The Holiness of God – Isaiah chapter 6 verses 1 to 7
God’s fiery, beautiful holiness
The rise and fall of a king
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, …
Isaiah 6:1a
Uzziah: 52 years on the throne. A good king, but his pride led to his downfall. National anxiety at his death. Would the next king be good or bad?
The Lord’s majesty described
I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Isaiah 6:1b
The King of kings is at rest on His throne (no need to fear) and the train of His robe fills the temple (He rules everywhere).
The Lord’s majesty proclaimed
2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
Isaiah 6:2-4
Angelic brings like those in Revelation 4. crying out “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY”
- Separate, He is set apart from what is not good.
- Different, utterly different. Not the highest in a continuum from bug to angel. He is as high above the angels as He is above the worm. He is creator, all else are creatures.
- Pure, no imperfection at all. “God is light, and in him is no darkness”.
This is the God we need. His holiness He is beautiful, majestic, just, gracious, lovely. But how then can a man stand before Him?
The Lord’s servant purified
5 ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’
Isaiah 6:5
Isaiah felt much more than awe. He was face to face with judgment, the knowledge of all his own sins.
“I am ruined! For I am a man…” “Because my eyes have seen the King”. Face to face with God he sees how unholy he was, how condemned.
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’
Isaiah 6:6-7
Isaiah is not consumed: here is Mercy! God (sending the Seraph) moves towards the guilty, so it must always be. Fire, a symbol of purification, burning up his sin … “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” We strive for holiness because He is at work within us. Here are two ways in particular, with turmoil in the US in mind (and it is coming here too).
- In what we speak: the rampant vitriol of today. Christians should not speak like this. “Giving account for every word…” Mt 12:36-37. Strife, division, anger, jealousy come, but should not be from those who call themselves Christian.
- In what we see: regardless of who occupies earthly thrones, see that the Lord is still on His throne. 2Chr 26:17-18.
Bible verses from the New International Version – UK (NIVUK) Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
