The Holy One of Israel
Isaiah • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Have you ever had a moment when you felt small before God? I remember a time I was in Colorado visiting my sister. We were up in the Rockies taking some senior portraits of my niece and she pointed out the continental divide. Staring at those peaks so vast and majestic made me realize just how small we are, and by extension, how miniscule our problems are. That’s nothing compared to what Isaiah saw! We’re in our Isaiah series, and we’ve seen god call a rebellious people to repent in Isaiah 1, promise a future where nations stream to Zion in Isaiah 2, and last week, we saw the judgement of Israel’s failure while offering hope. Now in Isaiah 6:1-13 we see the Holy one of Israel in His Glory, calling Isaiah to a tough mission with a promise of a remnant. What happens when we encounter God’s holiness? Let’s find out!
God’s Holiness Revealed
God’s Holiness Revealed
In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw Adonai sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the Temple. Seraphim were standing above Him. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. One called out to another, and said:
“Holy, holy, holy, is Adonai-Tzva’ot!
The whole earth is full of His glory.”
Then the posts of the door trembled at the voice of those who called, and the House was filled with smoke.
Saints, Judah’s king is dead, the nation’s shaking, but Isaiah sees Adonai on His throne! The seraphim cry “Holy, holy, holy” (קָדוֹשׁ, kadosh), a Hebrew triple shouting . In biblical Hebrew, repetition is a way to intensify meaning. Saying "holy" three times emphasizes absolute holiness—a level beyond ordinary holiness, or even kadosh kadosh (complete holiness) The triple shout signifies absolute sanctity . No wonder the temple shakes, smoke swirls—God’s glory is too big for us to handle. Church, this is the Holy One we serve—majestic, yet He draws near.
Cleansing and Commission
Cleansing and Commission
Then I said:
“Oy to me! For I am ruined!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
and I am dwelling among a people
of unclean lips.
For my eyes have seen the King,
Adonai-Tzva’ot!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it and said:
“Behold, this has touched your lips.
Your iniquity is taken away,
and your sins atoned for.”
Isaiah is overwhelmed by his own sinfulness in God’s presence. How many know that when you are in the presence of a holy God, all pretense is stripped away and you are left with nothing but the truth of who you are, laid bare? Here it takes a seraph to touch his lips with a glowing coal to remove his iniquity. This is a beautiful picture of atonement. God does not leave us dirty; He cleanses us.
Then I heard the voice of Adonai saying:
“Whom should I send,
and who will go for Us?”
So I said, “Hineni. Send me.”
Then He said:
“Go! Tell this people:
‘Hear without understanding,
and see without perceiving.’
Make the heart of this people fat,
their ears heavy, and their eyes blind.
Else they would see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart,
and return, and be healed.”
Isaiah, now clean, says, “Hineni—Here I am. Send me!” But the mission’s rough: preach to a people who won’t listen, whose hearts will harden. Ever shared Yeshua and got a cold shoulder? I used to go do street ministry with a group in my college years. We would go to the mall and share Jesus with the people walking around. I would prophesy stuff to people and even though I was dead accurate, they would get so mad at me! P.S. I learned that just because you know something about someone through the Holy Spirit, that does not mean it’s OK to blab it to them. Yikes! But Isaiah’s mission was not to win hearts, rather, it was to simply obey. What’s the moral of the story? Well it’s this, God will sometimes ask us to stand for His truth even when people turn away.
The Remnant’s Hope
The Remnant’s Hope
Then I said, “Adonai, how long?”
He answered,
“Until cities are laid waste
and without inhabitant,
houses are without people,
and the land is utterly desolate.
Adonai will drive people far away.
The desertion of the land will be vast.
Though a tenth still be in it,
it will again be burned.
As a terebinth tree or as an oak
whose stump remains when cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump.”
It sounds bleak, but a stump remains. That stump represents the remnant—a future hope. It show’s God’s faithfulness, because He never gives up on Israel.
