Isaiah 6:1-6

Sometimes we forget that even though He is Daddy to us He is also God, all seeing, all knowing and all powerful. God has the final word and He uses His word made flesh, Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, to accomplish His will on earth and all honor and glory belong to Him alone. In God’s mercy we are forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and raised up by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The throne where the Lord is seated, high and exalted, represents His eternal, sovereign, and universal rule. He is high above all other kings, but at the same time He is concerned about the welfare of His people. All human pride is mocked by the behavior of these angels. They know that in the presence of God there is no room for pomp, no reason for pride.

To say the word holy twice in Hebrew is to describe someone as “most holy.” To say the word holy three times intensifies the idea to the highest level. In other words, the holiness of God is indescribable in human language. To be holy means to be different, distant, or transcendent. Thus the song of the seraphim is a constant refrain that the transcendence of God is indescribable. Although the Lord is totally different from us—He is perfect—in His mercy He still reaches down to take care of us.

Confronted with this vision of the Lord, Isaiah realized that he was under judgment—that he was undone. Isaiah’s plight is the plight of every person. No one, in his or her present state, is capable of standing before the Holy One.

The live coal … from the altar symbolizes both the purification of blood and the fire of the Spirit that enabled the prophet to speak. From that point on, his words would be light to his hearers and power to those who would listen. The fact that a coal from the altar was used reminds us that ultimately all sin is forgiven because of a sacrifice. The sacrifices on the temple altar point to the ultimate sacrifice of the Savior Jesus. God sovereignly and graciously forgave Isaiah’s sin.

Isaiah 6:1-6

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:

 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

 The whole earth is full of His glory!”

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 So I said:

 “Woe is me, for I am undone!

 Because I am a man of unclean lips,

 And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;

 For my eyes have seen the King,

 The Lord of hosts.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

 “Behold, this has touched your lips;

 Your iniquity is taken away,