Isaiah’s Commissioning – Part 1
Isaiah 6:1-13 (1-5)
April 16, 2023
Last Sunday morning we introduced this passage
As we celebrated the resurrected Christ on Easter Sunday.
And just to quickly highlight the point that was made,
Isaiah 6 explains to us why Isaiah came out of the gate swinging.
Before we knew it Isaiah had preached 3 sermons
And every one of them proved to be messages of serious warning.
• Whether it was Isaiah confronting worthless religion
• Or confronting idolatry and worldliness
• Or pronouncing woe upon the worthless fruit of Israel
ISAIAH HAS PULLED NO PUNCHES.
We imagined that his direct style right out of the gate likely caused some to wonder what had him so riled up.
No doubt Isaiah’s answer to their curiosity is:
I SAW THE LORD, AND IT CHANGED EVERYTHING.
We discussed Isaiah’s vision and how it was actually the glorified Jesus whom Isaiah saw in his vision.
And we took a moment TO CELEBRATE the glorified Lord
And TO REALIZE that one day we will all stand before Him
In His glorified state as well.
WELL THIS MORNING, we return back to this vision
• To pick up some of what we did not discuss
• And to ultimately move through the remainder of the chapter
• And see the effect that this vision had upon Isaiah’s life.
I didn’t give you any kind of an OUTLINE last week,
But let’s work on that outline here.
We can divide this chapter up into 4 main points.
#1 THE SOURCE OF ISAIAH’S CONVICTION
Isaiah 6:1-4
Again, we have already noted that Isaiah came out preaching
A bold message of woe and judgment to the children of Israel.
He has come out and exposed the sin of Israel at every turn.
• He has been literally a man on a mission.
• He has dripped with conviction.
• He has spoken boldly and without apology.
And here we see why.
“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.”
“the year of King Uzziah’s death” was 739 BC
It is remarkable to realize that Jesus was sitting on the throne 740 years before He was ever born, and He’s been sitting there ever since.
But this was the year in which God appeared to Isaiah
And called him to ministry.
Some have commented that Isaiah may have gone to the temple to mourn the death of the king, but that is really a stretch.
• For one, it only says that it was the year in which he died, not in response to his
death.
• Secondly, if you will remember, Uzziah was struck with leprosy for trying to
enter the temple and offer sacrifices and his son Jotham sort of reigned as
Co-regent with Uzziah.
• At this point Jotham has been operating with kingly authority for 11 years.
Isaiah is NOT mourning the death of Uzziah and thus entering the temple.
No, Isaiah is entering the temple because
That is what Jewish worship looked like.
He’s doing what he has always done.
BUT ON THIS DAY in 739BC
He would have an encounter that would change his life forever.
“I saw the Lord”
The word “Lord” there is NOT YAHWEH,
Like you are used to seeing which is signified by all caps.
The word “Lord” there is ADONAY
Which is the word of a sovereign ruler.
That is to say that Isaiah walked into the temple
And he saw the One who was really in charge.
In a moment the seraphim will identify who this Lord is and in verse 5 Isaiah will call Him “the King, the LORD of hosts”
And we know that John reveals that it is Jesus whom he saw.
But at least at the outset of this vision Isaiah is merely struck
By a sovereign ruler that was extremely ELEVATED in stature.
Isaiah says He was “sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.”
Some say that kings purposely wore long trains because they were hard to maneuver and thus required many servants to handle it.
Some mention that kings would routinely cut off the robes of conquered kings and sow them to their own train and thus a long train indicated a king who had conquered many others.
But perhaps the best way to view it is through the lens of John’s gospel when he said that Isaiah “saw His glory”.
Speaking of His long train may just be ANTHROPOMORPHIC language
To speak of the tremendous glory of the king.
You measured the majesty of a king by the length of the train of his robe
So Isaiah reveals to us here that this is
The most “exalted” and glorious king that he has ever seen.
THIS ONE HAS NO EQUAL.
But you don’t just see His Elevation you also see His EXALTATION.
(2-3) “Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”
The “Seraphim” are holy angels and they are surrounding the throne.
• There name comes from a root word that means “fiery ones”
• We see them in Ezekiel’s vision of the wheels
• And again in John’s vision of the throne room of heaven.
And here we read that they have “six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.”
What does all that mean?
No doubt he “covered his face” as SHADE
• Even holy angels could not gaze upon the brilliant glory of this holy King.
• He was too much for even them to behold and so they had to cover their face in His presence.
“he covered his feet” out of SHAME
• Even though glorious and righteous to us, these creatures still do not measure up in splendor and glory to the One they serve.
• There is humility before Him even among the holy angels.
