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Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
“‘Keep on hearing,[a] but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.”The holy seed is its stump.
In the second half of chapter 6 God calls out looking for someone to send to proclaim his words. Isaiah, with renewed strength says, “Here I am! Send me.” God has called each of us to go proclaim his words of grace, mercy and forgiveness to the world. Are you willing to answer that call? It will not be easy nor will it seem like things are going well. God told Isaiah that the land would be burned up, but a holy seed would remain. That seed is Christ, who we put our hope in, not our own ability to change hearts and minds.