What It’s Like to See God

Old Testament Isaiah 6:1-8 (KJ21)

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3 And one cried unto 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 moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I, “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 mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.

7 And he laid it upon my mouth and said, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”

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

King Uzziah ruled for 52 years. He was a very good king till success ruined him. When he became “strong,” his heart lifted up with pride and rebellion. He went to the Temple and burned incense. When the priests told him the LORD said only priests could minister in the Temple, he got very angry. Then a priest noticed a spot on his forehead. It was leprosy. For the 10 more years he lived, he had to live by himself and share rule with his son.

When he died in 740, people were left with a memory and a question. The memory was, “He died a leper because of his sin.” The question was, “What now that the king is dead?”

1. The Vision of God

1.1. Vision. It was that year Isaiah had an extraordinary experience. He had a vision. He saw the Lord. A lot of people think that, if they saw the Lord, it would a a wonderful thing. People who claim to have seen God in a near death experiences say they felt warmth, love, acceptance. But Isaiah’s experience was the sort that causes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, sweat break out on your skin, your heart to pound, and your legs go weak.

In his vision Isaiah went into the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple represented heaven - we could say that the earthly Temple reflected the heavenly Temple.

1.2. King. Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a throne. Isaiah saw a king-like figure who represented God as the sovereign Ruler of the universe. God’s throne was very “high the lifted up” as though it reached to the very top of the Temple. God had on a kingly robe whose train filled the Temple. You’ve seen the trains of the brides in royal weddings. They stretch the length of the aisle of the church. What Isaiah sees is a king with a robe that is highly exaggerated because it is so long and full that it fills the Temple. This is a way of saying that the Lord is a King infinitely greater than the greatest king you can imagine.

Of course, Isaiah did not see God himself, because, as the LORD told Moses, “no one can see my face and live,” and St. John tells us, “no one has seen God at any time.” Isaiah saw a king-like figure who represented God as the sovereign Ruler of the universe.

1.3. Holy. Above the throne were seraphim, angelic beings. The word seraphim means “burning” so these were fiery creatures who hovered about the throne of God. Each had 6 wings. With 2 wings he covered his face and with 2 covered his feet. This was an act of humility. Even sinless beings must cover themselves in the presence of the LORD, saying, “I am not worthy to look upon the LORD or to be looked on by the LORD.” Each seraph also had two wings he used to fly so that he could go here and there to do whatever the Lord the Lord sent him to do.

These angelic beings called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” They repeated the word 3 times, as we did this morning when we sang, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty.” The use of the word 3 times means two things. First, it hints at the truth of the Trinity - one God who 3 times is called holy. Second, it is a way to intensify and strengthen the word “holy.” In the Hebrew language a way to strengthen a word not to use an adjective like “very” but to repeat the word. The seraphim are declaring the infinite holiness of God.

What does it mean for God to be holy? The word “holy” means “separate” or “different.” We celebrate  Holy Communion because it is different from the communion we have with each other over ordinary meals. Holy utensils were used in the Temple because they were never used for ordinary purposes. God is different from us - entirely different. He is a Being, but we are created beings and God is uncreated.

God is holy in majesty. There is no King like him. There is no President or other earthly ruler who can compare with God in greatness and power. He is the King high and holy and lifted up beyond all rule and glory.

God is holy in moral purity. There is nothing of sin or compromise with sin in God’s being. “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.”  The prophet Habakkuk said, “Thy eyes are too pure to look upon iniquity.”  Sin is repugnant to God. God purity is beyond our comprehension because it is absolute.

1.4. Glory. The whole earth is full of the LORD’s glory. The word “glory” means “heavy.” Back in the 60s and 70s, when someone said something that sounded deep and profound, someone would say, “That’s heavy, brother.”  The LORD is glorious because he is a weighty Being. There is nothing light or frivolous about God. The glory of the LORD filled the the Tabernacle when it was built. Later, when Solomon dedicated his Temple, the glory of the LORD filled the Temple and it was so overwhelming that the priests had to stop ministering. But seraphim of Isaiah’s vision see, not the Temple in Jerusalem, but the whole earth as God’s Temple, and so they sing. “Holy, holy, holy… the whole earth is full of his glory.”