I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
The stump is the promise of restoration, and we’re part of it! John tells us that Isaiah is actually seeing Messiah’s glory.
Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
Yeshua is the one fulfilling the atonement that Isaiah needed. He is the “Root of Jesse”
And again, Isaiah says,
“There shall be a shoot of Jesse;
and the One who arises
to rule the Gentiles,
in Him shall the Gentiles hope.”
He is the atonement for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world.
And He is the stump that grows into salvation for Israel and the nations. His atonement cleanses us, fulfilling the coal’s work. Through Him, we’re sent to proclaim His kingdom. Saints, Yeshua makes God’s promises real—He’s the “substance of things hoped for”
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of realities not seen.
His death and resurrection cleans us so that we too can say Hineni like Isaiah. Church Jesus doesn’t just save us; He sends us to share His truth, even when it’s tough.
Talmudic Perspective
Talmudic Perspective
Second Temple texts, like 1 Enoch, highlight God’s kadosh nature—His transcendence above all creation. Jewish sages saw the remnant as central to redemption, a faithful core God preserves for His purposes. Even in exile, Israel remains His covenant people, called to return. God’s promises to Israel are unbreakable, and His holiness demands our response. But we as believers in the Messiah, can look and see that God has fulfilled this promise of a remnant through Jesus. The remnant in Isaiah 6 proves God’s faithfulness to Israel, not its replacement. And Paul says in Romans,
for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
We don’t take Israel’s place, we’re grafted in.
But if some of the branches were broken off and you—being a wild olive—were grafted in among them and became a partaker of the root of the olive tree with its richness, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, it is not you who support the root but the root supports you.
Putting it all Together
Putting it all Together
What do we get out of this? Well, I think one of the most important things we get out of this is a picture of God’s holiness. What do the angels in heaven do when they are in God’s presence? They worship because they are overwhelmed by his absolute holiness. We should heed the example of the Psalmist when he said,
Adonai reigns, let the peoples tremble.
He is enthroned upon the cheruvim—
let the earth shake!
Adonai is great in Zion
and He is exalted above all the peoples.
Let them praise Your great
and awesome Name: holy is He.
The might of a king loves justice.
You have established fairness.
You executed justice and righteousness
in Jacob.
Exalt Adonai our God
and worship at His footstool: holy is He.
Moses and Aaron were among
His kohanim—also Samuel
among those calling on His Name.
They called on Adonai
and He answered them.
He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.
They kept His testimonies,
and the decree that He gave them.
Adonai our God, You answered them.
A forgiving God You were to them,
though You avenged their misdeeds.
Exalt Adonai our God,
and worship at His holy hill,
for holy is Adonai our God.
We sing His praise to feel His awe! And when we are faced with the holiness of God, we can’t help but to repent and receive Yeshua’s cleansing—His blood is the coal from the altar that takes away our sins. It is the thing that makes up worthy to stand before Adonai Tzva’ot . And finally, accept the commission that God has given you. Here’s the biggest thing to remember in all of this. God is good. He is faithful to keep His promises. No matter what circumstance we are facing, no matter how bleak the situation is, we have proof of His goodness in this. Jesus raised Himself from the dead, and so is absolutely faithful to fulfill all of His promises—even when it seems all hope is gone.
Let’s pray:
“Adonai-Tzva’ot, Your holiness humbles us. Cleanse us through Yeshua, send us with Your truth, and fulfill Your promises to Israel...”
Benediction
Benediction
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהֹוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ
יָאֵר יְהֹוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ
יִשָּׂא יְהֹוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם
Yevarehchecha Yehovah v’yishmerecha
Ya’er Yehovah panav eleicha vichuneka
Yissa Yehovah panav eleicha v’yasem lecha shalom
‘Adonai bless you and keep you!
Adonai make His face to shine on you
and be gracious to you!
Adonai turn His face toward you
and grant you shalom!’
