Isaiah – In Awe of the Holy God

Isaiah 6:1-5 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
 
THROUGH the ages, the LORD God used his law, prophets and kings to speak his truth to confront doubt, ignorance and disobedience. Now at a crucial junction in Israel’s history, he comes powerfully and personally to call Isaiah into a more personal conviction to proclaim God’s message. Through this powerful demonstration of heaven’s glory, Isaiah becomes more deeply aware of his own sin and of God’s holiness.
    God needed Isaiah and his people to know then – and he needs us to know now – there is none like him. His sovereign authority is complete. Let’s understand this vision more thoroughly.
    First, we have the message of God’s sovereign authority with, “The Lord seated upon his throne.” “Lord” is Adonai, meaning “Sovereign.” “Throne” shows the Lord rules heaven and earth. There is no one like him. The temple is the heavenly temple. “Seraphim” describes angelic creatures as “burning ones”. With six wings they 1) used two to cover their faces. As bright as the seraphim are, they had no glory compared with God’s. Like mankind, they cannot look on God’s glory directly. 2) The seraphim used two wings to cover their feet to indicate humility and modesty. Truly knowing and serving God requires complete humility. 3) They used two wings to fly. The seraphim move to do the Sovereign’s will. Here they praise Him.
    Then Isaiah hears, “Holy, holy, holy.” This is a three-fold repetition, the strongest and highest praise in the Hebrew language. Nothing is as holy as God. Only in Revelation 4:8 will this phrase be repeated for mankind’s ears. It is the glorious confession of the heavens.
    We need to know who God is. Too many of the church see God as a casual father interested only in good things for us. “Surely God would not judge us,” many believe. “We can do whatever we want and go to heaven.” But the Bible speaks much differently. The Holy Adonai will and does judge sin because it cannot exist in his holy presence.
    Isaiah would continue to warn judgment to the unbelievers and promise salvation to the believers. The task continues. Worship God in awe that he has sent to you a Savior. Rejoice you are not ruined in sin because the Savior has redeemed you with his holy blood.
 
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.