In the Year King Uzziah Died (iii)

King Uzziah smitten with leprosy

This is the third in a series of posting looking at the meaning of Isaiah 6 for today; it began (here).  In that first posting, I said that debates about the historicity of the passage are not important and that what is important is the meaning of the passage.  But when we actually look at the text, it begins with a historical reference, "In the year King Uzziah died..."  It's not clear exactly what year that was, but it was in the latter part of the 8th century before Christ (or before the Common Era, if you prefer that nomenclature).

There are a couple of things that this opening seem to accomplish.  First, it roots the vision in the real world of the ancient Hebrew Kingdom of Judah's national and political life.  The vision had a real-life context, which mattered.  It was a time of political oppression when anyone who cared to look could see all of the things wrong with Judah that Isaiah roundly condemned (see Isaiah 1 - 5) in God's name.  So, I  need to refine somewhat my contention that it is meaning rather than historicity that matters.  It matters that Isaiah's vision has a historical context esp. because the text makes that point itself.  An important part of the meaning of the passage is derived from the fact that it is rooted in that context.  What isn't so important is all of the debate over who wrote this passage, when it was written, and whether or not it really has anything to do with Isaiah.  In any event, we can't grasp the meaning of the whole vision without remembering that Isaiah had it in the midst of seriously troubled, chaotic times.

Second, the footnotes of many versions of the Bible take us to II Chronicles 26, which chapter describes the reign of Uzziah, King of Judah.  According to II Chronicles, King Uzziah started out pretty well and was having a successful reign when he let pride get the better of him.  In a fit of arrogance, he went to the temple to perform the priestly function of burning incense on the altar, something he did not have the right to do.  When reprimanded by the priests and asked to leave, he became angry, and in his moment of anger he contracted leprosy.  Then he had to leave and give up his power because he could no longer enter the temple and perform the cultic functions that were required of the king.

The contrast between Uzziah's behavior in the temple and that of Isaiah in his vision is striking.  Uzziah behaved arrogantly and even defiantly in the holiest place of the Hebrew people, which for all practical purposes meant he acted this way in the presence of God.  In his vision, Isaiah on the other hand was invited into the temple and reacted with humility and a real fear of God's power.  The outcome was that he ended up volunteering to become God's prophet.  We have then a stark contrast between two power centers, one political and the other prophetic.  It is not a contrast between two individuals so much as a window into the failure of Judah's ruling class and its people and the role of the prophet, who speaks for God's different way.  That contrast is a dominant theme of the chapter, which is to say the story of Isaiah's vision is a political story pure and simple.