Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Isaiah 6:1-8

"'Woe to me' I cried, 'I am 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.'  Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth and said, 'See this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.' Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?'  And I said, 'Here I am,  Send me!'" (Isaiah 6:5-8)

Isaiah was a prophet in the Old Testament times of the Bible.  In this chapter of the Bible Isaiah was in the temple.  Suddenly Isaiah had a vision from God.  Isaiah was suddenly able to see beyond the limits of ordinary understanding and eyesight.  God allowed Isaiah to see the Lord God in all His holiness.  Isaiah also saw God in all His greatness, sovereignty, and glory.

Isaiah further saw angels in His vision in the temple.  These angels had six wings.  With two of their wings these angels covered their faces.  This showed the glory and supremacy of God. With two of their wings these angels covered their feet.  This showed their humility before the Lord God. Finally, with two wings these angels were flying.  This showed their obedience to the Lord in all things.  We also need to stand in awe and bow in humility before God's glory and holiness. We also need a willing and obedient spirit in all things.

The angels were calling, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory." (Isaiah 6:3).  The Lord is infinitely holy.  He is majestic and sovereign, and the whole earth is filled with His glory!  The Lord's power is seen all around us in our world.  It is seen in how the Lord controls creation and in how He controls the nations.

When Isaiah saw all these things in His vision He realized the depths of His unworthiness and sin.   In Isaiah 6:5 he said in response, "Woe to me!"  You and I are also naked in our sins before a holy God.  We like to compare ourselves with others sometimes, and we like to imagine ourselves as good and decent people.  The more we realize God's holiness, however, the more we realize our sinfulness and unworthiness.  

Isaiah was overcome with an awareness of God's holiness and an awareness of his own sin and unworthiness.  But God said to him in Isaiah 2:7b, "your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." You and I also deserve hell and God's condemnation.  Praise God, however, that He chose us to be His children!  Praise God that He cleansed us from our sins through the blood of Jesus on the cross! The Lord says to you and me, as he said to Isaiah long ago, "your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Then the drama of Isaiah vision unfolded one more step.  God said to Isaiah, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?  Isaiah's response was, "Here I am.  Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8).  In light of Jesus Christ's sacrifice for our sins on the cross for us we need to live our lives in eternal gratitude to Him. We need to be passionate about our desire for an ever growing personal relationship with the Lord. We need to be passionate about our desire to serve Him.  We need to submissively obey the Lord in all things.  We need to be willing to go where He wants us to go and do what He wants us to do.  We must be a willing servant for Him wherever He has placed us in our small corner of this world.  We must seek to bring Him glory in all areas of our lives!  We must pursue practical holiness in our lives. How can we do anything else in light of what He has done for us? 

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