Sunday, May 18, 2025 PM

Isaiah’s Vision of the Holy King in the Throne Room

Isaiah six beginning in verse one 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. 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 and One cried to another and said holy.

Holy. Holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory and. The posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out and the house was filled with smoke. 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. 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 and he touched my mouth with it and said Behold this has touched your lips your iniquity is taken away and your sin.

Purged.

So as we're looking at this passage the vision of the Lord that Isaiah has We're thinking about.

The.

Descriptors of.

The.

Lord on the throne in the throne room. We have a brief mention of the lesser King King Uzziah and we're going to be thinking about him Tonight and he is in stark contrast to the true King the King of Kings the King in Heaven and the throne room of God the Lord as our King and we see the Lord is High and lifted up.

That's his ascendancy. He's sitting on a throne that is high and lifted up a king above all other kings. We see his attire that he hit the train of his robe fills the temple like the Shekinah glory cloud.

Fill the temple on more than one Occasion we have the attendance of the Lord the seraphim who have six wings and They're all about the holiness of God and magnifying the holiness of God. And we thought about this anthem that they sing Holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts the whole earth is full of his glory.

Now.

This threefold Descriptor of holy this threefold declaration of holy Stands out in this passage as the most important thing being said. This is the most important thing in this passage. It's dead center.

It's the bullseye. It's what we're to walk away from this Throne room vision thinking God is holy holy holy and This Otherness the idea of holy the opposite of holy is common so think about when they were putting together the tabernacle in the wilderness, and they needed a variety of Furniture built they needed a variety of Utensils and so they would take a spoon and they would say this is a holy spoon and Maybe the spoon was very much like the spoon that Some family in the tribe of Asher would be using to feed manna to their babies.

But this spoon was not for common use it was set apart unto God and therefore it was holy. It was in the tabernacle only meant for holy things and so the so it the idea of holy is other set apart opposite from Common now this this otherness of of God this separateness of God.

He is holy and so therefore must his people be holy. Remember the covenant that God made with Israel at Sinai you are my people you will not be like the other nations. You're not gonna have a king like the other nations.

You're not gonna have idols like the other nations. You're not going to do things the way the other nations do you are going to be a holy people unto me. Separate different distinct this is. What has largely been forgotten in the life of Judah remember the first five chapters of Isaiah is how bad things have gotten in?

The land of Judah they have forgotten that they are the children of the Lord they have forgotten that he is daily Intimately involved with their lives they they largely ignore him. They are his special vineyard all the care he took to plant them just right and all they produce is sour grapes and They seem to spend their time if they do think about the Lord Blaming him for how bad things are going or why don't you get on with answering our prayers that that kind of attitude?

There's a casualness a lack of reverence. There's a real issue with reckoning with the holiness of God and Uzziah is exhibit a In the year that King Uzziah Died I saw the Lord high and lifted up. Now various kings of Judah died in various ways sometimes.

They died peaceably in their sleep. Sometimes they died on the battlefield. King Uzziah Died as a leper he died as a leper. Now how would a king of Judah contract leprosy. Very odd so in 2nd Chronicles chapter 26 We have the story.

2nd Chronicles.

26 and verse 16 and It's good to remember that Uzziah was a very effective King. He was one of the most effective kings of Judah. He did a lot to bring Judah back from a lower status to a higher status.

He was a he was a very effective King. People really prospered underneath his reign. They were grateful to have him as king. However, he got a little too big for his britches. So verse 16 Speaking of Uzziah, but when he was strong His heart was lifted up to his destruction.

For he transgressed against the Lord his God by Entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

You see that.

He thought he could do something that he wasn't allowed to do. So Azariah the priest went in after him and with him were 80 priests of the Lord. Valiant men remember that the Levites were Charged with keeping the temple in a sense of guarding the temple keeping bad things from happening Around the temple.

And so 80 men confront Uzziah and they withstand King Uzziah and said to him It is not for you Uzziah to burn incense to the Lord. But for the priests the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense get out of the sanctuary for you have trespassed.

You shall have no honor from the Lord God. And again thinking about sons of Aaron Anyone think of maybe some sons of Aaron who didn't take the holiness of God? Seriously enough.

Anybody.

