GOD IS HOLY – ISAIAH 6.1-8
If someone called you ‘holy’ would you take it as a compliment? Well it may depend whether or not something was appended to ‘holy’. I mean if they said your were a ‘holy Joe’ or a ‘holy roller’ that would not be complimentary. Secondly it would depend on how they defined ‘holy’. If they meant that you were straight laced, Victorian in your outlook, judgemental, uptight and other negative things then again it would not be a compliment. When we speak of ‘holy’ we are not really sure what we mean. When we say God is holy what do we mean and what difference does it actually make to our lives? When we read in the Bible that we ‘are to be holy as he is holy’ does it actually mean anything to us? Does it make any difference to how we live? So this morning we are going to look at what the Bible teaches about God’s holiness.
As we begin let me give you a definition of ‘holiness.’ In the Bible when someone or something is described as ‘holy’ it means that it has been ‘set apart’ or ‘separated’ for God. That is, it has been set aside and apart from everyday use and dedicated wholly to God and His will and purpose. When the Bible says God is holy it means He is ‘apart’ or ‘separate’ from His creation. You see the word ‘holy’ comes from a Hebrew word which means ‘to cut off’ or ‘to separate’ or ‘to set apart’. So to apply ‘holy’ to God means He is separate, apart, above and beyond His creation and His created creatures. To say God is holy is in fact another way to say God is God. To explain this further I am going to use Isaiah 6 as a kind of case study – so turn to Isaiah 6 now.
Verse 1 The Context:
Isaiah writes that this vision took place in the year that King Uzziah died, 740BC. You can read all about Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26, 2 Kings 15.1-7 and also 2 Kings 26. The vision which Isaiah saw on this occasion never left him. In fact he was so profoundly touched by it that his ministry was never the same again. His vision is of the majesty of the Lord God. Note will you he describes the majesty of God and not the Lord himself. Note how he begins in verse 1. Uzziah the king may have died but God, the King of kings is still on his throne. God sits on the throne – his sovereignty is stated right at the beginning of this vision. Isaiah goes on to say that the Lord was seated – a position of authority, power and teaching. The teacher always sat to teach in Hebrew – that is why Christ after he had read from the prophet Isaiah in the temple sat down – so the people knew he was going to teach. So God is seated on his throne. Isaiah says it was ‘high and exalted.’ The throne of the Lord exceeded all the thrones of the earth. He was above, beyond and greater than all the earthly kings and thrones.
He next says the ‘train of his robe’ – stop there for a moment. It was only the train and not the whole robe – why? Well the train of the robe depicted and symbolised ‘royalty’ (and or majesty). It is only the train that fills the temple – God’s royalty, or majesty fills the temple. God cannot be contained by a building. No building has ever been constructed that could contain the full revelation of God. Here God in his love for Isaiah self-reveals his majesty. Note where he reveals his majesty – in the temple. In the place set aside for his people to worship and adore him. God is present in his majesty in the presence of his people as they worship and adore him. It is in the place ‘set apart’ for the worship of God, ‘holy’ unto the worship of God that God reveals his majesty. Here we see the greatness of our God. The magnificent temple built by Solomon was only able to accommodate the revelation of the train of God’s robe – a very small part of God’s self-revelation.
Verses 2-3 God is Holy.
Isaiah then reveals that when he looked up he saw ‘Seraphs’ flying to and fro before the throne of the Lord. ‘Seraphs’ can be translated ‘burning ones.’ Isaiah says that these angels hide their faces and their feet before the living Lord’s throne. Why? They were covering their createdness and their nakedness before the Lord. They covered their faces, their eyes before the Lord – but please note they did not cover their ears. They were to Hear the Word of God – how else could they do his bidding? They covered their eyes because even though as angels they had not sinned, as humans have sinned, they could not look at the face of God. The Seraphs (the burning ones) could not look at the greater brightness of the face of the Lord. They cover their feet in admission of humility before the living Lord. With the two remaining wings they fly to and fro at the Lord’s bidding. There is nothing new here in their actions before the Lord’s self-revelation of himself. Go back to Genesis 3 and what do we encounter with Adam and Eve? When they have disobeyed God and sin has entered into creation what is the thing that they seek to cover before God – their nakedness, their very created, creaturely nature. You see when the created comes before the Creator it can do nothing but hide. When the sinful meets the holy the sinful can only cower and hide. In the presence of the holy light of the Lord all things, even the burning ones, the Seraph, hide their face from the brightness of holiness.
