Meeting with God (Isaiah 6)

This incident is one of the best known in the Bible. It was not the occasion of Isaiah’s call to serve the Lord as a prophet because there already have been five chapters of prophecies before this incident. Maybe the best way to look at it is that it was initiated by the Lord in order to prepare Isaiah for the change of circumstances that he would face.

The time
It was a period of crisis in the land of Judah because their longstanding king had died. Uzziah had reigned for fifty-two years and, in the main, he had been a good king, although he had experienced divine judgement for a rash action involving the worship of God. As we know, occasions of change can often cause uncertainty and fear, whether those occasions are national, denominational or personal. When they happen to us, we need to receive from God words of assurance, comfort and guidance, a reminder that he is still there.

The throne
On this occasion, Isaiah was shown in a very graphic manner that the Lord is the eternal king. Unlike what happened to Uzziah, the reign of God does not come to an end. He reigns for ever and ever. The picture that is given of the Lord is of One who is not only eternal but who also is exalted above everyone and everything. Not only does he outlast all others, he is sovereign above all the great of the earth. When he is present, there is no room for anyone else – even the train of his robe fills all the space that there is. The message to Isaiah was that his God was a very big God, and that same message comes to us as it does to all his people.

The talk
We are introduced to a special order of angelic beings who have the role of attendants of the divine throne. Obviously, they have a very privileged position, and we can see from their words that they realised it. As they speak to one another, they do not talk about one another, even although in a sense they are important. But when the Lord is clearly present, who would dare talk about themselves? Although so highly honoured, they express great humility, shown in the manner by which they cover their faces and their feet.
They have two things to say about the Lord – his distinctiveness and his domain. Holiness refers to separation, but it is separation above the creaturely. Only the Lord is totally perfect, only he could have a threefold attribution of holiness said about him. Their words are praise, but they are also proclamation – they say words that are coherent.
What do they mean when they say that the whole earth is full of his glory. They cannot mean that he is worshipped everywhere because that was not the case. But they knew that he was King everywhere, that there was not an inch over which he did not rule in divine power.

The tongue
As Isaiah looked at the sight of the King and listened to what the seraphim were saying, he realised something about himself. He realised that he was a sinner and that the people of Judah were sinners. Of course, he said this even although he was a devout man and that his people were God’s people engaged in his worship at that moment in the temple. This is a reminder that the worship of God is astonishing – the sinless heavenly beings and the sinful human beings have something to say in his presence.
No doubt, Isaiah understood before that he was a sinner, but on this occasion he had a fresh experience of what it means to be one. It is a sight of the greatness of the Lord that brings this about in the outlook of believers. Simon Peter had a similar experience when he asked the Lord to depart from him after providing a miraculous catch of fish. Yet at the same time he was drawn to the feet of Jesus. Something similar happened here to Isaiah.

The touch
In the symbolism of the vision, one of the seraphim ceased his interaction with the others and went and took a live coal from the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips with it. Fire was a picture of purification, and here Isaiah is shown that the Lord had the remedy for the need of his servant. The altar is the place where the atoning sacrifice had been made, so we can see that purification is connected to and follows on from the atonement. In the vision, the application was immediate although totally undeserved, and its benefit was immediate as well.

The task
There may be a reference to the Trinity in the question asked by the Lord since he uses a plural pronoun. A volunteer is wanted, and the choice is between the seraphim and the prophet, between the sinlessly holy and the purified sinner. Isaiah realises that he must volunteer, because he realises that he has been healed in order to serve.
The task to which he was called to by God was hard. He was going to speak the truth to people who could not see the truth, even although he would make it plain. While we know about Isaiah for his Messianic prophecies, his listeners heard him declare messages of rebuke. He was called by God to be faithful and not move an inch from his commission.

Application

The Christ to see
In John 12:41, the apostle says that the One whom Isaiah saw was Jesus. We do not know how much Isaiah understood at that moment. Yet we know a lot about Jesus. Here we are reminded of his eternal dignity. The one who became the suffering servant in the book of Isaiah is described here as the King of kings. We can see that certain responses are required in his presence. The sight of him should compel honesty in our response. What are we to do?

The confession to make
What wrong words did Isaiah confess? There were three places that he usually spoke – his home, as a counsellor (he was a prince) in the palace and as a prophet. It is unlikely that he would have told a deliberate lie. Did he speak the truth for wrong motives? Or did he say that something was God’s will when God had not said that it was? Even if he had done his best, it would not be perfect. Whatever he may have said, he recognised in the presence of God that he had to confess his wrong words. What would have happened if he had not? He would not have experienced the cleansing process.

The challenge to obey
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What was the challenge for Isaiah? For him, it was to the will of God, even although it would not be easy. Every day, for the foreseeable future, he knew that he would speak the truth of God to a people who would not listen. His task was to do what God wanted him to do, not what he wanted to do himself. And that is what we are called to do as well.
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