Living Stream Ministry

II. CHRIST’S WARNING COMMISSION TO ISAIAH

In verses 8 through 13 we have Christ’s warning commission to Isaiah. After Isaiah was purged, he received a commission from the Lord.

A. The Lord’s Need

1. His Calling

Regarding the Lord’s need, we first have His calling. The Lord said, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?" (v. 8a). The words I and Us indicate that the One speaking here is triune, that this One is not merely Christ but Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God.

2. Isaiah’s Answer

Isaiah’s answer was very good. He said, "Here am I; send me" (v. 8b).

B. The Lord’s Warning Commission to Isaiah

1. His Charge

In verses 9 and 10 the Lord gave His charge to Isaiah. The Lord said to him, "Go and say to this people,/Hear indeed, but do not perceive;/And see indeed, but do not understand./Make the heart of this people numb;/Dull their ears,/And seal their eyes;/Lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears,/And their heart perceives and returns, and they are healed." This indicates that there would be no way for the people to be healed and recovered.

2. Isaiah’s Question

In response to the Lord’s charge, Isaiah asked a question. He said, "For how long, Lord?" (v. 11a). He was asking how long this situation would remain.

3. The Answer

In verses 11b through 13 we have the Lord’s answer to Isaiah’s question. The Lord said to him, "Until cities lay devastated,/Without inhabitants,/And houses are without people,/And the land is devastated and a waste;/And Jehovah has sent men far away from it,/ And desolate places abound in the midst of the land./But there will still be a tenth part in it; / And it in turn is to be burned/Like a terebinth or an oak, /Whose stump remains after its felling; /Its stump will be a holy seed." Except for the word concerning the holy seed, this prophecy has been fulfilled.

(Life-Study of Isaiah, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee)