THE POWER OF RESOLVE
Isaiah 6:1-8 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.
INTRODUCTION
The title of this short sermon series is: “Send Me.” The opening text is a vision of the Lord given to Isaiah. This may seem like a strange way of looking at the Advent of Jesus, but I want you to bear with me and give me some grace this morning. Let me explain.
The section concerns the “calling” of Isaiah as a prophet of the LORD God of Israel. In his life he will predominately minister to Judah and Jerusalem.
Isaiah [The Eternal Saves] was the son of Amoz and is referred to that way 13 times. Therefore, Amoz was a man of renown or prominence.
The prophet Isaiah is referred to as the “messianic prophet” because the LORD used him to deliver messages concerning the Messiah, the “Deliverer,” his birth and reign.
The book of Isaiah is quoted or referred to in the New Testament 85 times.
There is a sharp contrast to the conditions of the Southern Kingdom as found in the preceding chapters and the vision of the throne room of the LORD.
This prophetic work declares the end of an age with the death of Uzziah. He was a good king. As you may or may not know, when the Kingdom of Israel split into two parts, there was the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Northern Kingdom did not have a single, good, king. While the Southern Kingdom had six who were good.
This is the setting of Isaiah six
GLORY AND REVERENCE PAID TO THE LORD
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.
Note: The first five chapters of the Book of Isaiah are an introduction to the writings of Isaiah. Chapter six begins with the calling of the LORD on Isaiah’s life.
King Uzziah presumably died a leper (2Ch 26:21). During his early reign, Judah had prospered but during his final years, corruption had become rampant.
“In the year that King Uzziah died…”
King Uzziah probably died from leprosy at 740-739 B.C. Uzziah was the king over Judah at the same time that Jeroboam II was king in Israel. His reign brought about national prosperity.
“…I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.”
Elevated, ceremonial chair, its height symbolized the importance and the authority of the person seated on it. With the widespread use of the word “throne” the term came to symbolize kingship, and became equivalent in meaning to the kingdom itself.
Isaiah’s vision of the throne room is awe inspiring. He sees the "Lord sitting on a throne" - "Adonai" is the "royal title" of God. Adonai is always explained as the plural of majesty. In the Bible, it is only used to refer to God. Historically, the Jews stepped away from using the Tetragrammaton during the Hellenistic period and replaced YHWH with "Adonai" in their speaking about God and in their prayers.
A worship service is happening in the throne room of the LORD.
Isaiah does not refer to the LORD as Jehovah; instead he refers to Him as Adonai. The name of the Lord when using Adonai is in reference to His position as “ruler and/or master.” When dealing with God being the “ruler, having authority, and ownership” the Jews would use “Adonai” instead of Jehovah. Adonai is used when referring to the Lord as the “Lord of Hosts (armies of Israel), as directing the affairs of men and nations, or the Lord as lawgiver.
The true King over all the world is still on the throne: The Lord is “sitting upon the throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.” God is on the throne, and I believe it would be good to be reminded that God is still on the throne today!
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.
“Above [him] stood the seraphims…”
This is the only time the word “seraphims” are found in the Bible. However the Hebrew root word, “saraph,” meaning “burning, poisonous serpent, copper colored, fiery,” is found five other times, all in the Old Testament. Some have likened the seraphim with the animal we call a dragon.
The word is associated with fiery flying serpents, supernatural beings that can fly. It is the fiery serpent that the Lord prepared as judgment for the children of Israel. The bite of the fiery serpent caused many to die, so they called upon Moses in desperation, confessing their sin. Moses prayed for the people and the Lord instructed him to make a “fiery serpent” made of brass and place it on the top of a pole. When the Children of Israel looked upon the brazen serpent,” they would not die. It is translated ‘a fiery serpent’ in Num. 21:8; Isa. 14:29; 30:6. In Deut. 8:15; Num. 21:6, it is rendered ‘fiery,’ and in the passage before us, seraphims.
These winged creatures are standing in the presence of the Lord in the throne room. They had at least six wings. For some reason, perhaps in humility, the Seraphim cover their face and feet before God. With the remaining two wings they flew. Thinking on this description I am reminded of the description of the four beasts:
Revelation 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
The question arises: Are Seraphims angelic creatures? They are not referred to in that manner, however, like angels, they were “messengers” from the LORD that He sent to judge the people in Numbers 21:6-9.
WORSHIP BREAKS OUT IN HEAVEN AND THE THRONE ROOM TREMBLES
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
The Seraphim cry out to one another. We cannot be certain that there are merely two seraphim. There could have been two or multitudes of seraphim.
“Holy, holy, holy…”
When holiness is implied to God, it indicates His absolute moral purity. In this verses, the Seraphim are declaring the holiness of the LORD of hosts is evident throughout the earth, His creation. The Lord’s central characteristic is ascribed as His holiness. His holiness confronts the sinful nature of man.
Isaiah’s favorite superlative of God is His holiness. Twenty-nine (29) times, Isaiah identifies God as “the Holy One of Israel.”
In Jewish writing, the repeating of a word or thought is a way of expressing the importance of the word. For example, when speaking about the place that God dwelt in the Tabernacle or the Temple, it is referred to the “Holy of Holies” or the Most Holy Place (1 Kings 8:6).