Nadab and Abihu, I say Abihu, they offered strange fire. This is what Uzziah is about to try and do so they are Stopping him. And then Uzziah became furious and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense and while he was angry with the priest Leprosy broke out on his forehead.

Before the priests in the house of the Lord beside the incense altar. Perhaps you remember when Aaron and Miriam.

Challenged.

Moses for leadership. They wanted authority that had not been granted to them and they were very arrogant and lifted up in their hearts. And what happened to Miriam. Leprosy afflicted her and there had to be repentance and.

Healing and.

Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him and there on his forehead. He was leprous so they thrust him out of that place because he was unclean. Indeed he also hurried to get out because the Lord had struck him.

King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house because he was a leper for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the king's house judging the people of the land.

So Jotham was was Effectively carrying out the affairs of state while Uzziah was cut off because of his leprosy. From the people because of his arrogance notice that that his casualness his irreverence towards the Lord brought judgment divine judgment down upon him and that means that he was exiled from the people.

Well as the king goes so goes the nation. The people of Judah ought to be paying attention to what happened to this great king. He got big he got strong he got Proud and then because in his pride he was irreverent toward God did not did not Humble himself before God and reckoned with God's holiness.

He was struck in judgment and then exiled from his throne exiled from his proper place. That's a warning to Judah herself. What happens if what happens if she does not humble herself? What if the nation does not humble herself?

What if what if Judah doesn't reckon with the holiness of God? Well, then judgments coming and they too are going to be exiled and So we read that this is the end of Uzziah verse 22. You know the rest of the acts of Uzziah from first to last the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote.

So Uzziah rested with his fathers and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the Kings for they Said he is a leper. How about that for your for writing that across your gravestone?

He is a leper and then Jotham his son reigned in his place in the year that King Uzziah died. The emphasis is on how holy God is and if Uzziah Died under the judgment of God because he was in the temple where he wasn't supposed to be Dealing with holy artifacts that he was not supposed to be around.

Then you can understand how frightened Isaiah is to be found in the heavenly temple of God himself. Woe is me. I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips. He's Not is it would be bad enough for Isaiah if he were in an improper place in the temple in Jerusalem.

But here he is in a vision in the temple of the throne room of God in heaven.

In.

The year that King Uzziah died. So this is it. This is an emphasis on the The the priority but also Then the problem of God being so holy. It's not really a problem, but it's a problem for sinful people.

How are they going to be right with God? What word is there? And the word is that God is holy. And so there's a great deal of awe in this Place verse 4 the post of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out and the house was filled with smoke.

The one who is crying out is the seraphim. One seraph is crying to another remember that the Hebrew word for seraph is serpent. So we have this this holy dragon so to speak this heavenly being one crying out to another and The boys the roar is shaking the post of the door.

And so we can see Isaiah in the vision. He's there at the doorway. He's looking in on something that is terrifying him and everything is shaking in the house is filled with smoke and Isaiah is Convinced that now he too is going to suffer the judgment of God for looking upon something that he had no business.

Seeing out of the smoke, however. The same seraph whose voice shook the posts of the doorway. The seraph is going to come with a live coal from the altar now for now, I think it's important to Recall how the servant creatures of God these seraphim they arrive fresh from his glory remember how the angels come from heaven and Shock the people to whom they speak and they and people fall down as if dead and if these manifestations of glory From just creatures that have been in the presence of God.

If that causes men to fall down as dead Often erroneously worshiping the creatures as if it if they were God himself and the creatures have to say no, no, no. No, don't worship me. I'm just an angel or I'm just a servant.

If that's the case how much more is the glory of the Creator himself. The awe is Disturbing it is unsettling. It is it is depriving Isaiah of every sense of comfort and peace and stability. His only expression coming up is one of woe is.

Me.

So this stresses the need That we have that we are in need of. At one mint or atonement there is a there is a separation between the Holy Creator and the sinful creature and This thrice Holy Covenant Lord brings a word of judgment upon his children of woe.

Now we're going to look and see there's a solution. We're going to see there's an altar. There's a live cold taken from the altar and brought so that Isaiah May know that he is Welcomed to the Holy Presence of God by the sacrifice provided by God himself.

And this reminds us That not only do we confess the egregiousness of our sin but we also are to confess the effectiveness the efficacy of our Savior. Both in both cases the attention is on the holiness of God and The help of our Savior in both cases.

