In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
Isaiah's Commission from the Lord
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
12 and the Lord removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 And though a tenth remain in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
whose stump remains
when it is felled.”
The holy seed is its stump. Isaiah 6 ESV
Isaiah 6: 1-2 Isaiah's Vision of the Lord
In the year that King Uzziah died - I think this is important, not just historically, for dating, but for the contrast of the two kings. King Uzziah was a great king during a golden age for Israel both economically and for religion. It says he was made king at age 16 and ruled for 52 years, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord, like his father also had done. This is an extraordinary length of time under good, God fearing leadership, a blessing to any people, yet this was not without a horrible scandal. He was instructed by Zechariah, who was a great prophet of God. In 2 Chronicles 26 it says God helped Uzziah defeat many of Judah's enemies; he was wise in agriculture and built up the towers of defense for Jerusalem. His fame spread far and wide, but when he grew strong, he grew proud. Click on his name above for a link with more detail.
…16 against every ship of Tarshish, and against every stately vessel. 17 So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,18 and the idols will vanish completely.… Isaiah 2: 16-18
…17 The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life. 18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.19 It is better to be lowly in spirit among the humble than to divide the spoil with the proud.… Proverbs 16: 17-19
We find that he was unfaithful to his God. How? Uzziah crossed the line between church and state. It was only given to the priest to burn incense at the altar and this was for good reason. They had to be Levites and descendants of Aaron.
8 At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name, as they do to this day. 9 That is why Levi has no portion or inheritance among his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God promised him.… Deuteronomy 10: 8-9
27 Then a man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s house? 28 And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the offerings of the Israelites made by fire.29 Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and offering that I have prescribed for My dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves with the best of all the offerings of My people Israel.’… 1 Samuel 2: 27-29
…6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen had stumbled. 7 And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there beside the ark of God.8 Then David became angry because the LORD had burst forth against Uzzah; so he named that place Perez-uzzah, as it is called to this day.… 2 Samuel 6: 6-8
Uzzah didn't realize who he was, Whose presence was with the ark, that there was such a void separating men from God. This will point more and more to the approach, the need for a Mediator. God has not fallen, He will not change, and what He speaks is Bible. He is holy.
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up - The word Lord here is Adonai, meaning Sovereign One. This is the throne room of heaven, of which the temple in Jerusalem was only a mere shadow. This is the King of kings, a King without flaw. I believe this to be a vision of the preincarnate Christ, sitting upon His throne in heaven.
…17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known. 19 And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”… John 1: 17-19
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.… Colossians 1: 14-16
…24 God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” ( called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us. 26 Jesus answered, “I who speak to you am He.”… John 4: 24-26
And the train of His robe filled the temple - The image of majesty, and the most glorious idea of it that we can perceive here cannot compare. The mountains, the rivers, oceans, sunrise, sunset, royal weddings, palaces and all their finery, He made them. He sits high above them, alien to us.
Above Him stood the Seraphim - Angelic beings, created for the service of God. They were called "burning ones" for our God is a consuming fire, and with two of their wings they fly before Him, with two they cover their eyes in humility, and with two they conceal their feet, which I venture is yet another sign of humility, as one sinless yet in recognition of being created "called into being". There is also the example of Moses exposure to the glory of God, where he was hid in the cleft of the rock, for no man could see the glory of God's face and live. Even in the tent of meeting, the Shekinah presence left his face aglow.
“The two wings with which the angels fly mean nothing else than their ready and cheerful performance of the commandments of God… The two wings with which they cover their face show plainly enough that even angels cannot endure God’s brightness, and that they are dazzled by it in the same manner as when we attempt to gaze upon the radiance of the sun.” (Calvin)
iii. “For the seraph remembers that even though sinless he is yet a creature, and therefore he conceals himself in token of his nothingness and unworthiness in the presence of the thrice Holy One.” (Spurgeon)
The first in a series of one the best teachers I have heard on this R. C. Sproul
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