June 4th,2023-Sunday School

Prayer

Give Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8

Isaiah 6:1–8 KJV 1900

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. 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. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: The whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 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. 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: 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. 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.

Read the Aim for Change and Give Subject: Precepts for Living

Someone Read: In Focus Lesson

The major question I have in this in-focus story that is not exactly the gist of the lesson but I have to ask, do we give God his credit?

Do we as people have a tendency to take credit for the things of God out of convenience?

You get a job and think it was your education.

You get a car and think it was your credit.

You get a house and think it was your financial planning.

And while I think it is important we recognize the role that we play in life it is also important that we realize it may be our role but it is HIS stage.

In our story, this man does not take credit for the idea as his own but instead he gives praise to God who gave him the idea.

And what an opportunity to witness and spread the Glory of God by simply giving him what he is due, even in the face of adversity.

Background

Who is Isaiah?

Isaiah is called by many names throughout scripture.

Isaiah, Esias, but most importantly the Eagle Eyed Prophet.

Can someone tell me why he is called the Eagle Eyed Prophet?

One of the things that we have to address about the prophets of the Old Testament was that they were not so much one’s who told the future, but they instead were ones who spoke the oracles, the truths, or the Word of God.

Their are in fact some prophets who did not have one “future” prediction in the sense that we would think and in fact, many of them did not tell the future but they instead merely proclaimed the Word of God as found in the Torah (first five books).

The truth is the prophets were called to remind people of their covenants with God which are outlined in the scriptures. Subsequently, when the people failed to yield to the words of God from the prophets, they would proclaim the judgements already outlined in the Word of God against the people of Israel.

These judgements were written against any who defied the God of Israel but were historically reserved for the enemies of Israel who had the greatest predisposition to defy God. However, as Israel themselves continually defied God, these judgements were instead turned upon Israel.

The futuristic portion of these ministries came in where the prophets after calling out sin, after proclaiming judgement, they would then would provide comfort. This comfort was defined in the Word of God at the outset which is the prophetic utterance of God in the Garden that a day would come forth that the woman would bear a son and he would bruise the head of the serpent.

This son brought the promise of the Day of the Lord, which I have referenced before as the day that judgement would come upon God’s enemies and detractors.

This Day of the Lord was the hope of the faithful Israelite who was waiting on God to fulfill the promise to restore righteousness to his chosen people and remove sin from the world, restoring balance and justice.

This fact in mind, when we look at any of the Old Testament prophets, in one way or another, they all were awaiting the Day of the Lord to come and while most of the prophets saw the Day of the Lord for the present time their were others who saw farther.

Hosea and Moses saw God’s people scattered in exile but returned unto God.

Daniel saw that God himself would sit on the throne but did not foresee all that would come.

But it was only Isaiah who foresaw clear through to the end of the Millennium and the Earth being made perfect in alignment with the will of God.

Isaiah saw as far as John the Revelator did in the book of the Revelation, prophesying thousands of years beyond himself.

Isaiah’s prophet eye was so far removed from himself we still have not foreseen large portions of his prophetic utterances even today.

This gives us an idea about the Book of Isaiah as part of scripture and it sheds some light on the prophetic utterances of Isaiah.

As for Isaiah the person, not much is known of Isaiah’s personal life, but we do know a few facts about the man of God.

He was married to a woman he referred to as prophetess and they had two children.

He was the son of Amoz, about whom even less is known.

And it is generally accepted that he prophesied for about 60 years of ministry under the Kingship of the following four men;

Uzziah (Near the end of his reign, starting his prophetic walk the year that King Uzziah died)

Jotham (Was relatively silent during the reign of Jotham, having not said much during his reign)

Ahaz (Spoke vehemently during his reign, prophesying regarding Ahaz and the Assyrians who were the primary enemies of Israel during this time)

and Hezekiah (He was in his older years here and said little, but was clear about the Israelites and what awaited them due to their unfaithfulness)

Scripture Study

Isaiah 6:1 KJV 1900

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.

The prophets provides a historical marker here to help us get an understanding of where in history his ministry picks up.

The year King Uzziah died is generally accepted as 736 BC.

It is important to note that Uzziah had been struck with leprosy by God for his actions and was unwell for the latter period of his reign.

But here in this scripture we want to start at the end because the beginning provides the time but the end provides the place.

Isaiah is (in the year 736 BC) standing in Solomon’s Temple and has an encounter with God.

In this encounter he sees God sitting upon a throne and he was exalted above the Earth and lifted upon this throne.

To provide context as to the nature of this encounter and to give scale, Uzziah says that God’s train filled the temple.

What is the train?

Think about a bridal gown or some other gown where the wearer has the garment flowing behind them almost as a train pulls its cars.