“with two he flew” – Which represents SERVICE
• These creatures are busy in the service of the King.
But what greatly captured Isaiah’s attention
Was THE DECLARATION that they each kept saying to one another.
“And one called out to the other and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”
Now Isaiah knows who it is he stands before.
These Seraphim have identified Him.
And they keep calling out to each other,
Lest anyone there should forget who they are dealing with.
HE IS THE HOLY ONE.
WE REMINDED LAST WEEK that this is the only 3-quoted declaration like this in the Old Testament.
God is not referred to as “Love, Love, Love” or “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”
Though He is such things.
God is declared “Holy, Holy, Holy”
And this is the scene that would strike Isaiah to the core.
You just have no idea how Holy He is.
You have no idea how far above us He is.
This is true of the glorified Christ.
It is Jesus whom Isaiah saw.
And though we are used to the humbled version seen during His earthly ministry, THIS IS THE JESUS OF ALL ETERNITY.
This is a truer picture of who He actually is.
HE IS SO HOLY!
• It is to speak of His God-ness.
• It is to speak of His uniqueness and separation from humanity.
• He is not like us and we are not like Him.
• He is holy and we are fallen.
• We cannot relate to Him.
• And even holy angels dare not gaze upon Him.
The angels continued by declaring “the whole earth is full of His glory.”
That is a unique statement.
• They don’t say that the whole earth should be filled with His glory.
• They say that “the whole IS full of His glory.”
Everything you see is a testimony to His greatness and power and might.
What did Paul tell us about Him?
Romans 1:18-23 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”
“the whole earth is full of His glory” but not all the earth recognizes it.
AND CERTAINLY NOT EVERYONE WORSHIPS HIM FOR IT.
(And thus the wrath of God abides on man.)
And here we have THE FIRST REBUKE
Which would come from the throne room of God
Regarding man He has created.
• The holy angels recognize the glory of the LORD everywhere and never stop
declaring it.
• Whereas sinful men seem to have totally overlooked His glory and refuse to
worship Him for it.
It is just a brief picture of how out of touch earth is with heaven.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote:
“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees, takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,
And daub their natural faces unaware.”
(Ortlund Jr., Raymond [Isaiah: God Saves Sinners; Preaching The Word Commentary Series; Crossway Publishers; Wheaton, IL; 2005] pg. 78)
The first rebuke we find here is from the angels
Who would be totally offended that we should live our lives
So ignorant of the glory of God all around us.
That we would fail to see His eternal power and divine nature
And that we would fail to worship Him accordingly.
The angels continually call out to each other to remind one another.
We often fail to see it or remind each other of it.
Raymond Ortlund wrote:
“The whole earth is full of his glory,” We keep trying to fill it with monuments to our own glory – kingdoms, businesses, hit songs, athletic victories, and other mechanisms of self-salvation. But the truth is better than that. Created reality is a continuous explosion of the glory of God.”
(ibid. pg. 78)
The angels see that and would rebuke humanity for being so blind to it.
Isaiah is getting a first-hand lesson
From beings that are consumed with the glory of God.
And as they cry out, ISAIAH RECOUNTS:
(4) “And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.”
As these creatures herald the glory and holiness of God
The very earth beneath Isaiah quakes.
We SAW THE SAME when Jesus died upon the cross:
Matthew 27:51 “And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.”
And we SAW IT AGAIN 3 days later when He rose from the dead:
Matthew 28:2 “And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.”
It is a reminder of the sheer power of the presence of God.
Isaiah also notes that “the temple was filling with smoke.”
This is a picture of the WRATH AND JUDGMENT OF GOD.
Revelation 15:5-8 “After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.”
Psalms 97:2 “Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.”
And when you put all this together
You begin to grasp the scene of what Isaiah saw.
In his vision he immediately saw one who was high and exalted.
• He immediately saw ADONAY the sovereign Lord.
But when he heard those angels,
• Who wouldn’t dare look at the One on the throne call Him “the LORD of
hosts”
• And declare Him “Holy”
• And rebuke humanity for failing to see it.
And as they spoke,
• God’s glory and smoke fill the place,
• And the whole ground begins to shake.
What are we to make of this except that:
The LORD is more glorious and exalted than we have ever realized
And that He is serious about the worship that occurs around Him.
I again come to the conclusion that we too often live this life with absolutely no concept of who it is we serve.
Many of you have heard R.C. Sproul’s famous “What’s wrong with you people?” answer that he gave at a Q&A. (If you haven’t, google it)
He grows frustrated with people who think
God was too severe on Adam when Adam fell into sin.
