Go Or Stay?

Go or Stay?

Isaiah 6:1-8 KJV

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.

King Uzziah, one of Judah’s greatest leaders, died in 740 B.C. He was a great leader, but he wasn’t perfect, in 2 Chron. 26:16-21 the scripture says he was disciplined, in his later years, for disobeying God..

Isaiah’s vision was not of King Uzziah, but it was in the year of his death. As often happens, Isaiah gained a new vision during a time of sorrow and mourning. Now that the great King died, Isaiah was clearly able to see another King, sitting on another throne.

This was not an imperfect King on an earthly throne. This vision was of the King of kings and the Lord of lords sitting on His heavenly throne. John 12:36-41 identifies this King as King Jesus. Verse 41 says, “These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.”

The moment that Isaiah saw who really ruled–not Uzziah or his predecessor, but King Jesus, he was lifted into a state of deep worship. In verse 3, he cried out “Holy, holy, holy . . .” This utterance of three holies or the tris agions, as theologians refer to it, appears only twice in Scripture. Here and in Rev. 4:5-11. Let me read from John’s vision to you: “And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; [6] and before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. [7] And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. [8] And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." [9] And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, [10] the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, [11] "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created."

What a magnificent expression of worship! The moment we truly understand it is Jesus that sits on the throne, we will join Isaiah and John in the expression of the tris agion, Holy, holy, holy–and in spontaneous praise we will admit to God that He is completely holy, and when we do, like Isaiah, we will see our complete sinfulness.

Look at Isaiah 6:5-7 KJV 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.