This article is part of a series on Old Testament Christophanies. For important background information, see An Introduction to Old Testament Christophanies–with Justin Martyr.
In John 12:37–40, the apostle explained how two key prophecies from the Book of Isaiah had been fulfilled. The first was from Isaiah 53:1, which opens the famous chapter on the Messiah being prophesied as a suffering servant. The second was from Isaiah 6:10, which was fulfilled by God (for His own sovereign purposes) blinding the eyes and hardening the hearts of many Jews so that they wouldn’t believe in Jesus and be healed by Him. John’s explanation led to him giving us one of the most powerful New Testament proofs for an Old Testament Christophany:
These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him (John 12:41).
Both “His” and “Him” refer to Jesus (see John 12:36). Over seven hundred years before the Incarnation, Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus!
John’s reference could have only been to the prophet’s vision in Isaiah 6:
In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple (Isa 6:1).
Isaiah had his vision around 740 BC, the approximate year of king Uzziah of Judah’s death. Isaiah beheld the divine King sitting high on a throne, probably above the ark of the covenant. He was clothed with glory, and it descended from the throne like the long train of a robe, filling the temple. Isaiah’s vision was like Micaiah’s (1 Kgs 22:19; 2 Chr 18:18), and Ezekiel would also have similar visions (e.g., Ezek 1:26–28).
“Lord” here, and in verse 8 and 11, is translated from the Hebrew Adonai. Yet in verse 3, Isaiah’s Lord is called Yahweh. With the benefit of the apostle’s teaching, we can be certain that the Lord Isaiah saw was Yahweh the Son. Yahweh is at times referred to as Adonai. However, the Son may have also been called Adonai in this chapter to imply that He was distinct from Yahweh the Father. Such a distinction is notably made in Psalm 110:1, where the “LORD” (Yahweh) spoke to David’s “Lord” (Adonai). Jesus taught that it was He, the Messiah, who was David’s Lord (Matt 22:41–45).
Continuing in Isaiah 6, Isaiah saw seraphim above the Lord. Each of them had six wings, using two to cover their face and two to cover their feet as they flew. They called out to one another, saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory” (vv. 2–3). Eusebius concluded that the seraphim worshiped the Word of the Lord: “The descent of the glory of the Word from higher things to lower things especially amazed them.”[1] The seraphim’s voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke (v. 4). Sometimes smoke or a cloud accompanies God’s presence. The smoke Isaiah saw probably signified the Lord’s anger as well. In verse 5, Isaiah responded by crying out that he was ruined, for he had unclean lips and he lived among a people with unclean lips. Then, Isaiah declared, “For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” According to the Targum, Isaiah’s eyes saw “the glory of the Shekinah of the eternal king, the LORD of hosts!”[2] Eusebius asked and commented, “Whom did the prophet see if not the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18), who, descending from his own majesty, limited himself and made himself visible and comprehensible to human beings? . . . Isaiah testifies that he saw his glory, that is to say, he saw the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ.”[3] In the light of seeing Yahweh the Son, Isaiah was made painfully aware of his own sin, and he knew he deserved to be punished.
Immediately after Isaiah admitted he was a sinner, one of the seraphim used tongs to take a burning coal from the altar and then he flew it over to him. The seraph touched Isaiah’s lips with the coal and then declared that his iniquity had been removed and his sins had been forgiven (vv. 6–7). If we only had the Isaiah reading, it would be difficult to go beyond the simple recognition that the burning coal symbolized some kind of purity being placed on Isaiah. But with the blessing of the Apostle John’s words, we may come to a deeper and more meaningful understanding. The coal came from the altar in the presence of the Son of God. It is best, then, to view the burning coal as symbolizing the righteousness of the Son of God being imputed to Isaiah. All who are in Christ Jesus have His righteousness imputed to them (e.g., 1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 5:21).
With his sins forgiven, Isaiah was ready to answer the Lord’s call. He heard the voice of the Lord (Adonai) say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Isaiah enthusiastically asked to be sent (v. 8). The Targum says that Isaiah heard the “voice of the Word of the Lord.”[4] The Lord’s use of “Us” in verse 8 wasn’t likely meant to include the seraphim or any other heavenly attendants. That would mean that a prophet would be sent on behalf of Yahweh and created beings. A true prophet reveals God’s word, set above the words of all others. It would also be hasty to just assume that the Lord used the majestic plural form, especially when there is a more compelling reason for Him using a plural pronoun in reference to Himself. The transition from “I” to “Us,” indicates a unified plurality, hinting at the triune nature of God.
The Lord ordered Isaiah to go and tell the people to keep on listening and looking but not understand. The prophet’s preaching was meant to harden the hearts of the people so that they wouldn’t return to the Lord and be healed (vv. 9–10). Isaiah 6:9–10 is quoted from three times in the New Testament. First, Jesus quoted the passage to explain His own teaching (Matt 13:14–15). Second, the apostle John quoted Isaiah 6:10 just before stating that Isaiah said these words because he saw the glory of Jesus (John 12:40–41). Finally, the apostle Paul quoted Isaiah 6:9–10 after stating that these words were spoken by the Holy Spirit (Acts 28:25–27). Taken together, these New Testament passages help us to understand why the Lord referred to Himself as “Us.” Jerome of Stridon (ca. 347–420 AD), who famously translated most of the Bible into Latin, agreed: “Here the Son is seen as reigning, but the Holy Spirit also speaks because the Spirit shares in the divine majesty and the unity of the Holy Trinity.”[5]
Isaiah asked the Lord (Adonai) how long this hardening of hearts would last.[6] The Lord answered that it would continue until the land was destroyed, and the people had been driven out by Yahweh. However, the Lord promised that a tenth of the people would remain in the land. They would face further destruction. But through it all a holy seed, a remnant, would survive (vv. 11–13). Isaiah’s king was just and merciful. He would bring judgment, while at the same time He would ensure that there would always be a remnant. A holy seed would return to the land from Babylon (Ezra 9:2). And from it would come the ultimate holy seed, the Messiah (e.g., Isa 4:2; 11:1; Gal 3:16).
[1] Eusebius, Commentary on Isaiah 6:3, quoted in Wilken, The Church’s Bible: Isaiah, 68.
[2] The Isaiah Targum: Isaiah 6:5, in The Aramaic Bible, vol. 11.
[3] Eusebius, Commentary on Isaiah 6:5, quoted in Wilken, The Church’s Bible: Isaiah, 68.
[4] The Isaiah Targum: Isaiah 6:8.
[5] Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah 6:1, quoted in Wilken, The Church’s Bible: Isaiah, 69.
[6] Or Isaiah asked how long he was supposed to continue preaching this message (see Isa 6:9).
God is not a woman and that is no where in the bible but from the Talmud.. Shekinah stuff
Agreed, God is not a woman. “Shekinah” doesn’t refer to being a woman. Nor do words, in any language, simply being in the feminine tense mean that they identify something or someone as a woman. Additionally, many terms are not found in the Bible, but still accurately describe concepts in the Bible–Trinity being a clear example. The Shekinah refers to what we often see throughout Scripture, the Glory of Yahweh appearing in different ways to accompany and/or indicate His presence. I encourage you to read about the Shekinah by following the link at the beginning of the article.
A really important teaching! Thanks!
My joy. And thank you Dr. Wolinsky.