a nation, their pride was leading them to destruction. Only the humble are able to receive the Lord’s gracious promises and appreciate the servants who bear the messages. Considerable faith and devotion to the Lord is required when the receiving of the messages subjects one to the scoffs and scorn of the unbelieving masses. Despite this, a number of the people humbled themselves and accepted the invitation, with at least five of the ten tribes being represented. (2 Chron. 30:11, 18)
We recall that some from the ten tribes had already gone to the kingdom of Judah to escape the idolatry prevalent in their own land. (2 Chron. 15:9) We further note that after the later captivity of Judah, the division of Israel was lost sight of. The decree of Cyrus permitting return from captivity ignored any division and was to all Israel, and the faithful of all the tribes who returned were together recognized as Israel, and are so referred to in the Bible. It was the remnant of all twelve tribes of Israel, not merely of Judah, that was gathered into the Gospel Age, while the remainder were “blinded” and broken off from the covenant promises until after the selection of spiritual Israel in the Gospel Age. (Rom. 11:7, 25-32)
The invitation to the Feast was well received throughout Judah: “Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the Lord. . . . for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.” (2 Chron. 30:12, 21-26) No such Passover had been observed in over two hundred and fifty years – since the days of Solomon. The Feast was observed with great joy and praising of God. The people became so imbued with religious fervor that the Passover week was prolonged for an additional week.
The revival of true religion did not stop with that Passover. It led also to a strong movement against every form of idolatry throughout Judah, a movement that even extended to the land of the ten tribes. This proper turning of the people to the Lord brought earthly blessings to them and to their king in harmony with God’s covenant made with Israel. The king became very rich, and the people prospered also, so that their tithes and offerings to the Lord were not only sufficient for the supply of the priests and Levites, but far in excess of this, so that store-houses had to be built to receive them.
ANALOGIES IN SPIRITUAL ISRAEL
We find several analogies to spiritual Israel in this history of fleshly Israel:
(1) Hezekiah and the priests and Levites were cleansed and sanctified “according to the law of Moses,” the mediator of Israel’s covenant. Spiritual Israelites seek cleansing in accordance with the law of Christ, the better Mediator. This cleansing is not with the blood of bulls and goats, but through the merit of the more precious blood of Christ. Whoever attempts to cleanse the Temple of God and to bring it into accordance with the divine arrangement will be blessed, as were Hezekiah and his kingdom. However, we are to remember that the rewards promised to spiritual Israel are spiritual and not temporal. While the congregation of the Lord in the present time may be considered nominally His Temple, the real Temple of God is the Church triumphant. Nevertheless, it is proper to also apply this lesson to our own individual hearts, as the Apostle said: “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Cor. 3:17) He went on to say, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1)
(2) Hezekiah invited all willing Israelites to join in the worship of the Lord as esteemed brethren. Spiritual Israelites should likewise esteem and treat as “Israelites indeed” all who trust in the precious blood of Christ as the great sin-offering of atonement. Sectarian names and creeds should all be abolished, and true Christians should be one people without any distinctions, aside from some having perhaps attained greater knowledge and sanctification than others.
(3) The message sent by Hezekiah was not popular and his messengers were mocked and scorned. A similar message today – a message offering true fellowship and the promises of God to all mankind, ignoring all sects and creeds – is also not popular. Now, as then, the majority are disposed to laugh and mock those who advocate the simplicity which is in Christ Jesus, as taught in the Scriptures, and practiced in the early Church. Just as a few Israelites were attracted by Hezekiah’s message, a few people today are attracted by what they realize to be the proper message, the truth. Many hear the message and do not have sufficient courage to act upon it, as no doubt was the case in Israel. Nevertheless, a few from almost all denominations and creeds have been attracted to the message and have been ready and willing to humble themselves, while the proud have stood for sectarianism and its accompanying honors and distinctions, and have failed to get the divine blessing.
(4) In Hezekiah’s day, a true revival of religious sentiment toward God and His worship required the general destruction of idols. Today there are many idols impeding the worship of God in accordance with His Word. They take many forms and features, and the Lord’s people should be zealous in overthrowing them. Masses of people bow themselves before the idol of sectarianism, but there are legions of other idols, including money, lust, politics, power, pride, ambition, and ease. All of these idols have one general characteristic: selfishness.
Anyone who is consecrated to the Lord should readily recognize the abominable character of these idols before which the great Adversary induces us to bow and worship. To the degree of our zeal for the Lord and the measure of His spirit in our hearts, we will be zealous in putting down all these idols, bringing not only our words and actions, but also our very thoughts, into subjection to the will of God in Christ: “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5)
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(The above is based on Reprints 2370-2372, 2379, and 4787.)
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