Verse 3 these burning ones, these Seraph, sing a continuous song – read verse 3. Now we know that in Hebrew if you want to emphasise something you repeat it – but here it is repeated three times. Some commentators have seen the trinity in this three-fold acclamation –t hat may be so. But I want us to note that we never say ‘God is love, love, love’ or ‘God is mercy, mercy, mercy.’ So why would we say ‘holy, holy, holy?’ Because it is beyond words the holiness of God. It is beyond our comprehension. It is only by repeating it that the Seraph’s can express the total otherness of God, the total purity of God and the total holiness of God. You see when the holiness of God is declared the glory of God is seen. Do you see that from verse 3? After the Seraphs have sung of the holiness of God they declare that his glory is now revealed in all the earth. You want to reveal the glory of God on this earth then you declare the holiness of God before the creation. Holiness is God’s hidden glory and glory is God’s all-present holiness. Holiness is supremely the truth about God and so the Seraphs declare it.
Verse 4 The Earth shakes.
When the holiness of God is revealed then the earth is shaken by his power – because God’s power is his holiness. Shaking is the common reaction of the earth to the divine presence. It is the common reaction of the earth, it is not the common reaction of man when God’s holiness is revealed –we will see that in a moment. Look at what is shaken – the doorpost and the thresholds – the holiness of God places a barrier in the way of Isaiah coming into the presence of the Lord. By shaking the doorposts and thresholds the Lord is stopping Isaiah crossing over them into his presence. Why? Well the answer will be revealed in the next verse. But added to this shaking the temple is filled with smoke. The smoke forbids Isaiah from seeing God. There is total active exclusion of Isaiah from the presence of God when the Lord’s holiness is revealed.
Verse 5 – Silence.
Verse 5 tells us how verse 4 is to be interpreted. Isaiah knows his loss. He describes it and he explains it. Look at what he says. He does not cry ‘wow!’ No, he cries ‘woe!’ ‘I am ruined’ – or as one commentator says ‘I am silenced.’ You see the Hebrew for ‘ruined’ can be translated ‘to be silent’ or ‘silenced.’ I think that is telling in this context. In the presence of the Lord, when the holiness of God has been declared and the manifest presence of the Lord known then Isaiah does not speak – he is silenced. He cannot even join in with the Seraphs in praising God and declaring the holiness and glory of God. We would all do well to learn a lesson here. Sometimes we are too quick to speak in the presence of God. Those of you have been with us when we have taken a trip to the synagogue – do you remember what they had written above the Ark where they keep the scrolls? ‘Know whom before you stand.’ You know I was always struck deep in my soul by that. Isaiah knew whom before he stood and look at what he declares: his sinfulness and the sinfulness of the people of God.
In the presence of holiness Isaiah is aware of his own sinfulness and the sinfulness of the people amongst whom he lives. Note too that he says he is a man of unclean lips. Why would he say such a thing? It is really very simple. Isaiah is a prophet, a man of God who is given messages from God for the people of God. His lips are the means of uttering such messages – his speech is his greatest gifts/asset. Yet when he becomes aware of the holiness of God he declares how unclean his lips, his greatest assets, are before God. As Christ said it is out of our lips that the truth of our hearts/souls is revealed.
Verses 6-7 Holiness Redeems.
