Isaiah 6:11
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, 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,
In the verse Isaiah asks how long he must keep delivering his warning to a rebellious people who would not understand, repent, and be healed, wondering whether any of God's people would ever understand and be healed. The answer sets the duration of his mission, that messages of warning and entreaty were to continue until cities lie without inhabitant, houses without man, and the land lies utterly desolate with men removed far away. Because evils accumulated and multiplied over many generations could not be removed in Isaiah's day and lifetime, he was through his lifetime to remain a patient and courageous teacher to the rebellious nation, a prophet of hope as well as doom.
The desolation means heavy judgments on the impenitent for persistent sin in war, exile, oppression, and loss of power and prestige among the nations, sent so that those who recognize in them the hand of an offended God will repent. In history this meant the ten tribes of the northern kingdom soon scattered among the nations with their cities left desolate, destroying armies sweeping over the land again and again, Jerusalem finally falling, and Judah carried away captive. The desolation is not forever and the land would not remain wholly forsaken, for the divine purpose will finally be accomplished, the full fruit of faithful labor will appear, and a remnant will be saved, so Isaiah's work was not fruitless. The verse belongs to a chapter whose lessons call people to take up the work of warning others and preparing them for the great day of God, presenting the warning against the setting of coming desolation. That chapter is an important lesson for God's workmen to act humbly and depend on God for guidance rather than seek human control or direction, and it is to be read by those in perpetual backsliding who refuse to return, belonging with the call to amend ways and doings, to obey God's voice rather than go backward, and to come to Him to live under His everlasting covenant.