Over the past few weeks I have been pointed back to Isaiah’s commission in Isaiah 6, it is an amazing picture, and as I have pondered the awesomeness of God in this picture, the train of his robe filled the temple, and the seraphs flying calling so loudly to each other “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” that “At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.” I can only imagine Isaiah’s amazement, wonder, fear, and consternation, and worship. Have we become to I, me, we focused in our songs before our God? What is our picture of God, yes he is Abba Father, but he is also Our God, worthy of our praise, and our action “Take my life and let it be, whole consecrated unto thee. We are consecrated, set apart, we should be wholly God’s people, but are we? So often life distracts and takes us away from being in his presence, Like Mary in Luke 10 vs. 38-42 and David in Psalm 27 that the one thing we desire is to be in his presence, ready to worship and listen
Isaiah 6 vs. 1-8 – Isaiah’s Commission
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe
Filled the temple, above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces,
Imagine what Isaiah saw and how profound the vision must have been, The Lord in all his glory seated high above
The train of his robe so long and so large it filled the temple, his awesomeness so great seraphs covered their faces
They could not view his glory so great his radiance, so great, almighty and powerful their God, so worthy of their love
Isaiah must have been transfixed at this scene, so amazing the sight before him, to see the Lord who on him gazes
And as he watches he must begin to wonder why he is in the presence of the Lord who is seated on high above
And what else is he going to see, the seraphs each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces,
With two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling
To one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
Their worship of the their Lord clear, to him they gave honour and were to each calling
Rejoicing in him “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The scope of his glory so great that it fills the whole earth, almighty, wholly enthralling
The seraphs clear: “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.
“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,
Isaiah is overcome by what he sees and hears, it is outside his experience, shaking ground and holy smoke
“Woe to me” he cried, “I am ruined”, here I am unclean in my Lord’s sight, living among a people of unclean lips
I am so unworthy how can I be in the presence of my Lord, what I am doing here in this place, in the smoke
What can this mean, why me! 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.” Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand,
which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips;
Then out of the smoke flies a seraph, with a live coal in his hand, fresh from the altar, scorching hot, yet in his hand
Isaiah having cried he is a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips had the hot coal touch his lips
This is an act of God to show that he has heard the cry of Isaiah, and he is prepared to show Isaiah his healing hand
Isaiah must have been totally overwhelmed by this experience imagine the seraph saying, “See, this has touched your lips;
Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah had only one response for his Lord, he could not do anything else but start obeying
To be the one sent to speak out to a people of unclean lips, “Here am I. Send me!”
Is our world today any different, I ponder and say no it is not, are we reading to start hearing
We are unlikely to have a vision like Isaiah’s but are we ready to say : “Here am I. Send me!
Like Isaiah our guilt is taken away and our sin atoned for, by the work of Christ, in obeying
His heavenly Father, he paid the cost, what is our act of worship, will we say? “Here am I. Send me!
Mark Maffey, February 2010
(NIV)