The train is that flowing garment, much like how the King (in his recent coronation) had a long cape on that was the train.

So when Isaiah is looking at God, God is so large and awesome that the garments that drag the floor fill the entire temple with their presence to say nothing of the God wearing them.

Isaiah 6:2 KJV 1900

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.

God is sitting upon the throne and above his throne, not as guards but as watchmen and emissaries, Seraphims (angels made in service to God) stand with 6 wings each having their own job.

2 Cover their Faces- Why do the angels cover their faces?

To prevent them from looking at the Glory of God, they were unworthy.

Can you imagine, these are heavenly beings in constant service to God and they felt unworthy to even gaze upon the glory of God.

2 Cover their Feet- Why do the angels cover their feet?

Because they stood on holy ground and wanted their feet covered in acknowledgement of their unworthiness to even stand in God’s Glory.

Such was God’s glory that though they were in flight, in midair, they still stood on the glory of God because his glory is not empty space but God’s glory is a tangible thing.

Many of you have probably met someone famous or someone perhaps highly respected and perhaps you felt uneasy around them, almost unworthy or blessed to be in that space.

Imagine if that someone was so glorious that you could actually cut the air around them and it actually emanate with the feeling you have on the inside.

2 to stay in flight- And why do they have two to remain in flight?

They are in constant service to God and must be ready.

Isaiah 6:3 KJV 1900

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: The whole earth is full of his glory.

Notice here that they are not crying to God he is Holy.

They do not even acknowledge his presence with their words by speaking directly to him.

Instead they speak to each other of his Glory.

Imagine if the saints of God could get on one accord in reverence of his glory?

Isaiah 6:4 KJV 1900

And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Such was the glory of God and such was the cry of the Seraphims that as they cried out Holy the Temple began to shake as they spoke.

Such was the glory of God in the Temple that it began to fill with the smoke of his glory.

This was much like how he was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to the children of Israel in the wilderness.

I have to stress that his glory was not only physical and real but it was visible to Isaiah and filled the entire house.

With angels crying holy and with God and his glory filling up the temple, where has Isaiah (in effect) been transported to?

He is having an experience not uncommon to Earth but one that is uncommon to the average man.

He is having an experience like that of priest on the Day of Atonement when he went into the Holy of Holies to offer sacrifice for the nation of Israel.

Can someone tell me about the Holy of Holies?

The ark of the covenant rests inside.

On the mercy seat between two cherubims is where the glory of God rested.

Inside the Ark are the staff of Aaron with flowers, the two tablets of the 10 commandments written by God, and the pot of manna.

ONLY the high priest was allowed inside ONE day per year to offer sacrifice on the Day of Atonement.

Can someone tell me what happens if the high priest, or anyone for that matter mishandles the glory of God?

They die.

The children of Israel were told not to touch the mountain where God stood on or they would die.

Aaron’s sons mishandled the burning of incense and were killed by God’s Glory.

Uzzah touched the Ark of the Covenant to stabilize it and he was killed by God’s Glory.

Why are we talking about this, someone ready verse 5.

Isaiah 6:5 KJV 1900

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.

Isaiah is standing here in the presence of God in the temple as the Temple fills with God’s glory and it immediately makes Isaiah feel unclean.

But why is he crying Woe is me and why is he saying I am undone.

If he is a student of the Law, Isaiah already knows that BY THE LAWS OF MOSES, HE HAS TO DIE.

Even if he had made an offering at the Bronze Altar and went through the cleanings at the Bronze Laver, he would be unworthy to sit in God’s presence.

I want us to see how serious God’s glory is.

Exodus 33:18–23 KJV 1900

18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. 21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: 23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

He said Moses, I love you and I know you… so because I love you I cannot honor your request just as you have asked but I have a way. And he covered Mose while his face passed by and then unveiled himself as his back walked by. God’s glory is not to be trifled with.

Isaiah 6:6–7 KJV 1900

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.

What does the use of this coal represent?

It represents the willingness of God to cleanse or forgive sin.

But it also represents that cleansing sin may at times be uncomfortable or downright painful.

Can we just say, it is not always easy to live right for the Lord.

Saying no to people or yourself can sometimes be painful.

Resisting flesh can be very difficult.

But that pain is sometimes necessary to achieve the goals that God has in mind for us.

Isaiah 6:8 KJV 1900

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.

Isaiah’s yes was so ready and absolute that without understanding his call he agreed to serve God.

Do you have a yes like that inside of you that when God calls, you can answer?

Provide Key Takeaways

God’s Holiness is a part of who he is in much the same way that your name is who you are.

You cannot say God and not mean Holy at the same time.

God wants to cleanse us and purify us but we have to give him space to do so.

When God call you must be willing to answer.

Allow for Final Questions?

Write some of the questions down if possible.

Closing Prayer