The Decree of The Holy King

Greeting

Hi! I’m Jordan Beach. I’m studying at Liberty University for my bachelor degree to become a Pastor so I was so excited when my Uncle Duane asked me to preach this afternoon. I am honored to be standing up here in front of you. This is an opportunity that I don’t take lightly, so I pray that the sermon I have prepared for you this morning will touch your hearts and challenge you to live your life for Jesus.

Introduction

This past week I had the opportunity to visit Prague with my family. I was very thankful to God for the opportunity to visit, and very thankful that my dad over here was the one who planned everything and drove us there! I definitely appreciate not having to be the planner or driver through those small city streets. One of the places my dad had planned out for us to visit was the castle and the cathedral up on the hill. My family and my beautiful wife and I hiked up what felt like a million flights of stairs to a summit that held up a castle, as well as the old Catholic Cathedral, the Saint Vitus Cathedral. It is a beautiful, massive building, with beautiful stained glass windows, high ceilings, and massive spires topping the roof. It’s gorgeous, tall, and beautiful, and made me feel small in comparison.

Part 1 - The Sender

In a similar way, Isaiah has a vision of the Lord, seated high and lifted up. We’re going to read from Isaiah chapter 6 today, and seek to understand the purpose of this text. Let’s start with just the first 7 verses, so Isaiah 6:1-7.

Isaiah 6:1–7 ESV

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Let’s Pray.

In the year King Uzziah died. King Uzziah died in the second year of King Pecah of Israel, around (739 BC). This is in the time when the land of Israel had split into two kingdoms: northern and southern. In the north was the kingdom of Israel, and down south was the kingdom of Judah. Uzziah’s life and rule as King of Judah is recorded in 2 Chronicles 26. He was a good King for a while, opposing worshiping idols and walking in the ways of the Lord. He led Judah’s armies to victory and brought prosperity to Judah. But when Uzziah grew proud, he became unfaithful to God and decided to enter the temple to burn incense. But that was wrong; he had disrespected God’s commands. Only priests were able to enter that part of the temple, and because he wasn’t a priest and didn’t obey the Lord, he was punished. God gave him leprosy for his pride and arrogance that led him to disrespect the sanctified spaces, the exceptional, holy places that God set boundaries on. That leprosy eventually led to the King’s death, and it’s in the midst of grief and mourning that Isaiah has a vision.

Isaiah sees the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. He sees God as huge, high in the sky, and unreachable. He’s far above, distant from Isaiah, sitting on his throne. In a similar way, Jesus was clothed in a robe and sitting on a throne in Revelation 1:13. Some scholars believe that Isaiah could have seen the pre-incarnate Son of God because of how John 12:41 references this same text, as well as how the Lord is described in the form of man, having clothes and sitting. What we know for sure is that while no one has ever seen God in his purest sense, Isaiah sees the Lord in a vision, in a form he uses to reveal himself to Isaiah, a form that is incredible, high, lifted up, Holy Holy Holy, and yet is not even the fullness of the glory of God.

And not only that, but the train of his robe filled the entire temple. Wow. The Hebrew word for train is actually better-translated hem, and kings, royalty, and priests had elaborately hemmed robes. It also adorned some pagan idols, and a large train could’ve represented God’s deity and, therefore his power over all creation, with it filling the whole temple representing how his glory fills the earth. We’re starting to get this picture of a majestic, glorious, beautiful God who rules his creation as king. Notice no imperfections in him, nothing marking his appearance.

Above the Lord, seraphim are flying. The seraphim are angelic beings, and the same creature, the seraph, is used elsewhere in Isaiah in reference to judgment but likely is referring to fiery serpents, the same kind used to judge Israel back in the book of Numbers. They are described as each having six wings, and while using two to fly, they use two to cover their face and two to cover their feet. Why? Well, their face was covered because they could not look upon God, in all his perfection and glory and holiness, and their feet because they humble themselves before God. They will not walk in their own ways but subject themselves to the Lord’s ways.

Then one begins calling to another, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” This use of “holy” three times is a Hebrew literary device used for emphasis. Remember, there’s no typing, bold text, or italics. They emphasize “Holy” by writing it three times. He’s not just holy; he’s SO HOLY! Super HOLY! Absolute HOLY! He is holier than we can possibly imagine. We say that word a lot, holy. It means that he is special, set apart, and different, that he’s pure, perfect. He’s set apart specifically from sin and blemish, holy.

Not only that, but the whole earth is full of his glory. The whole earth is filled with the glory of God. Paul writes in Romans chapter 1, verses 19 and 20, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” In God’s creation, we can see his When we look around at the beautiful woods and trees, the birds, and the sky. We see the glory of God. We can see, in God’s creation, his glory and majesty.

When the angel spoke this praise to God, the foundations of the whole temple shook, and it filled with smoke. The temple itself even to shakes knowing the goodness and holiness of God. It fills with smoke from the presence of God, just like when the Lord lowered down onto Mount Sinai with smoke and thunder.

