Saturday - Isaiah 6 - Volunteering for on Unpleasant Mission

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ERHAPS we cannot fully comprehend or appreciate much of Isaiah 6.  Here is what happened.  God called Isaiah into the ministry to be a prophet.  On the occasion of his calling, Isaiah had a vision of the Lord.  He saw spiritual and heavenly things that you and I can't fathom.  In this setting, we find a humbled Isaiah (6:5).  But, to his surprise, God sent a messenger to him to help him overcome his actual guilt.  He found that after this encounter, he was not only forgiven and justified, but he felt bold enough to even volunteer for a mystery mission in the name of the Holy Trinity (6:8).  The mission was to harden the hearts of God's people (6:9 & 10).  That's right, God knew that they would not respond submissively to His messenger, so, rather than sending him out on a rescue mission, He was sending Him to convict the guilty in preparation for their execution.  They were not to be utterly and absolutely forsaken; there was to be an eventual return of a fraction of the people... which is commonly called a "remnant" of the people (Isaiah 6:13), but the obliterating destruction was indeed going to be severe.