First Isaiah, as the author of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39, is often termed, seems to have made his home at Jerusalem. His apparent contacts with four reigning kings suggest that he was a man of rank and a trusted counselor.
Hosea had been interested in the foreign policy of Israel in the north, but Isaiah the son of Amoz was not only an inspired prophet, as was Hosea, but also an experienced statesman, who offered his guidance in Judah's foreign and domestic affairs for almost half a century.
Much light is cast upon Isaiah's mission and the main points of his teaching when we recall his introduction to the task of prophecy. While meditating in the temple at Jerusalem, he "saw . . . the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up" (Isa. 6:1) and surrounded by winged and angelic creatures, who assured him of the nature and power of the Supreme Being in the words (verse 3), "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory."