Isaiah sees all of this and says WOE IS ME! Woe is me! I am lost; I am a man of unclean lips. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. His posture is just immediate humility and lowliness. In the presence of the Lord of heaven and earth, Yahweh himself, he recognizes just how spiritually poor and sinful he is. He sees just how wretched he is, and in contrast to the holy, clean King, he sees his own sinfulness. In chapters 1-5, Isaiah’s message has been about Judah’s sin and disobedience, but now, he first recognizes his own unfaithfulness. Then he recognizes the unfaithfulness of Judah, the people of unclean lips. They, too, are unclean and wicked in comparison to the clean and righteous King. Isaiah now sees the real King. The king is dead, but the true King, the Lord of Hosts (of armies) will never die.

Then one of the seraphim uses tongs to take a burning coal from the altar, flies over to Isaiah, and presses it onto his lips. One day a year, the Israelite priests were instructed to practice the Day of Atonement, where they would sacrifice animals and atone for the sins of all of Israel. On this day, fiery coals would be taken inside the part of the temple that had the Lord’s concentrated presence: the Most Holy place, where the Ark of the Covenant sat. These coals would be taken to the altar to atone for sin, and now the burning coal represents forgiveness of sin for Isaiah, cleansing his unclean lips. By sacrifice, the sin of Isaiah was atoned for; his guilt was taken away.

God is the Holy King of the Unholy

So the first point and arguably the most important point is that God is the Holy King, of the Unholy.

Cider

Cider 2

Cider 3

I have a dog, he’s a cute, mini husky named Cider! He’s so cute and so fun and we love him so much. We take care of him, take him on walks, all normal dog things. But he also gets into trouble sometimes! He loves to sneak into the kitchen, even though he knows he’s not allowed in the kitchen. He loves to peek his head in the bathroom when he was not invited in. Sometimes he even pee’s in the house! But we are his owners, we made the rules for him because we know he needs to behave a certain way in our house, and he obeys, because he understands that he must submit to us.

In a similar way, God is perfect and Holy, and he is King over all creation. He has set boundary lines and laws and rules in place for us to obey him, and we must recognize him as our authority and submit to him. But the delta between us and God is MUCH larger that the one between us and our dog.

We can read in Revelation 4, starting in verse 2, about God as the Holy King.

Revelation 4:2–11 ESV

At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Who are we in comparison to this? We are NOTHING compared to him. He is a holy King, high and lifted up, Holy Holy Holy, with the appearance of jasper and carnelian, seated beautifully. And what are we to say anything but WOE IS ME! We are men and women of unclean lips, among a people of unclean lips. We are like Isaiah, in need of our sin to be atoned for. We must respond similar to the twenty four elders in Revelation, falling down before him, saying “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power.” We must humble ourselves in all ways, in recognition of God’s holiness and sovereignty. So church, never put yourself first. Always put the will of the Lord first in your life. He is beautiful, majestic, holy, and perfect. You are not.

Part 2 - The Decree

Now let’s read the rest of the text, Isaiah 6:8-13

Isaiah 6:8–13 ESV

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.

Now, with Isaiah cleared of sin, the Holy King sends for a messenger to his people. He asks who will go for him and who he will send. Isaiah immediately volunteers himself, saying, “Here I am! Send me!” This could come across to us in our context in a different way than it was originally intended. You see, Isaiah is willingly signing up for the hardest job he could possibly have. He’s begging to be the object of persecution, rejection, and mockery. He’s volunteering to become the one whose message is not understood, seen, or perceived. He is raising his hand to be God’s prophet in a disobedient, sinful, and evil nation. God gives him his message. God. gives him. his message. He doesn’t make it up as he goes, he doesn’t just say whatever he thinks is good. He speaks what God commands him to speak, which is to tell them to keep hearing and not understanding. To keep seeing but not perceive it. That might not make sense to us if we read it literally. That’s because it’s sarcastic! God is using sarcasm. His message to his people, after their continued disobedience, is “Judah, just keep on hearing me and not really getting it. Just keep on seeing what I’m doing and not learning anything.” The point is that his message expects this negative response, but is still necessary. In doing this, Yahweh will be making the heart of this people hardened and dull, their ears heavy and shut, and their eyes blind. Isaiah’s like But how LONG God! How long will I be preaching to an angry crowd, how long will they resist your goodness, how long will I be preaching this message?

Yahweh says, “until they’re all gone.” Until their cities are ghost towns, their houses are empty, and their land is a waste. What he’s talking about is the future exile. Until they receive their judgment: the exile and conquering from the other lands. The Lord will remove people and take them far away. He’s going to take them away to the land of pagans and idols, forsaken, and evil places will be many in the land.

Okay, what’s going on here? God is going to make the people more resistant to his will until they receive their punishment. Yes. This is a tough topic, but it’s real, it’s in the Bible, and despite it being uncomfortable, it’s true. We have to wrestle with that.