R. C. Sproule, in his book, “The Holiness of God” writes:
When His holiness is extolled by the seraphim in antiphonal chorus, they sing “Holy, Holy, Holy.” No other attribute is so praised. Angels do not sing, “Love, Love, Love” or “Justice, Justice, Justice”—they only sing “Holy, Holy, Holy.”
“…is the Lord of hosts…”
It is interesting that Isaiah does not acknowledge God as Jehovah. Instead, he uses Adonai. Isaiah does refer to God as Jehovah throughout this chapter (vvs. 5, 8, 11), however in this instance it is Adonai, which applies honor, majesty, and sovereignty to God.
The Lord of the Heavenly Armies.
“…the whole earth is full of his glory…”
The seraphim include the creation of the earth when describing the glory of God. Oh how a beautiful sunset or sunrise can take our breath away. The sun breaking through the clouds after a storm brings hope and beauty. Yes, the world is filled with His glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
The power of the Seraphim is seen in their worship of the One on the throne. The throne room trembles at the sound of their worship: “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Just the proclamation of Adonai being holy is enough to shake the foundation stones upon which the door posts sat.
“…the house was filled with smoke.”
The worship of the One on the throne fills the throne room with smoke. The smoke is not so much smoke as it is the “glory” of the Lord which was seen in the wilderness as the Tabernacle was filled with the “glory” of the lord much like Isaiah’s ancestors had seen in the wilderness (Ex. 13:21; 16:10) and which the priests in Solomon’s day had viewed in the dedicated temple (1 Kings 8:10–13).
THE REVEALING OF SIN
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.
The vision of the throne room and Adonai sitting on the throne, and the fiery serpents calling to each other in a praise of holiness was the catalyst of Isaiah realizing his sinfulness. He cries out loud, “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” In the presence of a Holy God, his and the children of Israel’s sins were laid bare.
Isaiah’s focus on “unclean lips” is the symbolism of the attitude of the heart and actions being exposed by words.
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.
The cleansing of Isaiah would come in the form of a “hot coal” from off the altar. The question is which altar, the Altar of Burnt Offering, or the Golden Altar of Incense. Upon further study, the Golden Altar was fired by a coal from the Altar of Burnt Offering. It is fitting that sacrifice, the acknowledgement of sin, and the prayer of contrition, Altar of Incense, were powered by the same coals.
“Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (ESV).
“Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” Isaiah 6:6
Confession and prayer
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
THE QUESTION
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.
The message Isaiah was to deliver was not revealed until he had been cleansed. Much like the priest could not minister until he had passed the Altar of Burnt Offering and cleansed his hands and feet at the Bronze Laver.
While Isaiah received the vision of the Throne Room of the Lord, the Lord did not speak to him until he was cleansed. Once cleansed, Isaiah was presented with the “calling from the Lord.”
“Whom shall I send…”
It goes without saying, the LORD is omniscient – He knows everything. Therefore, this was not a question that the LORD was looking to be answered. It was a penetrating question with the target of Isaiah’s heart and soul. The cleansing of Isaiah opened the avenue of ministry for Isaiah. Isaiah was now presented with the opportunity to serve the One on the Throne who was worthy to be praised.
“…who will go for us?”
What is the LORD thinking or implying in this statement. Clearly the LORD knows that His new prophet, Isaiah will speak in His stead. So why the plural “us?”
The “us” is linked theologically with those in the throne room of heaven or 2) being interpreted as the Trinity. Personally I believe the LORD would not include the heavenly throng in His question. Instead, it makes perfect sense and is theologically accurate to mean: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The plural is the divine majesty of the Trinity.
The plural “US,” is the divine majesty of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
ISAIAH’S RESPONSE
“Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
Coming face to face with the Creator of the universe who is worthy of all praise, Isaiah is faced with a “critical moment of decision.” Reject the call of the LORD or accept the call.
The momentous event of the cleansing from his iniquity and his sin being atoned for, Isaiah simply accepts his “calling” from the LORD. He does not ask questions about what the LORD has in store for him. Instead, he and thousands after him, simply humble themselves in the sight of the Lord and accept the calling of the LORD.
“Here I am, send me.”
CONCLUSION
In the next few weeks, we will look at the advent differently. I will not be reading the “Christmas Story.” I will not be reading from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Instead, we will focus on the whole “Reason for the Season.” We will not be lulled by presents and gifts.
The Advent Story is not one of gifting, but one of Obedience.
In this study today, Adonai gave Isaiah a glimpse of heaven and revealed the sins in the life of Isaiah. The vision and the weight of Isaiah and the nations’ sin were overwhelming for Isaiah. The choice was made and through the writings and prophecies found in the book of Isaiah we find the story of Christmas.
The title of today’s message was, “The Power of Resolve.” Resolve is found in determination and resolution.
When Isaiah gave his life to the ministry of the LORD, His life changed. Completely. No looking back. No remorse. No regrets. And God used Isaiah mightily.
Are you resolved today? Have you made the decision to obey the call of the Lord on your life?
Let us all be Resolved today, together.
