| Church School Lesson: Here I Am! What Now? |
"Here I Am! What Now?"
September 7, 2025
Background; Isaiah 6:1-13; 7:1-7; 20:1-6; 20:1-6; 38:1-22;
Print: Isaiah 6:1-8; 38:1-5; Key Verse: Isaiah 6:8; Devotional: Isa. 2:1-5
Isaiah 6:1-8 (ESV)
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Isaiah 38:1-5 (ESV)
1 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.”
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,
3 and said, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah:
5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.
Isaiah Chapter 6 & 38 (Commentary)
6:1 After five introductory chapters that set the stage for what is to come, Isaiah takes us to his backstory. Here we see the prophet’s life-changing vision of God’s overwhelming holiness and his call to ministry. It was a very crucial point in the history of Judah. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. So although Judah was experiencing turmoil at the death of its king, the true King was seated on his throne in sovereign glory. Isaiah thus learned that the kingdom of God operates according to his will, not according to outward circumstances. If you embrace this kingdom principle, it will change your life.
That God was still in charge was crucial for Isaiah to grasp because the death of Uzziah was a personal tragedy for the prophet, as well as for the southern kingdom of Judah. Although he certainly wasn’t perfect (see 2 Chr 26:16-21), Uzziah had been a good king who had brought Judah a long way back toward God (see 2 Chr 26:3-5). It would have been easy for Isaiah to pin his hopes on Uzziah for a national revival that would perhaps forestall God’s judgment, but God had another plan. And to make it real to Isaiah, the Lord gave him an incredible vision. Of course, Isaiah knew the Lord before Uzziah died. But the point is that Isaiah didn’t really see the Lord until Uzziah died. Isaiah needed to learn that although a king was dead, the King was alive and well. Judah had definitely flourished during Uzziah’s reign. It had become a power to be reckoned with. And yet, times were changing.
Sometimes it takes a tragedy in our lives, or other negative circumstances, for us to truly see God. We may know him as our Savior but not be growing in a day-by-day experience of adopting his perspective of the world and living in obedience to it. In fact, that’s one reason God sometimes allows difficult situations to come into our lives. They help shift our focus off the created things and onto the Creator. Until we adjust our vision from the temporal to the eternal, we may miss out on seeing the eternal altogether. God is not merely interested in getting us to heaven. He wants us to see and experience him here. Sometimes God is most clearly seen in the midst of painful situations.
6:2-3 What did Isaiah see? He saw a God who is holy to the third power: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies (6:3). The angelic beings who called out these words weren’t stuttering; the triple repetition was for emphasis. God is holy—that is, he is separate or distinct. “God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him” (1 John 1:5). He is perfect, pure, and righteous. God’s holiness is the centerpiece of his character. All of his other attributes flow from it. His wrath against sin, then, is a holy wrath. His sovereignty over the universe is a holy sovereignty. His love for the world is a holy love. If God is anything, he is holy.
The prophet saw a God who rules over all the situations of life. The seraphim who were calling out eternal praise had six wings (6:2): four were for worship, and two were for working. To me, this indicates that when we prioritize worship over working, our work will be more fruitful. Spending time in God’s holy presence will enable us to understand his kingdom perspective so that we may live it out.
6:4-5 This was a terrifying sight for Isaiah as the foundations shook with the power of the angels’ voices and the temple was filled with smoke (6:4)—a reference to the glory of God. Isaiah was so overcome that he cried out, Woe is me for I am ruined (6:5). The word ruined means “coming undone,” so Isaiah felt like he was falling apart, unraveling before a holy God. The prophet was thus in despair: I am a man of unclean lips (6:5). Despite being a significant and prominent prophet dedicated to the service of God, Isaiah fully felt his own inadequacy and sinfulness in God’s holy presence. And in that reality, Isaiah confessed his uncleanness.
6:6-7 Because of this, Isaiah experienced God’s grace. One of the seraphim flew over to him with a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs (6:6). He touched Isaiah’s lips with it and said, Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for (6:7). The lips are the most sensitive part of the human face, so when the angel touched Isaiah’s with a burning coal, there must have been pain. This was necessary because, in order for Isaiah to experience cleansing, he had to embrace the pain of the past that had gotten him there.
6:8-9 Isaiah discovered more than the purifying searing of the coal. He discovered his purpose. He heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who should I send? Who will go for us? The God of the universe was calling for kingdom volunteers. Isaiah didn’t hesitate. He said, Here I am. Send me (6:8).
38:1-8 The actual chronological order of events recorded in chapters 36–39 is different than how they appear in Isaiah. According to 38:6, Hezekiah’s illness preceded the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrian army. The visit by representatives of Merodach-baladan, king of Babylon (39:1), must also have preceded the siege of chapters 36–37, since it is highly unlikely that these messengers would have been able to enter Jerusalem with the Assyrians surrounding the city.
When Hezekiah became terminally ill, God sent Isaiah to the king with the announcement of his impending death (38:1). The king prayed that God would remember his faithfulness and wept bitterly (38:2-3). In response, God had mercy on him and granted another fifteen years of life (38:5).