The Prophet Isaiah, God's Faithful Spokesman
Bible Prophet Told of Visions, Foretold Destruction and Messiah
Mar 29, 2009
Existing literature does not record Isaiah’s first call to the prophetic ministry. Yet the beginning of the book of Isaiah is clearly prophetical.
Isaiah Was Called to Be a Prophet
At some point after he’d already been exhorting his countrymen to return to righteousness, in chapter six, Isaiah recounts a vision where God called him to be a prophet. He told of seeing the Almighty sitting on a throne in heaven, with angels all around proclaiming God’s holiness.
Filled with awe at such a glorious sight, Isaiah was filled with despair and said, "Doom! It's Doomsday! I'm as good as dead! Every word I've ever spoken is tainted—blasphemous even! And the people I live with talk the same way, using words that corrupt and desecrate. And here I've looked God in the face! The King! God-of-the-Angel-Armies!" (Isaiah 6:5, The Message)
Immediately, an angel with tongs picked up a live ember from the burning altar and flew to Isaiah. The angel touched Isaiah’s lips with the hot coal and told him his guilt was removed and his sins were forgiven. Then Isaiah heard God’s voice, “‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ I [Isiah] spoke up, ‘I'll go. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8, The Message)
One can hardly argue with such a supernatural and dramatic calling, yet the people of Judah did not want to believe the prophecies of Isaiah. He insisted on telling them that bad things were going to happen when other prophets foretold good things. Nevertheless, it was Isaiah’s predictions that came true.
Divine Intervention Caused a Military Upset
The Assyrian King, Sennacharib, went on a military campaign, destroying dozens of cities and killing and enslaving thousands of people. Eyeing his next conquest, he sent one of his armies and his supreme commander to Jerusalem.
They surrounded the city and sent messages to the city leaders, belittling King Hezekiah and the God of Judah. Hezekiah went to the temple and spread out the messages before the Lord, showing God the words of the defiant invader and begging for God’s intervention.
Isaiah delivered God’s reply to King Hezekiah and the next night the angel of the Lord went to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 troops while they were sleeping.
The next morning, when the remaining would-be conquerors woke up and discovered many of their friends were dead, there was mass confusion. King Sennacharib ordered them to break camp and the remains of the army went home immediately.
Messianic Prophecies, Seven Centuries Before the Birth of Jesus of Nazareth
Seven hundred years in advance, Isaiah foretold many particulars about the coming of the promised Messiah. All of them are fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazarenth.
Chapter 53 of Isaiah remarkably details what the coming Messiah would go through. He would be rejected by the people. He would have an intimate knowledge of sorrow. He would be silent before his judges and would die. His death would atone for the sins of the people.
Isaiah’s prophecy said he would be considered a transgressor, and history tells us he was crucified between two common criminals. It states that he would be buried in a rich man’s tomb. Matthew 27:57-60 tells us that Joseph of Arimathea begged Pilate for the body of Jesus and then wrapped it in clean linen and placed it in his own new tomb.
Taken separately, any of these events – the vision of God in heaven, the destruction of the Assyrian army, the detailed and accurate Messianic prophecies – would have earned Isaiah a place in history. Together, they provide a clear picture of the mighty way in which God will use a willing ambassador.
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