1.5. Signs. In Isaiah’s vision he not only saw the Lord as the great King, but he also sensed the Temple filling with smoke and the doorposts shaking as though there were an earthquake. We remember God’s appearance at Mt. Sinai when he gave the 10 Commandments. The mountain was shaking and covered with smoke because God was appearing in his holy glory to his people. These sensory signs testify to the overwhelming presence of the LORD.

The LORD is King - infinite in power, authority, majesty, purity, glory.

2. The Experience of Isaiah

Sometimes we talk about sensory overload - when so much is coming at us overwhelms us. Imagine how Isaiah felt - he was the greatest King he could imagine, saw burning seraphim flying about singing of God’s majesty, purity, and glory, saw the building filling with smoke, and felt it shaking. What impact did this vision have on Isaiah?  

2.1. Woe. Isaiah is not just a witness in his vision; he is a participant. His response to the vision of God was, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” The way people conduct themselves in worship has a lot to do with how they envision God. Some find worship boring; others find it warm and cozy; others find it makes them feel better about themselves; some are entertained. But Isaiah finds it scary. He says in effect, “I’m a doomed and dead man because I have seen God the King in his majesty, purity, and glory.”

It may be surprising that the sins foremost in Isaiah’s mind are sins of the tongue. But it should not surprise us. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” What we say often comes from a heart where there is hypocrisy, hatred, lust, deceit. The praise of the seraphim is pure, sincere, and holy. Not so with Isaiah and God’s people among whom he lives.

In the Bible, when people get a glimpse of God’s glory, they are overwhelmed. The revelation of God at Mt. Sinai was so overwhelming that the people were terrified and said to Moses,  “The voice of the LORD scares us to death. From now on let the LORD speak to you, and then you tell us what he says.”  When Peter glimpsed the divinity of Jesus in a miracle he fell to his knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, “O Lord.”

The reality of God’s majestic holiness is one reason the prayer of confession is so important to our worship. We say every week, “Lord, you are holy, but we are not. We sinful in thought, word, and deed, by what we do and by what we are. Forgive and cleanse us.”

2.2. Cleansing. One of the seraphim flew to the altar where sacrifice was made, picked up a coal with tongs, then flew to Isaiah, touched the coal to mouth, and said, “Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”

2.2.a. The guilt of Isaiah’s sin needs to be removed. Isaiah cannot remove it or atone for it. Only God can remove sin, and he does that by sacrifice. The sacrificial animal took the place of the sinful worship and died on the altar. This is how guilt was pardoned and sin removed, so that God did not destroy the sinner. The coal from the altar applied to the point in Isaiah’s life where he most sensed his sin, assured Isaiah that God forgave h is sin.

2.2.b. But Isaiah also needs to be purged of sin if he is going to serve the Lord. The burning coal from the altar cauterizes the sin infected lips of Isaiah so that he can speak truthfully and sincerely.

The Declaration of Absolution in Morning Prayer addresses both needs. God “pardoneth and absolveth those who truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel.” There’s the forgiveness - the removal of guilt. But then the Minister says. “Let us beseech him to grant us true repentance, and his Holy Spirit.” There’s the purging of sin, the cleansing to serve God. We need both every Sunday in worship  - to hear that God forgives us and to ask God to cleanse and renew us.

2.3. Commission Then the Lord speaks for the first time. He asks, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” There is another hint of the Trinity in the Old Testament. God asks the question as both singular - “whom shall I send?” - and plural - “who will go for us?” The Lord is asking for a volunteer to speak to the people on his behalf. Isaiah, convicted of his sin, but forgiven and cleansed, speaks up: “Here am I. Send me!” He will go and represent and speak for the Lord no matter the cost to himself.

Let me ask just a few questions:

Have you glimpsed the majesty and glory of our thrice holy God?

Has your knowledge of God not just informed you are allowed you to talk about God, but has it shown your sin and convicted you that on your own you are doomed?

Has God pardoned your sin by the blood of Christ?

Do you seek the ministry of the Holy Spirit to change you -  cleanse and renew you?

Have you and do you continually volunteer to serve the Lord? When some need arises in the work and service of the Lord do you say, “Here am I. Send me!”