"Holiness and Atonement" Sermon: Isaiah 6:1-7

“Holiness and Atonement”

[Isaiah 6:1-7]

May 13, 2018, Second Reformed Church

            We said that the first five chapters of the book of Isaiah are a summary of what Isaiah preaches – “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah” (Isaiah 1:1, ESV).

            As we now turn to chapter six of Isaiah, we have Isaiah’s call to the ministry, which takes place “in the year that King Uzziah died” – 740 B.C.

            This is a time of upheaval, both in Judah and Israel, where King Pekahiah has also died in 740 B.C.  It is a time of searching for the right king – a time when some would remember that they rebelled and turned away from God being their only king.  It is a time of reflection and discernment – a time when power is up for grabs in both kingdoms.

            First, we have a vision of God’s holiness.

            “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. 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. And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’”

            Let’s notice the scene:

            Isaiah dates the year of his call to the ministry and he says he “saw.”  He does not tell us if this was a vision in his mind, or before him, whether he was in his home or in the Temple – these details are left out because they are not necessary to the history.  Isaiah saw.

            Isaiah sees the Lord God on His throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe fills the Temple.  Notice, Isaiah says nothing about what God looks like – because God is a Spirit – He is not visible to the human eye – and the Scripture clearly tells us that no one can look at God and live.

Isaiah sees a vision of the extent of the power and the authority of God as King and Judge – being high and lifted up emphasizes that, as does the immense length of the train of His robe.  God is above all power and authority and holds all power and authority over all of Creation. Isaiah sees the real King of Israel and Judah and all of Creation.

Above God stands the seraphim – a class of angel whose name means “burning ones” and whose purpose, as we shall see, is to praise God night and day.

The seraphim have three sets of wings – six in total.   With two wings they cover their faces.  Why?  We’re not told, but it could be because, they, as created creatures, could not look upon the unveiled glory of God – just like humans can’t.  With another pair of wings they fly.  And with the third set of wings, they cover their feet.  Why?  Again, we’re not told, but it could be a sign of humility before God; it could be that they didn’t want to reveal their feet to humans.  In any event, the seraphim are servants of God who are in His presence.

And their purpose is to praise God night and day.

As Isaiah looks, the seraphim cry out from one to another:  “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

And we will remember that in writing in Hebrew you don’t say “very” or “very, very,” for emphasis, you say the same word over and over – twice for emphasis, and three times for supreme emphasis.

The seraphim cry out that God is “holy, holy, holy” – God’s holiness is the height of His divine perfection.  God is utterly other than His Creation.  He is distinct from it and He is not dependent on it.  And He is perfect and utterly sinless.

And the whole earth – every corner, every land, everywhere you can name anywhere – the whole earth is full of God’s glory – they whole earth reveals the attributes of God – not just in Israel and Judah, but throughout the whole earth.

Paul writes:  “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20, ESV).

Everyone everywhere knows God exists.  God’s glory is everywhere.  Everyone everywhere – by looking at the Creation – knows that God exists, that He is infinitely powerful, perfect, sinless, and completely other from His Creation.

And so, we have this picture which Isaiah sees of God – and that everyone everywhere knowns from looking at Creation – God exists, He is the ultimate power and authority and judge.  He is above and beyond and other than all of His Creation.  He is utterly sinless and perfect.  He is holy, holy, holy.

Do the people you know respect and honor the God Who is revealed in nature – Whom Isaiah sees?

Do we act appropriately knowing Who God is in this way – not to mention the additional knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ, the Only Savior?

Through Jesus we can come boldly before God, our Father, we must never forget that He is holy, holy, holy!

Second, we see the response to God’s holiness.

“And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 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!’”

And the very building of the Temple to its foundation responds to the holiness of God by shaking – as the author of Hebrews writes, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31, ESV) – and the Temple had not sinned!  Still, smoke filled the Temple, making it all the more fearsome a visage.

And Isaiah is stricken to his roots – he understands how great, how deep, how loathsome, how offensive, how damning a single sin is against the Holy God, and he cries out, cursing himself, “Woe is me!”  “I am judged!  I am condemned!”

“For I am lost” – we don’t get the impact of the Hebrew here – which means, “I have been made to cease, I am cut off, undone, doomed to die” (Young, vol. 1, 247), “I am unravelling, devastated as though made to cease!”

To understand sin is to understand the infinite distance between a sinner and the Holy God.  To come into the presence of the Holy God as a sinner – without the Savior – is to be unmade, taken apart.  Picture your cells falling apart – no longer cohering together, until you are a mass of -- and your soul being twisted in torment over the realization of its state.

