23. The Call to Service (2)

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Hymns: RHC 227 O Glorious Day 229 Thy Kingdom Come, O God 243 The Comforter Is Come

Isaiah 6:1-8

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

The Call to Service (2) 

OUTLINE

(1) Heavenly Vision – Fear and Trembling (v1-4)

(2) Holy Cleansing – Confession and Cleansing (v5-7)

(3) Hearty Consecration – Call and Consecration (v8)

Continue… 

(1) Heavenly Vision – Fear and Trembling (v1-4)

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

The king had died. Uzziah brought many benefits to the country and introduced an era of prosperity and peace. But now Judah was without the king. It was a critical time. Three years before, Jeroboam II of Israel had died, and now Menahem was the ruler. Under Jeroboam and Uzziah the boundaries had been extended to their ancient extremes; commerce and agriculture flourished, and the two nations were at peace. As with Solomon’s death, so with Jeroboam’s, it was followed by anarchy. Judah likewise declined. More and more Assyria increased. A weak and decaying Judah it was that Isaiah had to face. In this year of the moment, the prophet Isaiah had a vision. He does not tell us whether the vision occurred before or after the death. The important point is that the year in which Isaiah saw God was that of the king’s death. In the year in which Isaiah saw God was that of the king’s death. In the year in which the old order ended God appeared to the prophet. The great glory and national pride of Judah were no facing an end, never to rise again. The year of Uzziah’s death (possibly 739 B.C.) may not have been the actual year of the founding of Rome, but according to tradition, the great city on the Tiber arose about this time. From now on Judah declined more and more, and Rome increased.

In this year, the twelfth of Jotham’s co-regency, the thirteenth year of Pekah of Israel, the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord. But Scripture says that no man can see God at any time (John 1:18; 1 Timothy 6:16).

John 1:18 (KJV) No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

1 Timothy 6:16 (KJV) Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

This, however, was no seeing with the bodily eye, for God was invisible. No physical eye could see Him. At the same time, despite the fact that God is spiritual, invisible Being, the Bible does say that men will see Him.

Matthew 5:8 (KJV) Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

It is not the essence of God which Isaiah sees, for, inasmuch as God is spiritual and invisible, that essence cannot be seen by the physical eye of the creature.

At the same time, it was true seeing; a manifestation of the glory of God in human form adapted to the capabilities of the finite creature, which the prophet beheld! 

There was therefore, as Calvin puts it, “exhibited to Isaiah such a form as enabled him, according to his capacity, to perceive the inconceivable majesty of God; and thus, he attributes to God a throne, a robe, and a bodily presence.”

Isaiah saw the Lord but in a vision. In a mysterious manner, the power of God came over the prophet, so that he became unconscious to the outside, external world, and yet with the inner eye saw what God revealed to him. It was thus a divinely imposed vision, one that was objective to Isaiah in that it was not the product of Isaiah’s mind. Inasmuch, then, as it was a vision, it is beside the point to seek to determine whether the palace described was either the earthly Temple or the heavenly. For that matter, we have no means of knowing where Isaiah was when the vision came to him. He may have been in the Temple, but he may also have been in his own home. We are not therefore warranted in saying that as Isaiah looked toward the Holy of Holies in the Temple, he alone of all those standing about saw God. Isaiah did not see God because he was more spiritually attuned than others; he saw God because God had revealed Himself to him. [Edward J Young]

He whom Isaiah sees in the Lord (Adonai), the God who is able to carry out His purposes. In this vision, the power of God is to be manifested in His hardening of the hearts of men. He who can harden men’s hearts is truly sovereign, and it is God as the sovereign One whom Isaiah sees. At the same time, the appearance is in a human form, so that man can behold it. Calvin rightly remarks that “John tells us that it was Christ (John 12:41), and justly for God never revealed Himself to the Fathers but in His eternal Word and only begotten Son.” The prophet, however, simply gives an indefinite designation of God’ he does not stress the person of Christ. He sees God as sovereign in human form, and this appearance we learn from John was an appearance of Christ.

