God is Holy, Holy, Holy - That is THE Problem - Isaiah 6

Today we come to the 6^th chapter of Isaiah, a very familiar text.  It will therefore require you to pay particular attention.  There are a lot of Christians who think they know what John 3:16 means simply because they’ve heard it so much, and even heard sermons based upon it.  But not many really understand that text, and if I were to explain it to them as it appears in its context, they would wonder if we were talking about the same verse. 

We’ve already sung a portion of today’s passage: “Holy, holy, holy.”  Let’s now read the first 5 verses together:

1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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!”

 If we were working our way through Isaiah chronologically, chapter 6 would be the first chapter we’d read.  This passage is about Isaiah’s call by God to become a prophet.  Uzziah was the first of the four kings who reigned during Isaiah’s ministry, and it was in the year that Uzziah died that God called Isaiah by means of this vision.

Exactly what is it that Isaiah sees?  He sees the Lord Jesus Christ.  He sees God.  Somehow, Isaiah is allowed to see into the spiritual realms where angels live and where God sits in His temple upon His throne.  These six-winged angels, called seraphim, fly around the throne of God.  They have their feet and their faces covered out of respect and fear of the magnitude of the glory of God.  Some have speculated that these particular creatures do nothing else but declare the holiness and the glory of God perpetually.  They serve as a constant, unending reminder to all who enter into God’s presence that He is holy, holy, holy, and His great glory fills to capacity the entire globe.  

Not only does Isaiah see these magnificent sights, but he hears the angelic voices that are so loud they make the very foundation of God’s temple tremble.  The robe of God is so magnificent that it comes down from the heights of the throne, circles all around it, and spreads throughout the entire edifice from wall to wall.  Smoke fills the place.  Isaiah is overwhelmed as he stands before the holy and glorious King of the entire Universe.  

Notice that God does not speak to him.  The seraphim do not speak to him.  By means of this heavenly vision, Isaiah is somehow transported to step into the presence of God Himself, and he is so awestruck by what he sees and hears, that he immediately comes to the only conclusion a fallen human being could come to: “Woe is me.”

In the previous chapter, Isaiah pronounces six woes upon the people of Judah: 

8 Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room,
and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land. 
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them! 
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,
19 who say: “Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it;
let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!”
20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!

These are all pronouncements of condemnation upon the people of Judah.  But when Isaiah finds himself in the presence of the Lord, he pronounces another kind of woe: “Woe is ME!”  

All people generally feel they are morally superior to at least one other person somewhere, at some point in time.  Nobody really believes they are the absolute worst person that ever lived.  Wouldn’t it be  awful to be THE worst, most morally depraved person in all of history that everyone else could point to and say, “Well, at least I’m not as bad as HIM!”  And it appears that it is the defense strategy that some people intend to use on the last day when they stand before the Judge of all the Earth.  

On judgment day, millions of people are going to use comparative righteousness as their tactic for escaping Hell?  Their main argument to God will be, “Nobody’s perfect”???  “At least I’m not as evil as this tax collector!!”  “Hitler!  I’m not as bad as Hitler!  I haven’t been even half as bad as him!”  

When Isaiah appears before God, without a word even being addressed to him, Isaiah immediately comes to the conclusion he is doomed.  Just being in the presence of God causes him to declare woes upon himself.  He instantly realizes he is not only guilty before God, but he deserves to die.  He curses himself: “Woe is me!  Woe unto myself!”  Notice there is no comparative righteousness being spoken of.  There is nothing to be said except to acknowledge before God what is OBVIOUSLY true: 

God is holy.  I am not.  Woe is me.

There is no long, drawn out tribunal.  There is no defense to be given.  There is no need to ask Isaiah, “How do you plead?” because God and Isaiah both know he’s guilty.  He is a sinner.  And it doesn’t even matter what the details of those sins are, or under what circumstances they happened.  There is nothing other than the instantaneous recognition of the fact that he is a sinner, he has seen the holy God, and he is about to die.

But notice what Isaiah says: “Woe is me!  For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips. . . .”  