Where's our attention. Our attention is to make much of God and his holiness. To make much of God and his salvation. Not about making much of ourselves. Right. Yes. Indeed. We are a great sinner, but we're not going to make it very far.

Filling our head with meditations about what an awful special sinner I am.

You know.

No one has out sinned me. I'm a terrible sinner. I'm such a unique case. There's no hope for me. All right, there's there's there's not a lot of profitability in those meditations. What we're to be doing is yes.

When you look upon God you meditate upon God look how holy he is and that is indeed convicting that is indeed Unsettling that indeed is to bring us to humility and reverence. But then we also meditate upon God and think about what a great Savior we have and God sends him as our very own Righteousness and so it's a fitting sacrifice this live coal that is brought there.

Here is the here is the threat removed in verses 5 through 7. 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.

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 and he touched my mouth with it and said behold This has touched your lips. Your nicotine is taken away and your sin.

Purged.

The throne room is so full of God's holiness and glory that Isaiah is under real threat as a sinful man. Who can stand? Before a holy God Isaiah's terror is the common response of sinful creatures before a righteous Creator.

In a sense the the vision has placed Isaiah where Israel is. Okay, it is Isaiah's ears and eyes. That are hearing and beholding the danger. But what's the problem with Israel? Their ears and eyes are shut.

But.

Isaiah is seeing it. Isaiah is hearing it. But the problem with Israel is that they aren't hearing anymore. They aren't seeing anymore. And in fact when you look at chapter 6 verses 9 and 10 God sends Isaiah as his covenant messenger to preach to deaf ears to put the display of God before blind eyes until judgment Comes God's gracious solution for Isaiah in this text.

However establishes a baseline for Isaiah's people. Isaiah is unclean. His people are unclean. They both are in danger before a holy God. But if there's hope in the live coal from the altar as determined by heaven for Isaiah.

Then there's hope For the people of Judah as well. And so the attention again is not to find help In the in the self. I will cleanse my own lips. That's not that's not the hope. The hope is not to to look to outside help.

We need to have a wider Range of worship of a variety of idols until we finally become Very religious that's that's not the solution. The solution before the judgment of a holy God as he brings foreign nations upon Judah is not to look to Egypt.

Not to try to make quick alliances with with other Mercenary nations their only hope for them is to look to the very one Who is bringing the judgment upon them? The only hope is for them to humble themselves before the Lord whom they have greatly offended.

So there's a very clear sense in this moment of Isaiah's inability and his his displacement. Isaiah is not who he is supposed to be. He knows this. I'm a man of unclean lips. Yeah, Isaiah was for a priestly family.

Isaiah had royal connections. Isaiah was was very talented. He was a poet. He was a songwriter. He was a very educated man. But he's not who he's supposed to be. I'm a man of unclean lips. And and he is not where he is supposed to be therefore because he's in the throne room of heaven.

I know I'm not who I'm supposed to be. So I definitely know I'm not where I'm supposed to be here in this throne room. And that's why he has no solutions in this moment. All he can say is woe is.

Me.

But just as clear as Isaiah's woe is the Lord's sovereign grace God is the one who brought Isaiah into the danger and God is the one who also delivers him from his own Unmediated wrath by the means of a live coal from the altar.

Isaiah has no solutions. He's just woe is me. God is the one who made us Isaiah aware of it and God is the one who brings the salvation to Isaiah in the moment. And so by looking at the altar that's where our attention should remain and thus our affections are Elevated for Christ who is being anticipated here.

Something that's very practical. I think in this passage is this Isaiah beholds twice. You see that He beholds twice first. He beholds God in his thrice. Holy Glory and that of course leads him to an awareness of his own sin and transgression.

As a creature in Adam and as a member of the Old Covenant, he's he's definitely in a lot of trouble. He's a profound sense of woe but notice the second instruction In verse 7 where the where God's servant with the seraphim says behold, right?

Isaiah at first beholds God elevated and holy Dangerous to Isaiah and then he beholds again. Now he's beholding the live coal. Look where his attention is.

Now.

So.

Isaiah beheld God and he beheld himself in God's light and the only conclusion is woe. But then God says behold again Isaiah cannot look upon God and live. Isaiah cannot look to himself and live. He must look to the altar and live.

