Isa 6:11-12 | KingComments | STEP | Although Isaiah is willing and wants to obey, he feels the weight of this announcement. His reaction also shows his mind. He is not going to bring this message with joy. He asks how long this blinding or hardening will last ( ; cf. ). In the question “Lord, how long?” we hear the confidence he has in the LORD that He will not reject His people forever (cf. ). In this we recognize the intercessor. In the answer of the LORD we indeed hear of an “until”. But first the judgment must have its full effect ( ). This lasts until the land is destroyed and depopulated. What remains then, “one tenth”, which we recognize in the returnees from the Babylonian exile, is destroyed again ( ). This happened, for example, in the year 70 by the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem and massacred its inhabitants. Many fled to Iraq, which was outside the Roman Empire. Later, too, many fled the land for all kinds of oppressors, including the islamic ones. The land has become more and more depopulated and also more and more devastated. The lowest point is around the year 1800. The number of Jews in the land at that time is estimated at only 5,000. But there has always been a remnant in the land, with which the globally scattered people have always been connected. Then comes the era of Zionism, with a first wave of Russian Jews returning to the land at the end of the nineteenth century. That return continued. As a result, around 3,000,000 Jews from all five continents have returned to the land. Not only the inhabitants have been driven out over the centuries, but the land has also been destroyed for centuries. In the end time, the time that is now coming, land and people will be destroyed again. When Israel goes through the great tribulation, there seems to be nothing left. But the remnant will blossom again. It will be “like a terebinth or an oak” from which all branches have been cut off and only a stump is left. However, there is life in the stump and therefore it will sprout. This sprout will be “the holy seed”, a seed completely dedicated to the LORD. This refers to the remnant that the LORD has preserved for Himself. This corresponds to the name of the son of Isaiah, Shear-jashub, which means that a rest or a remnant will return, will convert. It is amazing that the LORD uses for the remnant the same word “holy” ( qodes ) as the Holy Spirit did for the LORD Himself in . Thus the connection between this remnant and the LORD is strongly expressed. Above all, “the holy seed” refers to the Lord Jesus, Who will be born out of a remnant returned to Jerusalem ( ). He is “the holy thing begotten” as it is literally said to Mary ( ). The “holy seed” Israel is holy through its union with the true holy seed, Christ.

‏ Isaiah 6:11-12

Until …

Although Isaiah is willing and wants to obey, he feels the weight of this announcement. His reaction also shows his mind. He is not going to bring this message with joy. He asks how long this blinding or hardening will last (Isa 6:11; cf. Zec 1:12). In the question “Lord, how long?” we hear the confidence he has in the LORD that He will not reject His people forever (cf. Exo 32:9-14). In this we recognize the intercessor.

In the answer of the LORD we indeed hear of an “until”. But first the judgment must have its full effect (Isa 6:11-12). This lasts until the land is destroyed and depopulated. What remains then, “one tenth”, which we recognize in the returnees from the Babylonian exile, is destroyed again (Isa 6:13). This happened, for example, in the year 70 by the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem and massacred its inhabitants. Many fled to Iraq, which was outside the Roman Empire.

Later, too, many fled the land for all kinds of oppressors, including the islamic ones. The land has become more and more depopulated and also more and more devastated. The lowest point is around the year 1800. The number of Jews in the land at that time is estimated at only 5,000. But there has always been a remnant in the land, with which the globally scattered people have always been connected.

Then comes the era of Zionism, with a first wave of Russian Jews returning to the land at the end of the nineteenth century. That return continued. As a result, around 3,000,000 Jews from all five continents have returned to the land. Not only the inhabitants have been driven out over the centuries, but the land has also been destroyed for centuries.

In the end time, the time that is now coming, land and people will be destroyed again. When Israel goes through the great tribulation, there seems to be nothing left. But the remnant will blossom again. It will be “like a terebinth or an oak” from which all branches have been cut off and only a stump is left. However, there is life in the stump and therefore it will sprout.

This sprout will be “the holy seed”, a seed completely dedicated to the LORD. This refers to the remnant that the LORD has preserved for Himself. This corresponds to the name of the son of Isaiah, Shear-jashub, which means that a rest or a remnant will return, will convert. It is amazing that the LORD uses for the remnant the same word “holy” (qodes) as the Holy Spirit did for the LORD Himself in Isa 6:3. Thus the connection between this remnant and the LORD is strongly expressed.

Above all, “the holy seed” refers to the Lord Jesus, Who will be born out of a remnant returned to Jerusalem (Isa 11:1). He is “the holy thing begotten” as it is literally said to Mary (Lk 1:35). The “holy seed” Israel is holy through its union with the true holy seed, Christ.