“I am a man of unclean lips.”  Why does Isaiah identify his sin as being from his lips?

Jesus and His disciples were criticized by the Pharisees for not washing their hands before they ate lunch:

“And [Jesus] called the people to him and said to them, ‘Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.’ Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’ He answered, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Explain the parable to us.’ And he said, ‘Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone” (Matthew 15:10-20, ESV).

Isaiah says he is a man of unclean lips because he understands that what comes out of a person’s mouth reveals his heart.

Oh, and for those who love their neighbors, as Isaiah did – he sees that his neighbors are in the same state as he – they are also a people of unclean lips

Malachi raises the question of who is able to stand – and live – before the Holy God:  “But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?” (Malachi 3:2a, ESV).

David writes, “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully” (Psalm 24: 3-4, ESV).

But who has clean hands?  Who has a pure heart?  Who does not speak what is false?  Who is never deceitful?

Isaiah understands that he and Judah – and all of us – in our own power – fail to be worthy to stand in the presence of the Holy God.  In fact, for us to do us based on our own merit would be to expose ourselves to the complete unravelling of body and soul!  Understand this is a metaphor.

Many modern preachers with big congregations say that preachers shouldn’t talk about sin – that people have enough hardship and trouble in their lives – that they are down on themselves enough – that people need to be encouraged and built up – to have their self-esteem raised.

And that’s great if the Holy God doesn’t exist.  But if He does, and He demands holiness from me, and if I go before God with all my good works and all my self-esteem, and God says, “You have sinned against me.”  The only thing I can do – of my own accord – is to writhe in torment and come apart before Him, because I have nothing to offer – I cannot pay the debt for my sin.  I have an unclean mouth – and so do you.

Our hope is the mercy of God in His gracious gift of Jesus Christ.

Third, we see God’s response to the believer’s sin.

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’”

Isaiah recognizes his sin and the sin of the people and cries out in horror about it before the Holy God, and God, in His mercy, sends one of the seraphim to Isaiah. 

The seraphim takes the tongs at the altar and removes one of the burning coals and brings it to Isaiah, and he takes the burning coal and touches it to Isaiah’s mouth.  Have you ever been burned – by fire, a stove, anything like that?  Imagine a near-molten coal being placed on your mouth where we have such sensitive areas of flesh – it would have burned and swelled up and been excruciatingly painful.

And the seraphim says, “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah is not saying that he paid the debt for his sin.  Isaiah is not saying that we should put burning coals in our mouths.  The coal is symbolic of something that is done that does take away the guilt for our sin and pays the debt to God for our sin – it makes atonement for us.

The author of Hebrews writes, “Therefore [Jesus] had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:17-18, ESV).

In The Heidelberg Catechism we read, “Q & A 37

“Q. What do you understand by the word “suffered” [in The Apostle’s Creed]?

“A. That during his whole life on earth, but especially at the end, Christ sustained in body and soul the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race. This he did in order that, by his suffering as the only atoning sacrifice, he might deliver us, body and soul, from eternal condemnation, and gain for us God’s grace, righteousness, and eternal life.”

The coal that is placed on Isaiah’s lips symbolizes the life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus – God the Son Incarnate – Who lived a perfect life under God’s Law – credited it to all we who believe – and suffered horrifically to pay the debt for our sins.

If you and I receive the Gospel – the work that Jesus did on earth – if we believe in Him in our hearts and confess Him with our mouths – our guilt is taken away, and our sins are atoned for.  The Holy God is our Father – still the Holy God – but our Father Who hears our prayers and provides us with everything we need for each day and has gifted us His Son that we would be forgiven and made right with God.

Peter writes, “As you come to [Jesus], a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:4-5, ESV).

Isaiah saw the Holy God, and in seeing Him, he was devastated because of his sin and the sins of the people of Judah.  But God is faithful and promised the Way to be made right with God – the Way Who would experience horrific pain to reconcile us to God, and yet, we are told it was for the joy of bringing us in – His people – to the praise and the glory of God – that He was willing to suffer death on the cross.

Beloved, this world does not need to be coddled and told that they are all winners.  This world need to see a vision of the Holy God that they would be shaken to their cores, repent of their sins, and believe in Jesus, the Son of God and Savior, Who makes us right with God now and forever.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for the vision that was received by Isaiah that He would know You as the Holy God and also know that there is salvation through the promised Savior.  As we meditate on Your Son’s suffering and the seriousness of our sin, may we not be afraid to tell our family and friends that God is Holy, and they need to be right with Him.  Strengthen us by God the Holy Spirit, and have Him move us to the people and places You would have us go, and may Your praises ever be on our lips.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.