Isaiah's vision

There’s an incredible scene pictured in Isaiah chapter 6.  Isaiah has a vision of God, in all His glory.  “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on the throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1).  Verse 2 speaks of what I interpret to be angels, then in verse 3 we read, “And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”  At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke” (verse 4).

In the next verse, the scene shifts to Isaiah’s reaction to all this.  He sees the amazing, powerful, resplendent, glorious, brilliant, magnificent (and whatever other synonyms you can come up with) God of the whole universe in His glory.  What is his response going to be?  “Woe to me!” I cried.  “I am ruined!  For I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5).  I looked this up in other translations instead of just the NIV that I’ve been quoting from.  The NCV reads, “I said, “Oh, no!  I will be destroyed.  I am not pure.”  The NLT renders it, “Then I said, “It’s all over!  I am doomed, for I am a sinful man.”

 

I can relate to Isaiah’s reaction!  Let me tell you: Kevin Bauer is a sinful man.  I am not worthy; I am flawed, impure, and blemished.  I’m amazed at how I can still easily make the sinful choice, even after being a Christian for decades.  Too many today think that if they see a vision of God’s majesty and holiness, they will simply nod their head approvingly at how impressive God is, but this is an inaccurate picture.  Like Isaiah, God’s incredible glory will result in us falling to our knees, low and prostrate before him, painfully aware of just how depraved, corrupt, and unworthy we are.

Let me return to the text.  Isaiah sees God’s brilliant holiness and glory, and he fears that God is actually going to destroy him because he sees his sinfulness in contrast to God’s perfection.  What does God do in response to Isaiah?  It says that a seraph (once again, I believe this is an angel), with coal in his hand, touches Isaiah’s mouth.  “See,” the angel states, “this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (verse 7).

The bottom line is this: God didn’t chastise, shun, or altogether dismiss Isaiah from His presence.  He says, “Your sin has been atoned for.”  For Christians today, this is true because Jesus Christ took the entirety of humanity’s sin on the cross of Calvary.  Even though I’m a sinner, I can still have a close communion with the Lord, because of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for me. Praise the Lord!

Kevin