It is therefore a vision which Isaiah has, but it is nevertheless a real and genuine seeing of God. The mention of the palace would most naturally call to mind the Temple at Jeusalem, but since the revelation is by vision, there is no attempt to confine the description either to its precise arrangement or directions. By means of this vision it may be made clear to the people that the Lord is there in the Temple, and so even by reference to the word “temple” the nation will see that He is present in their own midst ready to proclaim judgment.

God was seated upon a throne. He is both king and judge. He is ready to exercise His kingly prerogative of pronouncing judgment upon the people in whose midst He had appeared. Solomon said that God would be found of His people in the Temple. 

1 Kings 8:30 (KJV) And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

As judges and kings sat upon their thrones, so the Lord is sitting upon His. He is this seen as One who is already king, engaged in the act of judgment. 

The long, loose, flowing robes or skirts of the robe were filling the palace, so that there was no room left for anyone to stand. It is a scene of glorious majesty. As the vision is seen by Isaiah, he is silent and his silence simply focuses attention upon the unspeakable exaltation of the Lord. 

Isaiah is to be called to a ministry in which the sovereign power of God will be displayed, and in which judgment is to be prominent. In preparation for such a ministry, there must be a vision of God’s holiness. Indeed, the entire scene befits the solemnity of the message. Our attention is directed to the Lord as Him who alone is sovereign, who can both create and destroy, and in whose hands are the time of all men and nations.

What Isaiah saw is unique, the God of creation was attended by His heavenly court long before there were any earthly monarchs. In fact, human kingship is derived from the divine King and the idea of earthly retinues from that of divine retinue. 

The heavenly attendants are described as seraphim, or burning ones. This is the only passge in the Old Testament in which they are mentioned. The seraphim are personal, spiritual beings, for they have faces, feet and hands, they employ human speech and understand moral concepts. They also have wings and are burning creatures.

The seraphims are different from the cherubims. The cherubim are over the mercy seat, and in Ezekiel, they are represented as having four wings. The seraphim are simply those creatures that were standing about the throne in a vision, and Isaiah immediately recognizes them as attendants. They are seen as standing above the throne, and thus the relative position of those who are sitting and those who are standing are expressed. In that, the seraphim stand above they are not to be thought as superior to Him, but simply as being in the position of waiting upon Him as His attendants.

The seraphs had three pair of wings. As a sign of reverence and awe before the holy Lord, each seraph covered his face with two of his wings. The sight of God wrought humility in the beholder, and the covering of the face would also preclude any irreverence beholding the Lord.

Perhaps also we may not be wrong in assuming that the glory of the Lord was so great that just as one cannot look directly at the sun for its brightness, so one could not look directly at the sun for its brightness, so one could not look directly at the majestic figure seated upon the throne.

This action does not necessarily imply sinfulness but was perhaps done as an expression of humility and unworthiness.

With two wings also the seraphs flew in order to carry out the will and orders of the Lord. The serphs were standing as if they were ready to serve. They were at hand, prepared for obedience. They were ready, obedient servants. With their wings they were accustomed to serving the Lord.

The continuous occupation of the seraphim is the blessed work of praising od. They were engaged in the unbroken task of chanting His praises. We are not told how many of the seraphs there were. Perhaps there were two rows, one on either side of the throne, but of this we cannot be sure. We do not know whether the seraphs were in groups or choirs. They were declaring and proclaiming to other seraphs that the Lord is holy. 

Holy, holy, holy – The entirety of the divine perfection separates God from His creation. God is the Creator who exists in absolute independence of the creature. He is the Lord, and not man. Although the creation depends upon Him, He Himself is entirely independent thereof. This is the heart and core of Isaiah’s theology. Also included I the word holy is an ethical element, the thought of complete freedom and separation from what is sinful. 

The prophet seems to acknowledge this when in reaction to the cry he confesses his own sinfulness and unworthiness. The One upon the throne is God, who exists distinct from and in complete independence from those whom He created, and from all His creation. He is also One whose eyes are purer than to behold iniquity, and who is in no wise clear the guilty.

In their song of praise therefore the seraphim set forth what was the distinguishing characteristic of God, namely, His holiness. Their hearts burst forth in praise of His very essence. Our greatest service to Him also is to be found in praising His Name.