But Sproul concludes his answer by saying, “This is what’s wrong with the Christian church today; we don’t know who God is and we don’t know who we are.”
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Sproul+What%27s+wrong+with+you+people&view=detail&mid=A0B2F725CF4FAF236000A0B2F725CF4FAF236000&FORM=VIRE
THAT WAS CERTAINLY TRUE IN ISAIAH’S DAY.
Isaiah had no clue who it was he was entering that temple to worship,
But in a moment he found out.
And God was more holy and more glorious
Than anything He could have imagined.
• God was not Santa Claus…
• God was not a fuzzy Teddy Bear…
• God was not even approachable…
• He was so Holy even angels wouldn’t look at Him.
• He was so Holy even angels hid themselves from His gaze.
• He was so Holy even angels continually reminded one another of His chief essence of perfection.
This is not some God you show up before unaware.
This is not some God you overlook.
AND YET HERE THEY WERE
• Bringing their broken sacrifices…
• Cheating one another and ignoring the widows and orphans…
• Ignoring His word and following their own logic…
• Acting like He didn’t see and wouldn’t deal with sin…
And then they thought they could just run into the temple,
Lift up their hands, tell Him what they wanted,
And He’d just hop right to it?
They had no clue.
Isaiah had no clue.
I’m wondering if we have any clue.
That is The Source of Isaiah’s Conviction.
#2 THE SIN OF ISAIAH’S LIPS
Isaiah 6:5
We spoke of this last week as well, but the response of Isaiah
Tells us everything about what it is like in the presence of God.
“Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!”
I gave you the words last time.
• “Woe” – OY – it is that cry of intense pain and grief.
• “Ruined” – DAWMAW – it is “to cease” or “to be undone”
When Isaiah saw His glory…
Then heard from the angels who it was he was seeing…
Then witnessed the ground shaking and the smoke rolling in…
ISAIAH KNEW IT WAS OVER.
“Oh! I’m a dead man!”
• I shouldn’t be here!
• I should not be looking at Him!
• I should not be in His presence!
• I have come to close!
WHY ISAIAH?
“Because I am a man of unclean lips,”
Certainly the issue is much deeper than just having a filthy mouth.
Jesus taught us:
Matthew 15:17-20 “Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
Your lips are the barometer of your heart.
Isaiah doesn’t just have a filthy mouth, he has a filthy heart.
So do you see what Isaiah’s sin is?
Can you spot his problem?
ISAIAH WAS A PHONY!
Isaiah was a hypocrite.
How do we know that?
TURN TO: MATTHEW 15:1-9
• Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for being phony hypocrites.
• They invalidated what God said because they wanted to keep their traditions.
• And Jesus said that Isaiah was right about them.
• That they were a people who honored God with their lips but their heart was far away from Him.
Jesus was quoting:
Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”
And here in the throne room, Isaiah confessed that this was him.
Isaiah was exactly that type of man.
• He was the type of man who would draw near to God with his words
• And honor God with his lip service,
• But his heart was far away from God.
And on this day, when confronted
With the holiness of God’s presence, Isaiah came clean.
“I am a man of unclean lips”
THAT IS TO SAY, “I’m a liar!” – “I’m a fraud!” – “I’m a hypocrite” – “I’m not real!”
And THE LAST PLACE a fraudulent hypocritical liar needs to be
Is directly in the presence of the Holy God of the universe.
I’M A DEAD MAN!
Isaiah had been merely going through the motions his whole life.
• He knew when to go to the temple,
• He knew how to bring a sacrifice.
• He knew when to stand, when to sit, what to sing, and what to pray.
• He could do it.
• He’d been well trained.
And perhaps he even had everyone around him fooled.
But on this day, he stood before God
And he knew that before God
He could no longer conceal his hypocrisy.
“I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips;”
I’m a fraud and so is everyone around me.
• No one here really cares about God.
• No one here really loves or honors Him.
• We’re all just going through the motions,
• And perhaps I was the best at it.
AND NOW “my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
“Woe is me!”
LISTEN FRIEND,
• You can play the game and go through the motions and fool a lot of people.
• You can go to church and sing the songs
• And even pray the prayers you’ve been taught to pray.
And you may fool a lot of people.
And that’s all well and good until you stand before the Holy One.
Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
THERE’S NO FOOLING HIM.
Isaiah had been a bloody-handed sinner
Covering his iniquity with religious involvement.
But on this day Isaiah could hide no more.
Does that help you understand why he preached things like:
Isaiah 1:10-15 “Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah. “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”
That WASN’T Isaiah taking issue with their worship.
HE had been that worshiper and felt the scorn of God for it.
HE had done just like them and felt the terror of judgment.
