January 18, 2026, Sunday School Lesson

Isaiah’s Glimpse of God Throne

Lesson Text: Isaiah 6:1-13

Related Scriptures: Exodus 3:1-6; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10; Matthew 13:10-16; John 12:36b-43; Acts 28:23-28

TIME: about 740 B.C.

PLACE: Jerusalem

Golden Text – “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” (Isaiah 6:5)

INTRODUCTION

In general, prophets were not called to action by God unless there was a crisis. Prophets were, in a sense, the last line of defense should the king and priests fail to be faithful to God. Often the prophets were called to minister to tumultuous times and preach grim warnings of judgment, invasion, and exile to a nation that had drifted from God. Such was the sad scenario when Isaiah received His call from God.

The ministry of Isaiah would be lonely and impossible by human means. What Isaiah needed to sustain him for his ministry was soul-paralyzing glimpse of the majesty of God. In other words, to obtain the courage and power he needed to persevere in his prophetic ministry, Isaiah needed to see that God is lofty, exalted, matchless, and supreme. And that is precisely what God supplied His prophet.

LESSON OUTLINE

1. The display of God’s supremacy – Isa. 6:1-4

2. The despair over man’s depravity – Isa. 6:5-7

3. The description of Isaiah’s ministry – Isa. 6:8-12

4. The depiction of Israel’s deliverance – Is. 6:13

QUESTIONS

1. What did King Uzziah’s death mean to the nation?

2. What was the contrast Isaiah implied between Uzziah and the Lord?

3. It What two ways did Isaiah’s vision display God’s sovereignty?

4. What does a throne symbolize?

5. What was the primary role of the seraphim in Isaiah’s vision?

6. What monumental declaration do the seraphim make?

7. What does “glory” mean when it is applied to God?

8. When confronted with God’s holiness, what was Isaiah’s declaration concerning himself?

9. What led to Isaiah’s feeling of despair?

10. How would the people respond to Isaiah’s preaching?

ANSWERS

1. His death meant the loss of hope, stability, and national security.

2. The contrast could not be clearer: the king is dead, but the Lord lives on. Uzziah’s reigns upon His throne -unfazed and unaffected by the affairs of men.

3. The sovereignty of God is displayed in two ways in Isaiah’s vision. First, Isaiah called God “the Lord.” The word in Hebrew is Adonai and speaks to His authority, dominion, and power by which He rules all things. Second, God’s sovereignty is pictured by His sitting on a throne.

4. A throne points to the absolute, undisputed dominion by which God allows everything that come to pass.

5. The primary role and function of the seraphim, however, was worship – to worship the Lord and to revere Him.

6. And what they proclaimed around the throne is one of the most jaw-dropping declarations ever made about God in the pages of Scripture. Back and forth the seraphim proclaimed, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (vs. 3).

7. Applied to God, it refers to the infinite weight and worth of God’s beauty and value because of His innumerable perfections that make Him who is (see lesson 1 for further discussion on God’s glory).

8. In response to God’s holiness, Isaiah declared that he was ruined.

9. Isaiah’s despair resulted from his defiled state.

10. As heroic and commendable as Isaiah’s eagerness was, the people to whom he was being sent to preach, as a whole, would reject, ignore, and defy his message.