Isaiah 6: Revelation. Confession. Cleansing. Calling.

Key Verse
3 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
 
Meditation
Kings and rulers rise and fall. God alone is the “King eternal” (Jeremiah 10:10). And when His eternity breaks into our reality, everything changes.
 
In today’s reading, we discover Isaiah’s calling beginning when God rips open the heavens to reveal His glory. In a specific moment in history, “the year King Uzziah died,” Isaiah encounters the Lord of history seated on His throne, “high and lifted up” (v. 1). The sound of seraphim declaring, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!” (vv. 2-3) overwhelms Isaiah. Seeing God’s holiness exposes Isaiah’s own sin as he cries, “Woe is me… I am a man of unclean lips!”
 
God’s holiness both humbles and purifies us. A seraph touches Isaiah’s lips with a coal from the altar, announcing, “Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (vv. 5-7). This is the pattern of grace: revelation, confession, cleansing, and then calling. After being purified, Isaiah hears the Lord’s voice and responds, “Here I am! Send me!” (v. 8). 
 
Grace alone moves us from despair over sin declaring “Woe is me!” to joyful obedience proclaiming, “Please send me!” 
 
Isaiah’s commission to proclaim God’s message to a hardened people (vv. 9-13) points to the greater prophet, Jesus Christ. God revealed His love through Jesus when, while we were still sinners and His enemy, Christ died for you and me (Romans 5:8-10). Faithfulness to God does not always produce immediate fruit, but God’s eternal purposes still move forward through faithful servants who embrace His revelation, confess our sin, receive cleansing, and respond to His commission.
 
Today’s Reading
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!”

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.”
Isaiah's Commission from the Lord8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “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.”
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.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially eternity invading Isaiah’s reality?
-What sin do you specifically need to confess and be cleansed from? God is faithful and just and will forgive you, cleansing you through the work of Christ.
-What mission has God commissioned you for? 
  
Key Verse
3 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”