What is the meaning of Isaiah 6:7? And with it he touched my mouth • The seraph brings a live coal from the altar (Isaiah 6:6), the very place where sacrifices are offered—already hinting that cleansing requires a sacrifice. • God acts first; Isaiah simply receives. As in Jeremiah 1:9, where the LORD “touched my mouth,” this touch signifies divine commissioning. • Fire both purifies and empowers (Malachi 3:2-3; Hebrews 12:29). The same God who burns away impurity also ignites a life for service. • Isaiah had just confessed, “I am a man of unclean lips” (v 5). The touch lands exactly where he felt most unworthy, showing God deals specifically with our confessed sin. Now that this has touched your lips • The focus on lips is intentional: Isaiah’s future ministry will depend on speaking God’s words (Isaiah 6:9). • When God cleanses, the very area once dominated by sin becomes an instrument for His glory—compare Psalm 51:15, “O Lord, open my lips.” • The verb tense stresses a completed act. Like 1 John 1:9, forgiveness is granted the moment God applies His remedy. • Personal contact matters. A coal from the altar is powerful, yet nothing changes until it “touches” Isaiah. Salvation is never merely theoretical (Romans 10:10). your iniquity is removed • “Removed” means taken away, not just overlooked. Psalm 103:12 pictures our sins cast as far as east from west; Micah 7:19 shows God hurling them into the depths of the sea. • Guilt no longer clings to Isaiah; he is free to stand in God’s holy presence and later to declare judgment on Judah without hypocrisy. • John 1:29 reveals the ultimate fulfillment: “The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” The coal foreshadows the Lamb. and your sin is atoned for • Atonement satisfies God’s justice and restores fellowship. Leviticus 17:11 teaches that “the life of the flesh is in the blood… it is the blood that makes atonement.” • This single word bridges Isaiah 6 with Isaiah 53:5, where the Suffering Servant is “pierced for our transgressions.” The coal prefigures the cross—both originate from God’s altar of sacrifice. • Hebrews 9:12 says Christ entered the Most Holy Place “once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” Isaiah’s momentary cleansing points to that once-for-all work. • With sin covered, Isaiah can answer God’s call in v 8. Cleansing precedes commissioning. summary Isaiah’s vision moves from conviction to cleansing to calling. A live coal from God’s altar touches the prophet’s unclean lips, showing that holy fire both purifies and equips. The specific sin he confessed is forgiven; his guilt is removed; atonement is applied. This scene anticipates the perfect sacrifice of Christ, who forever takes away sin and qualifies His people to speak for Him. |
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