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: 3-4 Holy, Holy, Holy
I remember receiving a copy of J Mac's book, "The Gospel According to Jesus", and having conversations with my mom about repentance and fruit. It didn't sit well with me because my security, my assurance, rested upon a moment that I recalled from childhood, where I went forward and repeated a prayer inviting Jesus into my heart. J Mac had the audacity, it seemed, to question my salvation. I got rid of the book, but years later my godmother sent me a copy of "The Almost Christian" by Matthew Meade. Most people, who have not grown up in the modern, American, evangelical movement, will not relate so well to this, but for me, it was traumatic. I had no desire to live for God, thought myself pretty good on the human scale, and my name was recorded in a church registry somewhere, which seemed to me as good as the Lamb's Book of Life. What was this talk of "another gospel"?
…3 I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily. 5 I consider myself in no way inferior to those “super-apostles.”… 2 Corinthians 11: 3-5
6 I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!…Galatians 1: 6-8
How dare these men trouble my soul like this, yet the Apostles did the same to the early church, and the prophets of the Old Testament called out false prophets, wicked rulers, and hypocritical professors. Is it possible, that I, a boy raised in church, someone who wouldn't deny Christ, who would not outright say, "I hate God", could I have believed something and called it gospel? What did I believe? Who is God? Why was the gospel even necessary? Who is Christ?
And one called to another and said - One seraph professing, proclaiming to another seraph, an attribute, a description of God.
Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting: Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.7 You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.… Nehemiah 9: 5-7
…2 But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs.… Hebrews 1: 2-4
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts - The presence of God evokes the proclamation of God. In the English language we add emphasis to words by exclamation points ie Holy!, or when something inspires awe, we say awesome or most awesome! The Jews would apply emphasis, degree and importance by repetition. Those celestial beings, seraphim, set apart, holy ones, declare the Lord more so, His holiness is above all.
And when you said it twice you were saying, “This is really important.” You know, when we agree with what the preacher’s saying, or at the end of our prayers we will end it by saying ‘Amen.’ Jesus said amen before He preached, but not only did He say “Amen, I say unto you,” He would say “Amen, amen.” Amen, amen. Truly, truly I say to you. When you read the sacred Scriptures and you see that repetition of the word truly or amen by Jesus, you need to listen up. It’s like you hear over the loudspeaker, “Now hear this. This is the captain speaking.” And so, when Jesus gives you the double dose of truly or amen, he’s saying “This is really important.” R. C. Sproul
People use the word holy in slang, but here it means set apart, sacred. He is alien to us, eternal being, there is nothing comparable to God. We are creatures called into being by His words, as are the angels. People are of the earth which God made, and angel's are of the heavens which God also brought into existence.
What does it mean that God is holy, and holy in the highest possible sense? Holiness, at its root, has the idea of apartness. It describes someone, or something, which is set apart from other people or things. An object can be holy if it is set apart for sacred service. A person is holy if they are set apart for God’s will and purpose.
ii. What is the LORD set apart from? He is set apart from creation, in that the Lord GOD is not a creature, and He exists outside of all creation. If all creation were to dissolve, the Lord GOD would remain. He is set apart from humanity, in that His “nature” or “essence” is Divine, not human. God is not a super-man or the ultimate man. God is not merely smarter than any man, stronger than any man, older than any man, or better than any man. You can’t measure God on man’s chart at all. He is Divine, and we are human.
iii. Yet, because we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), humanity is compatible with Divinity. They are different, but they do not automatically oppose each other. This is how Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, could add humanity to His deity when He became a man. Unfallen humanity is not deity, but it is compatible with it.
iv. God’s holiness is a part of everything He is and does. God’s power is a holy power. God’s love is a holy love. God’s wisdom is a holy wisdom. Holiness is not an aspect of God’s personality; it is one characteristic of His entire Being. Enduring Word
The whole earth is full of His glory - Why do we have to be told this? These angelic beings pronounce this, praising God in such a powerful way that it shakes the very foundations of the threshold. Are we blind? I mean, I do still get a sense of amazement when I am in nature, some landscapes hold me in awe, a cold, dark, clear night sky, in the mountains, far removed from the lights of the city, gives me a sense of wonder. I recall that Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden. They had more than a sense of God's presence, He walked with them, putting them in charge of the animals and the plants, naming them, knowing intimately the works of His hands. We lost so much in the fall that we do not know ourselves lost, blind, and deaf to the reality of God's constant and unchanging presence all around us.
…27 Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,… Romans 1: 27-29
…39 But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” 40“I tell you, He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out. 41 As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it… Luke 19: 39-41
1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.3 Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard,… Psalm 19: 1-3
…2 From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger. 3 When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—4 what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?… Psalm 8: 2-4
And the house was filled with smoke - The Shekinah glory; the Lord inhabits the praises of His people, but those who would be worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
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