Isaiah 6:10

The effect of Isaiah’s preaching would not be that the people would repent, but that they would harden their hearts against his messages (cf. Matthew 13:14-15; Mark 4:10-12; Luke 8:10; John 12:39-41; Acts 28:26-27; Romans 11:8).

The Apostle John quoted this verse (and Isaiah 53:1) in reference to the Jews’ inability in Jesus’ day to believe on Him (John 12:40). John then added, "These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him" (John 12:41). Isaiah may or may not have realized that his words had prophetic significance, in addition to being applicable to his own situation.

". . . this chapter immediately follows and precedes examples of wrong reaction to God’s word [Isaiah 5:24; Isaiah 7:10-12]." [Note: Grogan, p. 57.]

God told Moses before he went to Pharaoh with the Lord’s message that the Egyptian king would harden his heart (Exodus 3:19). From the divine viewpoint, God had raised Pharaoh up to demonstrate His sovereignty and power in liberating the Israelites. However, from the human viewpoint, Pharaoh had the freedom to choose to submit to God or resist. His freedom was not complete; human freedom never is. We cannot do everything we want to do. But his freedom was genuine; he really could have submitted to Yahweh. God justly held him responsible for his choice because he did have genuine, though limited, freedom.

In both cases, Moses’ commission and Isaiah’s, God was not ruling out the possibility of repentance from the start. He was letting His prophet see beforehand what the outcome of his ministry would be. In both cases, too, those who heard God’s Word had the opportunity and the ability to respond to it positively, but they chose to respond negatively. Consequently, God as their Judge hardened their hearts so that they became harder, and eventually it became impossible for them to repent (Exodus 10:1; cf. Romans 1:18-32; Hebrews 6:4-6). The Israelites in Isaiah’s day had already hardened their hearts against the Lord, and His retributive judgment on them had already begun when Isaiah received his commission.

"The elect are not saved because they are creatures of light; they too were creatures of darkness and in them there was no goodness, nothing that would attract the light. God, however, out of His mere good pleasure did choose them and ordain them to life eternal, and when the blessed gospel was heard by them, they were given a heart that was then willing and able to hear and to respond. Those, however, whom God did not ordain to life eternal, He passed by and for their sin ordained to dishonor and wrath." [Note: Young, 1:261.]

The success of our ministry should not be our prime motivation to continue in the work of the gospel. Our loving commitment to remain faithful to the Lord who has graciously saved us and called us into His service, despite our lack of outward success, should be.