He was passing along the message he had received.
Or this one:
Isaiah 1:21-23 “How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers. Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with water. Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.”
When Isaiah spoke of them as being a diluted drink
He could do it accurately because he knew it looked like.
He had been just as phony.
“I am a man of unclean lips…”
AND SO ARE YOU!
AND IT’S NOT OK.
I remember when the Lord exposed me like this.
• Standing in a worship service at Howard Payne University
• I was serving as a camp counselor at a youth camp called Super Summer.
• And as we sang that song about needing holiness, the Lord looked right through all my empty and phony religion.
• He exposed me as the hypocrite who was not enough.
• I was forced to confess as Isaiah did that I was not enough and nothing that I had done had been enough.
THIS IS WHAT THE LORD DOES.
He comes and confronts what is phony
And calls you to the righteousness
Which can only be found in Him.
AND HE HAD TO DO THIS TO ISAIAH
Before Isaiah would ever be a messenger to the people.
Matthew 7:5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
He had to address Isaiah’s dirty mouth
Before Isaiah would be able to address anyone else’s.
I certainly know how that feels.
I know what it is to be exposed as a phony and a fraud,
But the Lord had to do that to me
Before He could send me to do that for anyone else.
I KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
• When you’re just going through the motions.
• When you sit in church but don’t want to be there.
• When there is religion without love for God or a concern about His glory.
I know what it looks like because I lived it.
And some of you are living it now.
And I can only tell you that it may work here,
But it won’t work before the Lord.
The Lord didn’t even have to call Isaiah out.
God’s holy presence exposed him to such a degree
That Isaiah fell on his face confessing it.
This is part of the gospel.
This is what Jesus does.
Even AT HIS BIRTH it was prophesied of Him:
Luke 2:34-35 “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
In HIS MINISTRY He constantly did this:
John 5:42 “but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.”
John 8:43-45 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.”
Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
Exposing people is what Jesus does.
Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
He sees it all, you cannot hide from Him.
DO WE NOT REMEMBER
His conversation with the woman at the well as Jesus told her all about her love life?
• And how she ran away saying, “He told me everything I’ve ever done.”
Jesus is the Light and He exposes men.
He told Nicodemus:
John 3:19-21 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
WHERE DO YOU STAND IN THAT?
• Have you ever had your sin exposed by Jesus?
• Have you ever confessed that sin to Him?
There is no salvation apart from that.
• God is opposed to the proud who try to hide in their sin.
• God is opposed to the proud who seek to keep up the charade.
Isaiah was exposed by the Holy One
And he fell on his face and confessed it to the Lord.
YOU SHOULD DO THE SAME.
We don’t have time to complete the next point,
But it is important to introduce it.
The Source of Isaiah’s Conviction
The Sin of Isaiah’s Lips
#3 THE SALVATION OF ISAIAH’S SOUL
Isaiah 6:6-7
When Isaiah CONFESSED his sin before the Lord…
When Isaiah HUMBLED himself before God…
GOD FORGAVE HIS SIN.
This is the remarkable truth of the gospel.
This is the unfathomable greatness of our God.
That though He is holy and totally unapproachable,
He has chosen to be merciful to sinners
Who humble themselves before Him.
Later Isaiah will preach:
Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”
WHAT A STATEMENT!
• That even though His name is “Holy”
• And even though He dwells “on a high and holy place”
(Both things Isaiah saw)
• He also dwells with “the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the
spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
This great and holy God has unfathomable mercy
Upon those who are contrite and lowly.
Jesus would say:
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Isaiah deserved death before God for his hypocrisy,
But God extended mercy to him.
And friend this is the glorious joy of the gospel.
GOD FORGIVES SINNERS.
• I’m a walking testimony.
• I was a phony, I was a fraud.
• I could list for you all my sins (of which I am totally ashamed) and most of them I did while wearing a Christian T-shirt.
• I grieve over the number of people I must have turned off to Christianity by my hypocritical and phony living.
• I wonder how many people want nothing to do with Jesus today because I claimed to be a Christian in high school while being a total hypocrite?
God would have been served best by killing me in their midst
And showing them what He does to phonies.
But He didn’t do that to me.
Instead, He confronted me, and when I confessed my sinfulness to Him, He forgave me.
He’ll do that for you too, but you cannot hide in the game.
• You have to come clean.
• You must confess it to Him.
• Your unclean lips have to go.
• But He promises mercy if you turn from them.
We’re going to talk about this MORE TONIGHT,
But that is where I leave you this morning.
Would you be willing to own up to the game you’ve been playing and confess your sin to God so that you might find mercy before Him?
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