You know I think it would have been an awful thing if Isaiah’s vision/experience of the holiness of God had ended at verse 5. Verse 5 ends on a note of despair but praise God for verses 6-7. One of the Seraphs flies and lifts a coal from the altar of the temple and touches Isaiah’s lips with it. The altar is the place of sacrifice upon which the everlasting fire burns and blood shed atones for sin. It is upon the altar that atonement is made. It is upon the altar that the substitutionary sacrifice is made and accepted. It is a coal from the altar that is used to cauterise, to purify and to seal the wound of sin in the life of Isaiah. The coal symbolises God’s provision of cleansing and redemption for the hopeless and helpless Isaiah, and the people of God. Isaiah is helpless here – it is God who acts and intervenes. Isaiah is powerless to do anything about his unclean lips. He is powerless in the face of such holiness. God provides atonement, propitiation and satisfaction for sin. It is God who provides the forgiveness, cleansing and reconciliation needed by Isaiah and the people. That is what is declared in verse 7. Look at verse 7. Your sin is atoned for and your guilt is taken away. Can I stop there just for a moment this morning? There are some of you in here this morning and you need to hear those words from God this morning. You need to hear that not only has God atoned for your sin but he has also removed your guilt. You need to let go of the guilt of your past. You need to be freed from the chains of guilt and the only way for that to be done is for atonement to be made for your sins. Ah, Alan I have committed some terrible sins and I could never atone for them. Friends you cannot atone for one sin but praise God he atoned for them all in Christ Jesus. This morning some of you, even some of you who are born again, need to hear this verse. More importantly you need to surrender to these words of God and believe them in your heart and life. You need to bow before them, to be humbled by them but more than all of this you need to be healed by them. Come and talk to me, or Jack, or Ian or some other Christian about this afterwards – God says to you this morning it is time to stop carrying the guilt.
Verse 8 Holiness Calls
Well the result of Isaiah being cleansed is that he is now able to answer God’s call on his life. Look at verse 8. Not only is Isaiah now able to hear the voice of God speaking but he is also able to speak to God. before cleansing this was impossible – he fell silent before God before the cleansing touch of God on his life. Look at how he answers God’s question: Who will go for us? (plural). He does not say ‘Here I am.’ He says ‘Here am I’. A subtle but significant difference. ‘Here I am’ states a physical or geographical position. Whereas ‘Here am I’ is stating not a physical but a spiritual position. By saying ‘Here am I’ Isaiah is saying I am available, I am willing and I will go for you. It is a willingness to serve out of gratitude and not obligation (which ‘Here I am’ implies). It is out of gratitude and a desire to exalt God that Isaiah offers himself as a living sacrifice to God. Throughout Scripture to whomever God reveals his holiness there is a call to live a holy life. As the author to the Hebrews says ‘without holiness you cannot see the Lord.’ When God calls Moses he does so by revealing his holiness in the burning bush. When God reveals his holiness to Noah and his plans for the flood it is a call to build an ark in the middle of the desert. It is a call to endure years of mocking scorn and ridicule until the day the heavens opened. When God called Daniel it was to holiness of life, even in the kings palace and if it meant a lions den. When God called Joseph it meant holiness of life even if the cost of fleeing Potiphar’s wife was imprisonment. When God reveals his holiness then the call is to holy obedience.
Conclusion.
The Scriptures reveal to us that God is holy. When the holiness of God is revealed to us we become acutely aware of our sinfulness. When the holiness of God is revealed to us all we can do is fall silent before God and cry for mercy. God in his love and mercy has provided the means of redemption. His holiness is satisfied on the cross where he gave his Son to be an atonement for us. We see God’s holiness on the cross – his wrath at sin, his opposition to sin and his punishment of sin. We see that when Christ, his only begotten Son became sin for us on the cross, God the Father had to turn his gaze from the cross and abandon his Son because his holiness would not and could not look upon sin. If God could not look upon his only Son when he became sin for us why would you expect him to accept your sin today. Isaiah saw the holiness and the glory of God and he confessed his sin before God. God in his mercy forgave him his sin, atoned for it and removed the guilt. He offers the same to each of us this morning. My prayer is that God will so reveal his holiness to you that you behold his glory and are silenced before him. I pray that God shakes the earth beneath your feet. I pray that he shakes the doorposts and thresholds of Holy Trinity, that he fills this place with the presence of his glory that each and everyone of us are made acutely, abundantly aware of our sin before him. So that we might cry to him for mercy and that his holiness might redeem us because we are unable to redeem ourselves. Then after his cleansing, and only then, we will offer our lives as a holy sacrifice to him.
Friends Isaiah never forgot this experience. Isaiah was changed, he could not be the same after his encounter with the holiness of God. I pray that each of us will have such an encounter with the God who is holy and that our lives will never be the same again – they cannot and they dare not. Amen.