To praise His Name involves more than the mere repetition of the word qadosh. It includes a deep meditation upon God and His attributes and the licing of a life of humility in accordance with the precepts laid down in His Word. It is, in other words, the life of faith in Jesus Christ, lived for the glory of God.

God is the threefold Holy One. The vision made a tremendous impression upon Isaiah, and his favourite designation of God was “the Holy One of Israel.” 

Twelve times in chapters 1-39 he employs this designation and fourteen times in chapters 40-66. It forms the essential piart of Isaiah’s prophetic signature [Delitzch]

God, Himself is independent of time and space, but His creatures are not. The vision of God gave was a vision which took place in history. It was one of God such as only a creature could receive. It was not a vision of God as He is in Himself, but as He had accommodated Himself to the capacities of finite man. And so, it will ever be. Even in eternity, man will be but a creature with the limitations that necessarily accompany anything created. He always beholds God as a creature and with the restrictions which his creaturehood imposes upon him. 

the whole earth is full of his glory – What is God’s glory? It is the revelation of His attributes. By regarding the universe which He has created wwe behold His glory, His perfection and His attributes. The revelation of God in the created universe, His ceclarative glory, is sufficient to convince men of God’s holiness, righteousness and justice as well as of His almighty power, so that man is without excuse. The entirety of creation, visible and invisible, speaks with voices clear and positive of the glory of the Holy God. Wherever we turn our eyes, we see the marks of His majesty, and should lift our hearts in praise to Him who is holy. This is His world, the wide theatre in which His perfect glory is displayed.

It is of all the earth in which His glory is disclosed and in which the great struggle between the powers of light and darkness was to take place and in which the Son, who is His perfect and final revelation, would vanquish the Price of darkness.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 

The reasons for this shaking is to be found in the voice which the criers make, as they chant the praise of the Holy One who sits upon the throne. In addition to this shaking, the house itself in which the scene took place, the Temple, was being filled with smoke. In the Bible smoke is often represented as a concomitant of the presence of God. 

Isaiah 4:5 (KJV) And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. [Edward J Young]

(2) Holy Cleansing – Confession and Cleansing (v5-7)

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

We saw in chapter 5 Isaiah pronounces woe upon the children of Israel, here we see him pronouncing “woe” upon himself. He realized his own sinfulness before a thrice holy God. With confession comes cleansing.

The best men in the world have reason to be ashamed of themselves, and the best of their services, when they come into comparison with the holy angels. The angels had celebrated the purity and holiness of God; and therefore, the prophet, when he reflects upon sin, calls it uncleanness; for the sinfulness of sin is its contrariety to the holy nature of God, and upon that account especially it should appear both hateful and frightful to us. The impurity of our lips ought to be the grief of our souls, for by our words we shall be justified or condemned. [Matthew Henry]

It was a vision of the cross, where Christ died for our sins – Isaiah 53:4-5 (KJV) Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

The prophet now describes himself as filled with awe, not only by the presence of the LORD, also by a deep impression of his own sinfulness, especially considered as unfitting him to praise God, or to be His messenger, and therefore represented as residing in the organs of his speech. [Joseph A. Alexander]

His lips are unclean, and that means that he as a man was unclean. A sinful man, he cannot praise God, and his sinfulness manifests itself at the lips. What Isaiah must do is praise God as the seraphs were doing, but because of his depravity, he could not do this. There must first be a cleansing of the heart. The prophet must, first of all, be made conscious of his own sin and unworthiness before he can praise God as he should.

Not only is Isaiah unfit to praise God, but the same is true of the nation in whose midst he dwells and which he represents. Because of its sinfulness, the entire nation is unfit to praise God. The theocracy, the kingdom that was intended to be the servant of the Lord, was not fit to utter His praise. Praise is a privilege, not granted to all, but only to those whose guilt has been removed.

Even though recognizing his sinfulness the seraphim do not banish Isaiah from the presence of the Lord. Rather. They give to him a symbolical assurance that his sins are forgiven. They were doing God’s bidding. 

To be continued…