THE GREATEST PROPHET OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
(David and Solomon had long been dead. The kingdom of Judah was not so strong as the old kingdom over which they had ruled. It was constantly quarreling with the kingdom at the North, which had been separated by rebellion. It was often in danger of being overcome by the greater kingdoms about it. The kings were not always wise rulers. Many of the people did not care to serve Jehovah alone. They wanted to serve other gods as well. The rich were often cruel to the poor. Good men saw these things with sorrow. They knew that God must punish such a nation. One of these good men was Isaiah the Prophet, a citizen of Jerusalem, and a friend of the kings of Judah. When he was a young man he had a vision of the holiness of God and the sin of the people. This vision made him a prophet, for it called him to the task of showing to the people the holiness of God, which he himself had seen, and to the necessity of turning away from sin.
This is how he tells of the vision which he saw:)--
I
THE CALL OF ISAIAH
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled [{265}] the temple. Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said,--
"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts:
the whole earth is full of his Glory."
And the foundations of the thresholds were moved at the voice of him who cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."
Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he touched my mouth with it, and said, "Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin forgiven."
And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I; send me."
And he said, "Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed."