An Unobstructed View of God

Isaiah’s Background

There is not much that is given on the Isaiah’s background, the only thing that we know is that Amoz was his father. Isaiah must have been a Levite since this scripture finds him in the Temple. Only the men that were from the tribe of Levi were allowed to serve in the Temple.

Isaiah’s Focus Was Not on God

When Isaiah saw this vision was in the same year that King Uzziah died. His attention and focus was on the glory and power of a earthly king and not the heavenly king. Uzziah was a good king. He did things publicly and personally that were right in the eyes of the Lord. While he was on the throne the people were blessed by God. The nation had the favor of God while Uzziah lived. Every battle Uzziah fought he won. Every foe Uzziah faced he conquered. Those countries that he did not fight paid tribute to him. The army was strengthened under his rule. The people of the city felt safe within the walls. The money was pouring, and there was no want in the city. With the favor of God flowing to the nation, Isaiah looked at the Uzziah as a hero. Someone that he held in awe and respect. Since Uzziah seemed to do all the right things Isaiah looked to him and not to God. This was something that God commanded not to do:

Exodus 20:3 KJV 1900

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

How can that be? The priest of God, who served in God’s Temple. have another god? The man that is the Messianic prophet had awe and respect for another god? In a way, yes. Anytime that you place something above God in your life you have another god.

The Lord state the commandment this way because he knew that we would lose focus on Him and set up our own gods. Anything that takes our attention away from the Creator of the universe has become our god. It does not matter if it is a person. place or thing; if it becomes the center of our attention, affection, and or devotion it has become our god.

When we place more devotion to our homes than personal private devotion to God, then the home has become our god.

When we show more affection to our cars than showing affection to the Lord, then the car has become our god.

When we give more attention to our jobs, then giving more attention to the Lord and His service, then the job has become our god.

When our traditions are more important than the ways of God, then the traditions have become our god.

When that happens then the relationship that we had with the Lord is broken. The Lord is not going to compete for our affections, He is not going to fight to get our attention.

Deuteronomy 11:26–28 KJV 1900

Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

The reason the Lord does not fight for our attention is because He wants us to choose. Choice is a function of free will and not of force. All good relationships should be based on choice and not force. When our relationship with God is broken it us not God who has moved away. It is much like a relationship with a cheating spouse. The one who is cheating is wondering why the relationship is not close. He or she is not getting the same response that they used to get. The warmth is not there anymore. All the while thinking that other does not know what is going on. When in reality the other does know what is going on, they have not gone anywhere. They are not going to force the cheating spouse to love them and they are not going to force their love on the cheater. The relationship, the marriage is broken. It will remain broken until the outside person is removed from the picture. Then the one that was in the wrong can see and focus on their true love.

We are not going to truly see the Lord until the false gods are removed. This is what happened to Isaiah. He did not see the Lord until Uzziah died.

He Saw “The” Throne Not Just A Throne

The first thing that Isaiah stated that he was the Lord sitting on a throne lifted up. Now Isaiah was not a stranger to seeing a throne. Since his focus was on King Uzziah before this time, there were many occasions that he would have seen Uzziah sitting on the throne of Israel. The throne that Uzziah sat on during his reign was impressive. It was a chair that King Solomon had built.

1 Kings 10:18–20 KJV 1900

Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

The throne was crafted out of fine materials. Carved out of ivory and covered in gold. The chair itself was elevated to the point that six steps led to it. The throne had armrests with a lion on the side of them. The six steps themselves had a lion on each end for a total of twelve. Each lion represented one of the tribes of Israel. To top that off this was a one of a kind chair, no one had a chair like this anywhere else. Impressive! This throne represented the power and authority of the king, as well as the wealth of the kingdom. However I want to point out something here, nowhere and at no time did Isaiah mention what God’s throne looked like.

That is because Isaiah was focused on the one that sat on the throne. Thrones are symbols of honor, wealth, power and authority not the person. It is the object the person is sitting on that tells others what their position is. If a king or queen sat on a ordinary chair there would be some that would not believe that person a position. This is the pitfall of everyone, because we equate value to a person on the basis of what they have and not who they are.

Clothes Make the Man...

We say this because it is our belief that if a person does not have the finest clothes there must be a problem with them. They must be cheap, poor, lazy, or anything else negative you can think of. The problem with that line of thinking is that there are many folks that have finest clothes, the nicest cars and the biggest houses and they are most wicked things walking the earth. It is not what you have that makes you but it is what is in your heart that does. Isaiah did not describe the throne because it was not the throne that made God, but it was God that made the seat a throne.

In God there is all honor

In God there is all power

In God there is all authority

In God there is all wealth

Psalm 24:1 KJV 1900

The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein.

This throne was lifted up not as some would think so that Isaiah would not see His face. Put lifted up as a symbol. Earthly thrones are never on the same level as everything else. They are elevated to show the importance of the one that sits on it. Elevation denotes honor and glory. Elevation allows all to see the guest of honor. Elevation the says to all that this person’s position is higher than those around them. The elevation of the God’s throne is a symbol of what Isaiah wrote later:

Isaiah 55:9 KJV 1900

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.

Being elevated has an advantage. That advantage is strategic. When one is on high ground you can see what is going on. Your vision is not blocked by obstacles that can hide the enemy. The vantage point allows the general to plan ahead the defense and allows him to quickly send reinforcements to hot spots. They are in control of the situation. With God elevated on the His Throne the symbolism is that He has honor, sees everything and He is in control.

The Glory in the Temple

Some people might have just stopped at describing the Lord on the throne, but Isaiah continued because he wanted others to get the fullness of the moment. Many would walk away with what the understanding of God on His Throne means, but not everything. That would leave only a partial message, only a partial revelation. When God does something He does it for a purpose. So when Isaiah saw “his train filled the temple” there was a purpose in that as well. First we must define what this word “train” means. In today’s world a train is a vehicle that rides upon tracks. Some of them all long and some are short. However trains were not around in Isaiah time. Another definition of train happens to deal with dresses, more specifically a wedding dress. The train of a wedding dress is the part of it that flows behind the bride on the floor. This train could be long or short depending on the cost of the dress. The more expensive the longer the train. Some of the trains of a wedding dress had to be picked up by the bridesmaids so it would not get snagged on the floor. The train represented the glory of the bride. So when Isaiah writes that about the Lord’s train he is talking about the glory of the Lord.

The sticking point here is, that if Isaiah is in the temple shouldn’t the Lord’s glory already be there? Solomon built the Temple, had a dedication service for it and prayed for God to honor the place. The Holy record states that God answered not only in word that He would but in deed.

2 Chronicles 7:1 KJV 1900

Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house.

That glory came in the form of a cloud that filled temple. God was setting His name on the place. This cloud was not only the glory of God but it was also the presence of God. The Nation of Israel believed that after that day the presence of the Lord only came on the Day of Atonement and filled only one room, The Holy of Holies. It was in that room that the Ark of the Covenant sat and God’s mercy seat or throne was on that. What God was showing is that He will not be limited to one room but He wants to be in the whole place. We like to limit God to where we want Him in our lives.

We want Him on Sunday morning but not on Friday Night.

We want Him in church, but not on our jobs.

We want Him in private, but not out in public.

We want him when we are with other believers, but not when are with those that don’t believe.

God does not want that. God does not work like that. He wants to a part of every aspect of our lives. The glory of God filled every inch of the Temple. The place that He put His name on. When God put His name on the place it became His. It was His Temple, His dwelling place. When we look at everything that God has put his name on

The earth is His

The birds that fly in the sky are His.

The cattle that roam the fields are His.

The fish that swim the waters are His.

Man that he formed from the dust of the ground are His.

Everything is His and He wants to the be a part of the them. He wants His glory to fill the earth. He wants His Glory to fill you. So that His glory can go where you go. But He can’t because there is something else you are focused on.

Remove What is in Front of God

Uzziah had to pass away before Isaiah could see God. God had to remove Uzziah from the scene before Isaiah could see. That is because Isaiah need look past a king to see the King. When the obstacle was removed Isaiah then was not only able the see God, but find his purpose. There are somethings that God has removed from your life so that you can see Him. See his position, power, glory and presence. Maybe what we are going through now is God shifting our focus. But there are some that still have the focus the somewhere else. Now is the time to remove those things. Stop looking on them. Get them out of your life.

Stop looking at the chaos focus on God

Stop looking at what the neighbors got, focus on God.

Stop looking at the flashy object, focus on God.

Stop looking at the things can lead you wrong, focus on God.

Focus on how He blessed you.

Focus on how kept you.

Focus on how He Loves you.

Focus on the cross, He died on to save you.

Focus on the empty grave he rose from, to be with always.

Make that choice yourself. And when you do God will be right there. To give you your purpose.