The people of Judah have already hardened their hearts plenty. They’ve rejected God and his commands. They’ve rejected his law, and his other prophets. Their hearts are now dull. They’ve already earned their judgement. But now, God will punish them by making them less and less receptive to his law and his message. They’re going to reject God, reject his message, and reject Isaiah. The people who have been so stubborn so far will continue to be stubborn forever.

Isaiah is wondering how long? How long will I be continuously rejected? Well, until God uses the Babylonians to take them over and send them into exile from the land he had promised them. It sounds hopeless!

This is why it’s first so important to recognize the absolute holiness, perfection, and sovereignty of God. So that when he does something that seems counterintuitive, hopeless, Isaiah can trust that he is right to do so. And he is using the hard hearts of the people and their judgment for the good of those who love him.

But there’s still verse 13. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. There will be a remnant, a tenth of the people remaining, who will be purged, like a big tree that has a stump left after it is chopped down. The people will be purged, and like a terebinth, which is a big tree, after being chopped down, some will remain. Those who remain are the holy seed of the stump. You see, God is using their hardened hearts and punishment for the good of those who do still follow him. He is purging them from the land, exiling them, taking away all the evil so that the good can be preserved. So that those made righteous by faith can grow and become a new tree, a new nation, a new people who love God. This isn’t the only time he ever does this. This

The Holy King has commissioned him to proclaim to the stubborn people of Judah the message of God, despite their disobedience.

We have been commissioned to faithfully share the gospel.

My wife and I love to watch the show Shark Tank. We watch these people come in with their companies and products and try to get the Sharks to invest in their company and partner with them. They come in with these things they live for and that they work for and want to get to everyone. In one of the episodes, three siblings walked into the tank and told the sharks about this cutting board product. It was actually pretty cool, it was designed to make it easy to clean off, and these kids actually were continuing to sell this products because of who designed it. Their dad, who had passed just recently, was the one who designed it and made it, and they were continuing to sell it and grow the company because of him, to do it for him. It was really special.

In the same way, we are to continue to share the message given to us because of the one who designed it. The author of our message is God, and he has sent us to go share and tell anyone and everyone that Jesus is alive, and that his death has covered all of our sins.

Our Lord, King Jesus, was given one message to tell the people when he was here with us. “ Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” And Jesus faithfully preached that very message, no matter where he was. He would tell it in different ways, share it in different aspects, but his main point was always the same. And it was never watered down either. Not even for the pharisees who plotted to kill him because of it. Because of who sent him. His father in heaven sent him down to tell the Jews to turn to God and follow Christ, and Jesus obeyed, knowing he would die because of it. Because God the Father was the one who sent him.

So no matter our circumstance, no matter our audience, share the true gospel of God to all people. I know this is hard, I know it’s difficult. I struggle with this too, with boldness to share the gospel regardless of the reaction. It goes against what we all naturally do and think. But we have been commissioned and commanded by God. So it doesn’t matter if they don’t like us and seek to plot against us. It doesn’t matter if they continue to reject the gospel and God and cut you out of their lives. We have been commissioned to faithfully share the gospel, day in and day out, not knowing what rejection it will bring. We must be willing to go and tell others, not to share a watered down gospel to get a positive response, but to share the true gospel and get a true response, even if its to the stubborn people. So in your workplace, share the gospel, even if they might reject it. With your families, share the gospel, even when they harden their hearts, plug their ears, and shut their eyes. We are not prophets like Isaiah, but we do have a message to a people of unclean lips.

Our message is that everyone is in need of clean lips and clean hearts.

Matthew 12:34 ESV

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Our hearts are wicked, and evil. We need clean hearts. We need our sin to be forgiven. And just like Isaiah’s guilt was taken away and his sin was atoned for, we must plead with God for our sin to be atoned for, for our guilt to be taken away, that our hearts will be made clean, thus making our lips cleansed. And it has. The blood and suffering and death of Jesus has paid the price for our sins, such that now we may live in new, resurrected life, as he was raised. That means abandoning the ways of the world, stopping sinful habits and lifestyles, and clinging to Jesus Christ, the Holy King. The good news is found in 1 John 1:9

1 John 1:9 ESV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

He will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If you have not made that decision to have your sins forgiven, to be cleansed from all unrighteousness, I invite you to make that decision right now. Confess your sins to God, humble yourself to the Holy King, and decide to follow Christ and believe that his sacrifice paid for your sins, that you are forgiven forever. He will forgive you, and cleanse you, and declare you righteous.

If you have made that decision, then my challenge to you is to continue to humble yourself before God. Recognize your sinfulness daily and confess your sins to God and to others. Then go and share the good news with anyone, even if you’re nervous of rejection and stubborn, hard hearts. Share the gospel.

Let’s Pray.

My prayer is that you’d hear this and think, that you’d hear what I said and compare what you heard with the Word of God. If you find any benefit in it, give the Father and his Son the Glory; and also pray for me. If you heard anything weak or wrong in this, apply those things to my weakness, of which I am always full. Grace and peace to you, and God bless you.