Week 6

"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train[a] 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!”[b] 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 Lord 8 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.”

    A number of years ago I had the opportunity to see the Magdalene papyrus. This codex papyrus fragment is from Matthew’s gospel and has been carbon dated to 68 A.D. I can remember standing there in that Oxford library holding what is believed to be one of, if not the oldest extant fragment of the New Testament. I’m not sure of all the emotions I felt that afternoon but awe, fear (I might drop it), gratitude, and a renewed sense of purpose come to mind. All of this emotion in me over ink on a few bits of material!
    Isaiah was a prophet of God who prophesied in what is known as the golden age of prophesy. His ministry takes place about 740-680 B.C. Early in Isaiah’s ministry he had a vision of the Lord on his throne with angelic agents all around him. The vision of God Almighty exalted and thrice holy was so overwhelming that Isaiah knew he was going to die. But why was this so? Isaiah in the presence of the Lord understood the gravity of his sin and the sin of the people around him. God taking the initiative, cleansed Isaiah’s lips with a coal from the altar. Having now been cleansed and forgiven, Isaiah is full of gratitude and a renewed sense of purpose. Isaiah had already been serving the Lord but perhaps he had become complacent in his zeal for God’s holiness. When we seek the Lord, when we get a glimpse of his holiness we ought to have a sense of awe and a healthy dose of fear. Knowing that Jesus has removed our sin by his substitutionary death on the cross ought to produce a deep gratitude in our hearts. This gratitude ought to inspire us to give our lives in service to our great God and King. There are a lot of “oughts” in those statements. Whether or not this becomes a reality in our lives depends on what our vision of God is. Is he “high and lifted up with the train of his robe filling the temple” or merely ink on bits of paper. 

In Christ,

John