The whole earth is full of His glory - Here I am, send me!

Isaiah 6:1-13 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. ² Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called out 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 trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. ⁵ Then I said,

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among 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 with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. ⁷ He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

⁸ Then 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!” ⁹ He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
¹⁰ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”

¹¹ Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered,

“Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
¹² “The Lord has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
¹³ “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled.
The holy seed is its stump.”

Today’s text begins saying:  In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.  Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”  And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.  Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”   Two things that we see in this portion of scripture are that from the perspective of heaven, the earth is filled with the glory of God. From heaven’s view it is not the darkness of sin that the Seraphim saw, but rather the glory of God. The other thing that we see, is that in the presence of the holiness and the glory of God, our own sinfulness is revealed to us. Our sinfulness is exposed and we recognize that we are unworthy of the Holy God. That perhaps is the reason that when Jesus taught us to pray, He said:  Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven,Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done,On earth as it is in heaven…  If the kingdom of God and heaven would fully come to earth, then the perspective of heaven would also come. We on earth would see the glory of God. People would recognize their sinfulness in the presence of God’s glory and holiness; they would cry out, as Isaiah did: “Woe is me, for I am ruined!Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”   In the text it says: One of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.  He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”  There would be no need though for the Seraphim to bring a coal from the altar of sacrifice. The sacrifice for the sins of the world has already been made. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  John 3:16 says:  God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

What the text does not say, but we need to understand, is that just as from heavens view only the glory of God is visible on earth, so too, when God sees us from heaven, it is not our sinfulness that He sees, but rather He sees us from the perspective of the sacrifice of Christ. Because of His love and grace, God sees us as worthy to be in His presence. Hebrews 4:14-16 says:  Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.   God sees us as worthy; as redeemed by the blood of Christ, but if we are to come boldly to the throne of grace, we must confess that Jesus is our Savior and Lord.  Philippians 2:10-11 says:  At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  One day it will be the confession of everyone that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.  Why then should everyone not confess Him today, in the presence of His glory?

The text says:  Then 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!”  He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’  “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”  Jesus doesn’t ask whom shall I send. We who have believed and confess that He is Lord have been sent. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus says:  “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”   We have been sent and because He is with us, the kingdom of heaven has come to earth. In Luke 17:21 Jesus says: “Indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, that even while I was a sinner, You demonstrated Your love for me through the cross. Though I was unclean, You cleansed me and made me worthy in Your sight. I confess that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. Because You are with me and the kingdom of heaven is within me, may others see the glory of God. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, in and through my life, May every knee bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.   Amen.