Isaiah 6:11-12

Isaiah 6:11-12

[11] Then said  I, Lord,  how long? And he answered,  Until the cities  be wasted  without inhabitant,  and the houses  without man,  and the land  be utterly  desolate,  [12] men  far away,  and there be a great  forsaking  in the midst  of the land. 

What does Isaiah 6:11-12 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The news that the Israelites would harden their hearts against Isaiah"s message undoubtedly disappointed the prophet. So he asked the Lord how long he should continue to preach (cf. Isaiah 6:9) and how long the Israelites would be unresponsive (cf. Isaiah 6:10). [1] The Lord did not give him a certain number of years but implied that he should continue preaching until the full extent of God"s judgment on the people because of their prolonged unresponsiveness had come. The penalty for resisting-that the Lord set forth in the Mosaic Covenant-culminated in military defeat and exile from the Promised Land ( Leviticus 18:25-27; Deuteronomy 28:21; Deuteronomy 28:63; Deuteronomy 29:28). The Lord took full responsibility for this judgment, though He used other nations as His instruments to execute it.