It’s his mouth that condemns him!  He doesn’t say, “Woe is me, for I am a murderer!” or “Woe is me, for I am an adulterer!” or “I am a thief!”  He says, “I am ruined because of my language!  My own words condemn me!”  It reminds us of what Jesus said during one of His Bible studies with the Pharisees:

34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,  37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:34-37, ESV)

James 3

2 For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.  5b How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Apparently Isaiah understood what James is talking about, and he understood that his own tongue was sufficiently evil to condemn him in the presence of a holy, holy, holy God.  Isaiah isn’t saying, “Woe to them out there who do such terrible, evil things!”  He says, “Woe is me because of my evil mouth.  I am doomed.”  His concern is not for others at this point, but for himself.  He is doomed because God has heard every word he ever spoke, every careless phrase, every lie, every occasion of cursing or swearing.  Such is the case with us all.  God’s hearing of our words is sufficient to condemn us.  If perfection of speech is the standard of holiness, the entire human race is hopeless.  Woe unto us all!

But not yet!  We must keep reading!

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.

The only hope a sinner has is to admit his guilt before God and beg for mercy.  Isaiah acknowledges his lost condition before God and instantly, an angel is sent to symbolically purge Isaiah of his sin and guilt by means of the altar.  Because there is a sacrifice upon the altar in the temple that satisfies a holy God’s anger against sin, Isaiah’s guilt is thereby removed.  His sinful mouth is burned, the impurities are purged away, his guilt is taken away and his sin debt is paid by the merit of Another.  Notice, not only is sin atoned for, but even his guilt is taken away.  He is declared to be “Not guilty!”  That, beloved, is a picture of salvation.  The darkest woe has been done away with, and the greatest blessing of imputed righteousness has been granted.  

Do you realize that the cross was our altar, and the Lord Jesus was the Lamb sacrificed there so that God might take away the guilt of all our sin?  Let me put it to you this way: Are we guilty of having unclean lips?  At the very least!  Yes!  Which one of us would go against the testimony of Isaiah and James and say we have been the exception to the rule, and we are the perfect man who is perpetually in total control of our words?  We’ve not only said things that were sinful, but we’ve done things with our hands that were the sinful fruit of our evil words.  Of course, we are all guilty!

But not before God.  The person who repents of his sin before a holy God is not “simply” forgiven, but even the guilt of the sin is taken away!  The Christian is, in God’s eyes, Not Guilty.  NOT GUILTY!  And He’s not guilty because GOD SAYS SO.

33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?  It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:33-34, ESV)

 When God (the offended party), justifies the guilty (the offender), all the charges of sin are dropped and no one can say otherwise!  It is God who declares the believer Not Guilty, and it is His own Son who died for us, who forever intercedes to God on our behalf!  God, based upon His satisfaction with His own work of redemption by means of the substitutionary death of His own Son, takes it upon Himself to apply Christ’s work to our souls.  As the Judge of all the earth, He has determined that the one who believes in Christ is therefore not guilty of sin.  God justifies the guilty, and their guilt is taken away.  Hallelujah!

Now look again at our text.  Isaiah’s sinful mouth has been purged, his guilt has been removed, and he is forgiven by this holy and glorious God who sits upon His kingly throne.  Now, Isaiah hears Him speak:

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”  Then I said, “Here am I!  Send me.”

When a person’s sin is forgiven, 

and his guilt is removed, 

his heart is changed.  

Isaiah is happy, elated, anxious to go anywhere and do anything for his Savior.  That is the effect of salvation.  He doesn’t even know what he’s volunteering for!  But it is because of gratitude for sins forgiven, and out of reverence and awe toward this wondrous Jehovah, that you hear Isaiah jumping out of his skin to volunteer to be an ambassador for his God.  “I’m here!  Send me!  I’ll go!”  Moses and Jonah could have learned a few things from Isaiah.

