Today’s Old Testament Scripture passage from this week’s Lectionary from the Book of Common Prayer is a very beautiful and majestic account of both God’s awesome holiness and glory, along with the calling and commission of His servant and prophet Isaiah. We live in a very casual and informal age today, and even our church and worship services have come to reflect that. We often forget that the Lord God is the omnipotent and almighty sovereign God, and above all else He is all holy, and should be worshiped as such. The prophet Isaiah was given a brief vision of God’s holiness and majesty. Let’s take a look at what his response was.
As our Scripture opens, we read that this vision of Isaiah’s came the same year that King Uzziah of the Kingdom of Judah died (vs. 1). Uzziah (also known as Azariah) was king of Judah from 783 - 742 BC, so this event took place in 742 BC. Uzziah started out being a good king. He worshiped Yahweh, and did turn to the false, pagan gods that many of the other kings worshiped. However, in the later years of his reign, his pride and ambition got the better of him, as he felt he had the right to take over some religious ceremonies and duties that only the High Priest was to perform, and God struck him with leprosy, requiring him to spend his last years in seclusion (II Chronicles 26:16-21).
Isaiah had a vision where he was transported to the throne room of Yahweh, where he saw the Lord seated, exalted upon His throne, wearing His majestic, royal robes (vs. 1). Around the divine royal throne room are the six-winged seraphim, who cry out continually “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” (vs. 2-3). Before the sovereign God of the universe, there is nothing we can do but praise and worship our Creator and Redeemer. He is proclaimed holy three times, in recognition of the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Seraphim are a type of high-ranking angelic beings, having six wings. Here they surround God’s throne room, calling out their praise of Him. This triple declaration of holiness emphasizes God’s absolute purity and separateness from sin. The word “holy” here means “sacred” and “set apart”. He is sanctified and hallowed, set apart from all stain of sin. When the seraphim cried out their praise of Him, the walls and doorways shook, and smoke (possibly the smoke of incense) filled the room. This symbolizes God’s overwhelming presence and majesty.
As mentioned earlier, this aspect of God’s holiness is now frequently overlooked in favor of the feeling that God is my “buddy”, my “pal”, and many modern churches tend to treat Him like one of the gang. All too often there is very little sacredness in many churches’ worship. Yet in this portion of Scripture, and throughout the Book of Revelation, the aspect of God’s holiness is overwhelmingly revealed. Thrice holy is our Triune God!
As Isaiah has this vision of God and His overwhelming majesty and holiness, his immediate reaction is that of his own sinfulness and unworthiness (vs. 5). There have been some false charlatan preachers, both now and in the past, who have claimed to have had visions of God. Their reaction of nonchalance or casualness to the supposed vision exposes their lies. No one who would have had a vision of the Lord God would do anything other than to fall down upon their face, deploring their own sinfulness and unworthiness. Even such a great man as Daniel fell down upon his face when he had similar visions (Daniel 10), along with the Apostle John (Revelation 1:17). Too many church-goers take God for granted, and their hearts are far from Him (Isaiah 29:13). When the prophet saw God’s holiness, he was filled with fear and an awareness of his own sin.
At that moment, one of the seraphim took a burning coal from the altar before God’s throne and touched Isaiah’s mouth with it, cleansing him (vs. 6-7). This symbolizes God’s grace and purification, showing that cleansing from sin comes from God alone, and not through any human effort we may put forth.
Afterwards, Isaiah hears the Lord call out, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” He immediately accepts the call of God upon his life, saying that he would go, and for the Lord to send him (vs. 8). After he was cleansed from his sins, Isaiah desired to serve the Lord as His prophet. He was now prepared to deliver God’s message, even though it would be met with resistance. The Lord commissioned Isaiah with two questions, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” Later, the resurrected Messiah would commission His followers “Go and make disciples…..I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:19-20). Also notice, when God spoke to Isaiah, He used the plural “Us”. God is a Trinity!
In closing, we see that God has absolute holiness. He is separate from sin, and demands reverence. As humans, just like Isaiah, we must recognize our own sinfulness and need for spiritual cleansing. When we come to Him as a repentant sinner, He will give us His mercy and grace in salvation. Then we can and should go forth, willing to obey His call to spread His message to others.
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