Today's Reading:

Isaiah 5
Isaiah 6
Isaiah 7
Isaiah 8

In the Bible, seraphim and cherubim are two powerful types of angels who serve in God’s presence. The Seraphim, whose name means “burning ones,” look fiery. They worship and praise God to proclaim His holiness. They covered their faces with their wings in reverence to the Lord. Neither angel type could look directly at God. Like humans could not look at God and live (Exodus 33:20). This is why Isaiah feared death in 6:5, when he saw the vision of God seated on His throne, surrounded by seraphim. One of the seraphim then used a burning coal from the altar and touched it to Isaiah’s lips to purify him from his sins. The “unclean lips” were important, since Isaiah was a prophet who speaks for God. After being cleaned, Isaiah volunteered and said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8), to God’s call to proclaim judgment. God warned him that most people would not listen, and only a tenth the remnant, (holy seed) would remain and survive like a stump left after a tree was cut down.

In Revelation 4, John saw four “living creatures” around God’s throne. Most Bible scholars believe these were a combination of the seraphim (from Isaiah 6) and cherubim (from Ezekiel 1 & 10). They have six wings (seraphim), cover their eyes (cherubim), have four faces (cherubim), and sing almost the exact song as the seraphim in Isaiah 6. This is the only place in the Bible where the seraphim are named. The cherubim were angel beings guarding the holy places. Here is a way I have learned to remember the differences:

Cherubim- “Cher” sounds like “Chair”. Chairs have 4 legs, and Cherubim have 4 wings and 4 faces.

Seraphim- Seraphim have six wings. Both “Seraphim” and “Six” start with the letter “S.”

In Isaiah 6, after seeing the holiness of God and being cleansed, Isaiah heard the Lord ask, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”. Isaiah immediately replied, “Here am I. Send me!” This is the heart behind the song: “Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard You calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if You lead me…” If God asked you today, “Whom shall I send?” What would your answer be? Are you ready to say, “Here I am, Lord. Send me”?

God is the one who planted and cared for the vineyard. He is our vine keeper. He longingly cares for the vineyard; therefore, He expects good fruit. Israel and Judah are God’s chosen vineyard, and the grapes are His people. Good fruit means doing what is right and just. Wild grapes represent injustice and oppression. (Isaiah 5:1-7)

This reminds me of the song, “Here I am Lord,” by Collin Raye (if you get a chance, listen to the lyrics today). Jesus used the parable about the vineyard tenants (Matthew 21:33). God’s judgment came because the leaders had failed to produce good fruit. God had done everything right. He had the perfect location; He tilled, planted the vineyard with good seeds, protected, and equipped it. Yet in the end, when He expected sweet grapes, they were sour. So, God removed His protection and care; no rain for you!

Isaiah listed 6 “woes” (serious warnings and curses) against the people:

1. Woe to the greedy, land grabbing rich, moving the poor out. This violated the Jubilee laws (land given back to owners, debts forgiven) Leviticus 25:8-12.
2. Woe to the party animals who drank and partied so much they had a spiritual blackout. They were alcoholics and death was coming.
3. The ruin will become pastures for nature to reclaim the elite’s excessiveness.
4. Woe to those who call evil, good and good, evil. This was like the modern cultural wars.
5. Woe to the wise in their own eyes, the prideful, the arrogant intellectuals and the smug.
6. Woe to the court that had become full of booze. They were guilty of taking bribes, and corrupting justice, living in luxury and ignoring the suffering around them.

God’s anger is catastrophic. He actually whistled for the distant nations to come quickly for judgment. Like the image of calling a K9 unit to come quickly. Aram (Syria) and Israel (Ephraim) attacked King Ahaz of Judah (s). Ahaz refused to trust God and instead made a deal with Assyria for protection. God offered him a sign, anything from the deepest depths (Sheol) to the highest heights (heaven), but Ahaz faked humility and refused. He even quoted Deuteronomy 6:16, “Do not test the Lord.” Although he was being fake, as he had already made up his mind to trust Assyria, and not God. Because he rejected God’s sign, The Lord gave the famous Immanuel prophecy anyway. Immanuel means God with us. When God offers a sign, do not refuse it! “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and we will call him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). This points to Jesus in Matthew 1:23.

A child (Isaiah’s son or a royal child) was the living sign that the threat from Aram and Israel would end soon. God warned that Assyria would come like swarms of flies and bees that could not be escaped. Even in judgment, God promised that milk and honey would again be in abundance for the survivors.

In chapter 8, God told Isaiah to write a scroll. Before Isaiah’s newborn son could speak, Assyria would plunder both Damascus (the capital of Aram) and Samaria (the capital of Israel). The prophetess, Isaiah’s wife, gave birth to the child, which showed that prophets had real marriages, families, and everyday life. The message was clear: do not rely on Assyria; God Himself is the true cornerstone. All seemed hopeless and lost, but God was with the people.

Today's Discussion question:

In Isaiah 6, after seeing the holiness of God and being cleansed, Isaiah heard the Lord ask, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah immediately replied, “Here am I. Send me!” This is the heart behind the song: “Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard You calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if You lead me…” If God asked you today, “Whom shall I send?” What would your answer be? Are you ready to say, “Here I am, Lord. Send me”?

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