“Iniquitous practices had become so prevalent among all classes that the few who remained true to God were often tempted to lose heart and to give way to discouragement and despair. It seemed as if God’s purpose for Israel were about to fail and that the rebellious nation was to suffer a fate similar to that of Sodom and Gomorrah.

 In the face of such conditions it is not surprising that when, during the last year of Uzziah’s reign, Isaiah was called to bear to Judah God’s messages of warning and reproof, he shrank from the responsibility. He well knew that he would encounter obstinate resistance. As he realized his own inability to meet the situation and thought of the stubbornness and unbelief of the people for whom he was to labor, his task seemed hopeless. Should he in despair relinquish his mission and leave Judah undisturbed to their idolatry? Were the gods of Nineveh to rule the earth in defiance of the God of heaven?” — Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 306, 307.

 1. If a skeptic or an atheist were to challenge you with the question, “How can you show that your God is in charge?” what would you answer?
 2. If God is in charge, why do innocent people suffer? Does Isaiah 1:19, 20 mean that in the present life only good things are supposed to happen to God’s faithful people and only bad things happen to those who rebel? Compare with Job 1, 2; Psalm 37; Psalm 73. Can we reconcile our understanding of God’s character with the bad that happens to people? Do we need to?
 3. In Isaiah 6, why are there so many connections to the Day of Atonement? Consider the fact that on this yearly judgment day God purified His people by cleansing sin from loyal ones (Lev. 16:30) and purging out the disloyal (Lev. 23:29, 30).

 Summary: At a time of insecurity, when the weakness of human leadership was painfully obvious, Isaiah was given a grand vision of the supreme Leader of the universe. Petrified by inadequacy but purified and empowered by mercy, Isaiah was ready to go forth as God’s ambassador into a hostile world.