Christ, The Exalted King

Isaiah 6:1–8 CSB

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth. The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for. Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.

Background

Isaiah was a prophet to Judah during the reign of four kings

Isaiah 1:1 CSB

The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah.

Isaiah means “The Lord is salvation”.

Ministered in and around Jerusalem

He was married with two sons

Isaiah was a contemporary of Hosea and Micah.

I. The Situation (6:1a)

Isaiah 6:1a (CSB)

In the year that King Uzziah died,

a) The earthly king is dead

b) King Uzziah had a prosperous reign for 52 years (2 Chr.26:3-5)

c) Judah developed into a strong commercial and military people

d) But Judah’s spiritual status declined

2 Kings 15:3–4 CSB

Azariah did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his father Amaziah had done. Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

2 Chronicles 26:16–19 CSB

But when he became strong, he grew arrogant, and it led to his own destruction. He acted unfaithfully against the Lord his God by going into the Lord’s sanctuary to burn incense on the incense altar. The priest Azariah, along with eighty brave priests of the Lord, went in after him. They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the Lord—only the consecrated priests, the descendants of Aaron, have the right to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully! You will not receive honor from the Lord God.” Uzziah, with a firepan in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But when he became enraged with the priests, in the presence of the priests in the Lord’s temple beside the altar of incense, a skin disease broke out on his forehead.

Isaiah 5:24–25 CSB

Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will become like something rotten and their blossoms will blow away like dust, for they have rejected the instruction of the Lord of Armies, and they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against his people. He raised his hand against them and struck them; the mountains quaked, and their corpses were like garbage in the streets. In all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still raised to strike.

II. The Vision (6:1b-4)

a) The Exalted Eternal King

Isaiah 6:1 CSB

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple.

The Lord- Adonai comes from the singular word Adon which is translated “master” or “ruler”

The cultural background to the word Adon is associated with masters who owned slaves. Yet it didn’t merely connote ownership but also conveyed a responsibility for the care and well-being of the servants. The master was to provide for, protect, guide, and maximize that which he owned.

Thus when God is referred to in Scripture with the plural Adonai, He is seen as owner.

Evans, Tony. The Power of God's Names (p. 56). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Psalm 97:5 (CSB)

The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord— at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

b) The Throne of the King

John 12:36–41 CSB

While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become children of light.” Jesus said this, then went away and hid from them. Even though he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet, who said: Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? This is why they were unable to believe, because Isaiah also said: He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they would not see with their eyes or understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them. Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke about him.

Isaiah 6:1 (CSB)

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple.

Isaiah 6:10 (CSB)

Make the minds of these people dull; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed.

c) The Robe of the King

Isaiah 6:2 (CSB)

Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.

d) The Seraphim “Burning ones”

Isaiah 6:3 CSB

And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth.

God’s Holiness

Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Second Edition) 9. Holiness

God’s holiness means that he is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor. This definition contains both a relational quality (separation from) and a moral quality (the separation is from sin or evil, and the devotion is to the good of God’s own honor or glory).

Leviticus 19:2 CSB

“Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

Leviticus 11:44–45 CSB

For I am the Lord your God, so you must consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy. Do not defile yourselves by any swarming creature that crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy.

Psalm 99:9 CSB

Exalt the Lord our God; bow in worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.

Exodus 28:1–2 (CSB)

“Have your brother Aaron, with his sons, come to you from the Israelites to serve me as priest—Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, for glory and beauty.

Numbers 3:10 (CSB)

You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”

Leviticus 10:1–3 (CSB)

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do.

Then fire came from the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has spoken: I will demonstrate my holiness to those who are near me, and I will reveal my glory before all the people.” And Aaron remained silent.

1 John 1:5 (CSB)

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him.

New Covenant believers are called to strive for holiness

Hebrews 12:14 CSB

Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.

2 Corinthians 7:1 (CSB)

So then, dear friends, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

III. The Confession

Isaiah 6:5 (CSB)

Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies.

IV. The Cleansing

Isaiah 6:6–7 CSB

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for.

V. The Question

Isaiah 6:8 CSB

Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.