If you were in Isaiah’s situation, would you have responded to God in the same way?  Would you have said, “I’ll go!” before finding out where you were being sent, or what you were being sent to do?  Do you notice here that Isaiah doesn’t ask for a copy of the job description before he opens his newly purged mouth and volunteers to be God’s man?  Apparently, those details don’t matter to him.  In this moment, he is willing to go anywhere and do anything he is told.  In the next verse, he’s given his orders:

9 And he [the LORD] said [to Isaiah], “Go, and say to this people:
“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” 

 Isaiah is to be the bearer of the bad news.  He is to speak words of sarcasm and criticism and warning to the people of Judah: Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.  Just keep doing what you’re doing.  Just keep going through the motions.  Just keep on with your superficial worship and your insincere sacrifices.  Keep heaping spiritual deafness upon deafness, spiritual blindness upon blindness, sin upon sin, guilt upon guilt.  Just keep on being oblivious to your own condemnation.  Unmindful, unconscious, unaware of your own impending destruction.  

Understandably, Isaiah asks the Lord, “How long must I preach this?”  How long would you want to preach that?  How long would people allow you to preach that before they decided to put you out of their misery?  The proud and the self-sufficient and the self-righteous don’t take kindly to being told they are spiritually deaf and blind and they should continue that way so God can destroy them.

11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,
12 and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.”  The holy seed is its stump.

Preach this message until I’m finished with Judah, until I’ve cut her down like a tree and burned her up and nothing is left but the stump.  Until there is no one to preach to.

There are two kinds of prophets that we see in the Scriptures repeatedly: the true and the false.  The false prophet has a much easier task.  The true prophet, Isaiah, says:

A.  Just keep being oblivious until God destroys you all.

The message of the false prophet is always some variation on the theme:

B.  God wants you to be happy, and fulfilled, and successful! (Until He destroys you all.  This part is normally left out, if the false prophet is even aware of it.)

When Ahab and Hezekiah conspired to go against Syria and attack the city of Ramoth Gilead, Ahab called for his prophets, and all 400 hundred of them said with one accord, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”  Then they called the prophet Micaiah and he says, “Don’t go.  You will be destroyed, you and all of Israel.”  Who gets the kudos?

There are some real advantages to being the false prophet with the "Best Life Now" message.  I’d much prefer to be a Joel Osteen than an Isaiah or a Micaiah.  Real prophets get killed by sinful people for telling them the truth.  In fact, according to ancient church tradition (and I realize we can’t put too much stock in tradition), when the writer of Hebrews refers to one of those faithful people in chapter 11 as having been sawn in two, presumably that was Isaiah.  I don’t think anyone wants to saw TV prophets in two.  But proud, sinful people don’t like it when you tell them God hates them and has a terrible plan for their lives.  That was exactly the message of Isaiah.

Who wants to be a prophet of God?  Lots of people!  Who wants to preach like Isaiah did?  Nobody.  But here it is.  This is God’s word to the people of Judah.  It is a harsh word, it is a dark and hopeless word.  This is most definitely the bad news, and God tells Isaiah up front that the people of Judah are not going to heed his warnings.

What seminary graduate would be anxious to get started in the ministry if God said to him on graduation day, “Go preach to them, but none of them are going to listen to you, and I’m going to kill nearly all of them for their insolence”?  Would he say, “Here am I!  Send me!  I’ll go!  I’ll go!“??

On the one hand, Isaiah is elated over the forgiveness of his sins, and he’s ready, willing, and able to serve His Savior.  When the guilty are forgiven, there is a love for the Savior that drives them to live for their King.  But on the other hand, God has given Isaiah an awful task: “Go and preach about the destruction of my sinful people.”  From the heights to the depths in thirteen verses.  I would not want Isaiah’s job.

One final question: Is your salvation in the Lord Jesus so precious to you that you would willingly and gladly volunteer to go anywhere and do anything and say whatever the Lord gave you to say to whoever He told you to say it to, even if it killed you, no questions asked?

There is a price to be paid to be a follower of the Lord Jesus.  The Scriptures tell us to count the cost of being a disciple.  When we are redeemed by the Lord Jesus, we become Christ’s slaves.  We are no longer our own.  This is the kind of obedience God required of Isaiah, and it is the kind of obedience He has called us to, and enables us for by His grace.  

Are you willing to go and speak to the toughest people you know, the most intolerant people who don’t want to hear the truth?  The people with whom you are most familiar: Your own countrymen?  Your own friends and relatives?  Religious people who do not know the Savior, the One who sits upon the throne, high and lifted up?  

Would you tell them about Him?