Holy, Holy, Holy Series

HOLY, HOLY, HOLY (ISAIAH 6)

A young communist wrote a letter to his fiancée to break off their engagement. The girl’s pastor sent the letter to Billy Graham. The communist student wrote:

“We Communists have a high casualty rate. We are the ones who get shot and hung and ridiculed and fired from our jobs and in every other way are made as uncomfortable as possible. A certain percentage of us get killed or imprisoned. We live in virtual poverty. We turn back to the party every penny we make above what is absolutely necessary to keep us alive. We Communists do not have the time or money for many movies, or concerts, or T-bone steaks, or decent homes, or new cars. We have been described as fanatics. We are fanatics. Our lives are dominated by one great overshadowing factor: the struggle for world Communism. We Communists have a philosophy of life that no amount of money can buy. We have a cause to fight for, a definite purpose in life. We subordinate our petty personal selves into a great movement of humanity.

If our personal lives seem hard or our egos appear to suffer through subordination to the party, then we are adequately compensated by the thought that each of us in his small way is contributing to something new and true and better for mankind. The one thing I am in dead earnest about is the Communist cause. It is my life, my business, my religion, my hobby, my sweetheart, my wife, my mistress, my breath, and meat. I work at it in the daytime and dream of it at night. Its hold on me grows as time goes on. I cannot carry on a friendship, a love affair, or even a conversation without relating it to this force which both drives and guides my life. I evaluate people, books, ideas, and actions according to how they affect the Communist cause, and by their attitude toward it. I’ve already been in jail because of my ideals, and if necessary, I’m ready to go before a firing squad.”

What is your purpose in life? Do you still have a passion to change the world, make a difference and save lost souls? Where is your commitment?

Isaiah caught a dramatic vision of the Lord’s holiness in the year King Uzziah died. The good king Uzziah had died and vacated the throne but the Lord God was reigning and seated on his throne. Kingdoms and governments rise and fall, come and go, but God’s throne is unshakable, high and exalted. Uzziah’s entombment was powerfully contrasted with God’s enthronement. The earthly king was buried in his regal robes but the fringe of the heavenly king’s robe blanketed the whole temple.

The mere mention of God and presence of His holiness caused a huge commotion and a choir outbreak among angels in heavens and on earth. According to the orthodox view, the seraphs stand at the head of the nine choirs of angels. Surrounding the seat of the enthroned Lord, they ranked ahead of cherubim that carried the chariot of the divine throne (Keil & Delitzsch). The radiance of God’s holiness was too luminous for the seraphs to bear and too wondrous to behold, so much so that they covered their faces, eyes and feet, breaking out in chorus, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Holiness is the very essence, foundation and core of His Being.

How should men response to God’s holiness? Is His holiness for show? What should our attitude be in the presence of the Holy One?

Confession is Required of the Sinner

6:1 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.” (Isa 6:1-5)

Are you old enough to remember the first Indiana Jones movie – The Raiders of the Lost Ark? Do you remember the final scene when Indiana Jones and friend were bound and the ark was seized by the Nazi raiders?

However, the raiders made a wrong move and decided to open the box-like object holy to the Jewish faith as their cameras captured the event. One of the leaders dipped his hand to feel the fine sand and another laughed that they got nothing. Initially nothing happened. From then on, it was chaos. Electricity pierced the caves, forcing the soldiers to drop their guns. Then a spark or light stirred in the box and smoke boiled over like soup and fog. Indy shouts to his friend, “Shut your eyes, don’t look at it. No matter what happens, don’t look at it.”