He must look to the live coal and live. He must look to where justice and mercy meet. And if you use the King James translation the answer to woe is low. You get the King James you'll see it. The answer to woe woe is me is low low.

This has touched your lips, which means look here behold here. So let's think a little bit about the.

The.

The terror of sinners as we're closing here in verse 5 and just kind of a summary of verse 5 and we'll get into some details next opportunity. Verse 5. When he says woe is me. I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips.

I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for my eyes have seen the King Lord of hosts. So there are three correlations and one conclusion in this verse. First of all Isaiah is connected by the Old Covenant in.

In.

Transgressions with his his people so their transgressions affect him. His transgressions affect them. They're connected. Secondly Isaiah's lips and eyes are inseparable in his sinful humanity. There's a problem here.

I Have unclean lips and that's the problem because my eyes have seen God. So there's a correlation between his eyes and his lips and third the Lord of all things the Lord of hosts is King over each thing like Isaiah his people his lips and his eyes.

So those are the three correlations and all those three correlations lead to one conclusion. Woe is me. I am undone. All right. So once you connect all three of those Isaiah says I'm done for I'm toast.

There's no hope for me. It is the exaltation of God that exposes Isaiah the man and Yes, he has no excuses, but that doesn't mean he has no expressions. He does. Everyone who is made in the image of God Is in the same situation before the holiness of God?

When and then when God Made covenant with sinful man such as Noah or Abraham or Israel. What what is God doing in these covenants he is amplifying he is showcasing he is turning up the volume on what it means To be made in his image and have these have these roles and responsibilities.

So God's covenant words to Israel Greatly enhance and enrich our understanding of what it means to be made in God's image to be his creature to be under his authority and In all of this ultimately glory goes to Christ.

He was the faithful servant who fulfills all the covenants because he is the perfect image of God. Now Isaiah says Woe is me. I am undone. So he so he sees something. He has shown something then he then he says Something so he's shown something and he hears something said Holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of his glory. Then Isaiah says something. Because he has seen something. So we have sight and hearing and speaking and seeing and this again reminds us of what's coming up in his mission to go and preach.

Until the deaf ears and the blind eyes are completely judged Isaiah gets to see what Judah is not going to see. Not only the holiness of God and the true reverence that should come from that but he also sees the live coal from the altar and The people he's going to go preach to in General are just not going to see it.

He gets to hear The word of the Lord he gets to hear not only about how holy God is and how much power he has but he also gets to hear. About the cleansing the good news that there's cleansing from the altar.

He gets to hear that Isaiah gets to see it and he gets to hear it and So many he's going to go preach to aren't going to see. And they aren't going to hear. This reminds us that seeing and hearing God rightly Depends on seeing and hearing when right with God we'll come back to this particular passage when we get to the latter part of chapter 6, but Jesus quotes Isaiah's mission about blind eyes and deaf ears.

He applies this passage To his parables in Matthew 13 in the middle of explaining his first big parable about the soils. When the disciples asked him, why do you teach them parables? Right because the parables were a sifting.

For some it was a nice agricultural story with the moral and for others they heard the gospel and they heard the promise of the kingdom of God and The parables were sifting the parables themselves were showing and exemplifying the soils.

For some fruit was born from those parables and from others nothing much happened. Right. That was the parable he told and he said this telling of the parable this talking about the kingdom is in itself a sifting and you're going to see some that have ears to hear and eyes to see and he says how Blessed are your ears who hear how blessed are your eyes who see meaning what it's a gift from God.

So that's what the blessing means. It wasn't it wasn't Congratulations on cultivating good eyesight good perception and and good job tuning your ear in just the right way. It wasn't that it was it was not accredited to them, but it was accredited to the grace of God.

So we see that contrast already back here with Isaiah and his audience in terms of a remnant who know but then the rest who do not and that Continues forward when we come to Matthew 13 in Christ's teaching.

Next time we're going to dive in a lot more carefully. And we're going to think about Why? Isaiah is so.

Burdened.

By his by his sin the nature of the sin the connections of the sin to himself and to others. And then move on from there as the Lord allows. All right, let's close by singing the doxology. Praise God from whom all blessings.

Oh.

Praise him all creatures here be low. Praise him above he even we.