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Isaiah Answered the Call

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(Isaiah 6:8)

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

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This happened in the year that King Uzziah, the king of Judah died.
This happened to a man named Isaiah.

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Isaiah was a secretary who wrote down everything about King Uzziah. After the death of King Uzziah, Isaiah was worried about his country so he was praying in God's temple amidst lots of worries. Isaiah loved his country very much.

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To that Isaiah, an amazing thing happened.
Heaven opened up in front of him and he saw God sitting on a highly exalted throne. The robe of God, seated on the throne, filled the temple.

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Above the throne of God, angels named seraphim stood.
Each of the seraphim had six wings.

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These seraphim covered their eyes with two wings and with another two, they covered their feet and they flew with the other two wings.

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The sound of these seraphim were so loud that the door posts of the temple shook and the temple became filled with smoke. Isaiah was very surprised by this scene.

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Since he saw God with his very own eyes, Isaiah was afraid and shouted. "Woe to me! I am such an unclean man but I have seen the King, the LORD Almighty with my very own eyes. I am ruined."

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While Isaiah trembled in fear, one seraphim, using tongs, took a hot coal from the altar, held it in his hand and flew to Isaiah. Then he touched the coal to Isaiah's lips.

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Then the seraphim said. "See, this has touched your lips so all your sins are taken away and you are forgiven."
God forgave all the sins of Isaiah.

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After getting his sins forgiven, the voice of God was heard to the ears of Isaiah.
God spoke. "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
God was looking for His worker.

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Hearing God's words, Isaiah did not hesitate and said. "Here I am. Send me."
Isaiah answered God's calling.

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God told Isaiah what to do. "Go and tell this people. They have heard me but they have closed their ears and have kept on sinning. Go tell this people that I will judge their wrong doings. But I will wait until they come back and I will heal them again."

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God did not judge Judah to destroy them. It was the great loving heart of God, wanting the people of Judah to return to God. God wanted to show His loving heart to them so God called for Isaiah.

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That day, God called Isaiah and Isaiah became a prophet. From that day on, for 60 years, Isaiah lived as a prophet who told the words of God to the people.

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Even today, God is looking for faithful people like Isaiah. God speaks, "Whom shall I send?" To God's words, Isaiah answered, "Here I am. Send me." So just like Isaiah, I hope all of you can tell the world about the love of God.