"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of His robe filled the temple." (Isaiah 6:6) King Uzziah (referred to as Azariah by the author of 2 Kings) ruled over the nation of Judah for fifty-two years and the majority of his reign was prosperous and successful. He was a good king for Judah, although he stumbled spiritually near the end of his life and pridefully attempted to offer incense to the Lord in the temple, which was a duty assigned by the Lord only to the priests. Because of Uzziah's presumptuousness and contempt for the Lord's commandment regarding this matter, the Lord struck the king with leprosy while Uzziah was still standing in the temple, rendering the king incapable of dealing with public matters of state. Uzziah's son and appointed heir to the throne, Jotham, became co-regent and was the public face of the royal family during the remaining few years of Uzziah's life.
Isaiah must have mourned the king who had done a great deal of good for the nation of Judah. He must also have mourned the fact that the king didn't finish strong for the Lord. I believe Isaiah was distressed in spirit when he went into the temple to commune with the Lord. I believe it was probably Isaiah's habit to pray and seek the Lord in His temple. But today is not going to be like any day before. Today the Lord is going to commission Isaiah to be a prophet to the nation of Judah.
Uzziah, who was beloved by the people, is no longer on the throne at Jerusalem. But the Lord---the King of kings---is still seated on the throne in heaven, reigning over all creation. Isaiah may have felt like things were spinning out of control but what he sees in the temple reminds him that God is always in control. Nothing ever takes the Lord by surprise. Nothing ever happens that He can't handle.
Isaiah now describes a scene similar to that which will be seen by the prophet Ezekiel (in the book of Ezekiel) and the Apostle John (in the book of Revelation). "Above Him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.'" (Isaiah 6:2-3)
A number of Bible scholars have offered their opinions on why these seraphim cover their faces and their feet. What I feel is the best explanation is that even these angelic beings have to shield their faces from the Lord in all of His glory and that they shield their feet because this is the most humble and ordinary part of the body (the feet of humans, for example, are what they walk through this world with, which is why the Lord Jesus washed the dust of the road from the feet of His disciples). The covering of their faces and feet symbolizes their humility and symbolizes their respect for the Lord.
Whenever these creatures are mentioned in the Bible we find them crying, "Holy, holy, holy!" Scholars are divided on their opinions as to why the creatures repeat the word "holy" three times. Some believe it's a reference to the Holy Trinity and that what the creatures mean is: "Holy is God the Father, Holy is God the Son, Holy is God the Holy Spirit." Some believe that repeating the word "holy" three times symbolizes the ultimate perfection of praise that is always around the throne of God. They point to the fact that the outer room of the temple on earth was referred to as the "holy" or "The Holy Place" and that the inner room which housed the ark of the covenant was referred to as the "Holy Holy". (This is the literal translation of what is usually rendered as "The Most Holy Place" or the "Holy Of Holies" in the temple.) Since the space around the Lord's throne is the holiest space in existence, these scholars say that it is the "Holy Holy Holy".
Whatever these creatures mean by their gestures and their words, Isaiah is awestruck by the sight of the Lord seated on His throne and by the creatures surrounding His throne. He is affected internally, in his heart and mind and spirit. He is also affected externally when the mighty sound of the creatures' voices causes an earthquake effect on the temple. "At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke." (Isaiah 6:4) This is not the only time in the Old Testament when the glory of the Lord caused the earth to quake and smoke to appear. He did this at Mount Sinai in the book of Exodus and He did this when the ark of the covenant was placed in Solomon's temple when it had been completed in the book of 1 Kings.
Isaiah is completely overwhelmed. "'Woe to Me!' I cried. 'I am ruined!'" (Isaiah 6:5a) Why does Isaiah say this? When we pick up here in our next study session we will learn that Isaiah believes he is undone because when he sees the Lord he sees himself as he is. When he sees the Lord in as much glory as the Lord can reveal to a human being, he sees his own fallen and sinful state. He sees how utterly alien---how different, how "other"---the Lord is from mankind. Whenever we get a glimpse of who the Lord is, we can't help seeing ourselves as we are, and that is when repentance can take place and salvation can be attained. It wasn't until I came to somewhat of an understanding of how holy the Lord is that I saw how broken and lost I was. Isaiah thinks he is doomed because he has seen the Lord. I think also he believes he is doomed because the Lord has seen him. Oh, but this is only the beginning! The Lord does indeed see all the way to the bottom of our hearts. He knows every deed we ever have committed or ever will commit. He knows every thought we have ever thought or ever will think. And yet He appears to us not to ruin us but to save us!
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