Jonah Albrecht

Trinity Sunday

May 26th, 2024

Isaiah 6:1-8

Confronted by Holiness: The Impact of God’s Presence

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.” 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.”

In the name of Jesus, Who has covered us with His holiness so that we may enter the presence of the Holy God, Dear fellow redeemed:

Have you ever gone nose-blind to something? That is when you become so used to a smell that you do not even notice it anymore. I can remember the first year I went to Immanuel for High School as a 15 year old, everything was so new. The town, the school, the people, and especially the dormitories in which we lived. There were new smells and sights everywhere. Eventually, by the end of the year, myself and every other boy in the dorm had become nose-blind. I’m sure you can imagine a three-floor dorm with 40 or so high school boys, it didn’t smell like flowers. To us, it didn’t make a difference. We didn’t realize how good or bad it had gotten, that is just how it was. Flash forward to the end of the year when the parents came to help pack up the rooms to move out. They were not nose-blind to the dorms. They would catch the full flavor of their kids living. To us, it was no big deal. To them, however, it was “Get me out of here asap!”

Becoming nose-blind is not limited to smells that we become familiar with, but it can also happen in other areas of our lives. We can become nose-blind in our hearing. I’m sure many of you do not hear the traffic or planes flying overhead. It has become so natural; your brain blocks it out. But then you go to the country for a week and all of a sudden, the city has the loudest noises imaginable. The most important and most dangerous way we become nose-blind is spiritually. What do I mean by that? How many variant teachings are there among the Christian denominations? Looking at it broadly, there are only 2: right and wrong. But when you look closely and inspect what many churches claim to teach and believe, that number skyrockets.

There are beliefs that align closely to what Scripture says, and there are others that are hard to see how they came from Scripture in the first place. These beliefs, both accurate and heretical are easy to become nose-blind to. Without realizing it, perceptions about God can change to align away from the Bible and more toward what seems right to me. That is at the crux of much of the Christianity in America today. It speaks more about the Christian rather than Christ. It replaces who He is and what He has done with who I am and what I am doing.

Perhaps the most prevalent way this happens is in regards to God and His holiness. The vast majority of Christians will recognize God as completely holy. However, what many can become nose-blind to, and yes even among ourselves this can happen, is what that holiness actually means with regards to mankind. Today the mantra is: Do the best you can and God will be happy with that. Or: Just be a better person than those who reject God and God will reward you.

These things don’t sound bad in and of themselves, and, somewhat can be understood correctly. However, the danger comes in what it does to God’s holiness. It is the same thing the Israelites did in Isaiah’s day. It takes God’s command, Be holy just as I the Lord am holy and diminishes it to: “God won’t hold you to His standard because that is unrealistic and unloving. He will take you as you are.”

Through Isaiah God gives us a clear message of what it means to encounter His holiness and the impact is has on us as sinful people.

King Uzziah reign in Judah for 52 years. His reign was marked with economic growth and military success even expanding the borders of the nation to what they were in the time of Solomon. Despite all that success and prosperity, it was not all pleasant during Uzziah’s reign. The worship of the Lord was maintained, but it became a mere formality. The hearts of the people were empty. Isaiah’s first 5 chapters are a sharp indictment of the unfaithfulness and deadly disease that lurked beneath the surface of their worship. Even Uzziah fell into pride by offering incense in the temple, a job that was limited to the priesthood. As a result, God struck him with leprosy.

In chapter 6, Isaiah sees the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. An incredible sight which normally he would not be allowed to see. Then Isaiah saw 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 heard its song, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Not only did the Lord’s glory fill the Most Holy Place in the temple, but His glory far exceeds that of any human nation and fills the earth. What Isaiah experiences next would shake anyone to their core. 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

The glory of God is so holy that even the Seraphim angels cover their faces in reverence before Him, they are perfect beings! Then the temple itself began to shake as if the building is trembling in reverence of God.

What is Isaiah’s response to all of this? The first words out of his mouth is Woe is me! For I am lost. Literally, his words are even stronger. He is saying “I am in direst despair for I am destroyed.” 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!”

Notice that Isaiah did not say, “Well thankfully, I’m not as bad as the other people in the world.” He didn’t try to lay claim to the fact that he was part of God’s chosen people, nor that he was in any way better than the rest of the people and more deserving to see this glorious vision of God.

Isaiah crumbled because he saw how putrid he was compared to the absolute holiness of God. He recognized his wickedness and sin and how he was much worse than any of his countrymen. Isaiah knew the truth that would be written in Hebrews, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Death is what Isaiah knew he had coming to him. That’s a message that few in America understand.

Lest we forget, every human being must appear before Him. So, give that some careful thought the next time you’re tempted to think that God will lower His standards according to the times in which we live. Think about that scene when you’re tempted to question His ways in your life or are tempted to excuse behavior that goes against His will. Despite the trend of bringing God down to size, every individual, including you and me, when we appear before His throne, will immediately understand the absolute holiness and majesty of God.

What happened to Isaiah? Nothing close to what he expected. Isaiah was about to have his dreadful fear turned into overwhelming joy. He couldn’t even open his lips because whatever he said would be tainted by his sin and be blasphemous before God. 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.” Instead of destroying Isaiah, God purified Him. But this means more than just getting his lips touched with a burning coal. It was a picture of what was to come.

The very same God whose glory Isaiah trembled before would be born into this world as a human being. But where Isaiah, you and me, are so tainted by sin and guilt, the Holy one of Israel committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth. He kept God’s Law perfectly in order to bring you and me perfect righteousness to atone for our imperfect nature. You and I are tainted with sin from birth, but the Son of God, “He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” On the blackened hill of Calvary, Jesus was raised up as an offering to the Holy God and was slain with the full wrath of God so that a world of sinners could become spotless and clean before Him. Jesus is the reason Isaiah’s woe turned into joy and zeal. Jesus is the reason you and I are not consumed by the holiness of God’s presence.

This changed Isaiah forever. It prepared him to be a messenger of God’s grace and mercy. When the Lord called “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah gave an enthusiastic reply: “Here I am! Send me.” Isaiah would proclaim it in the most dramatic ways. He wrote, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow – though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” In his 53rd chapter he left no doubt that Jesus became our Substitute so that “by His stripes we are healed.”; In chapter 40 he announced that God had pardoned their iniquities,” He had paid double for all her sins.”

To truly appreciate the mercy that we have received from God, we need to guard ourselves from becoming nose-blind to the Gospel. Remembering to put ourselves in Isaiah’s place before the holiness of God is the first step. We must continue to apply the Law directly to our lives and recognize the greats sinfulness that consumes us and truly takes away any worthiness that we suppose we possess. Then we can see clearly what God should do us, but what He has done instead. Through Christ He has washed you completely clean so that you can stand before Him as a child. Our sins have all been removed. Our righteousness is nothing less than the righteousness of the holy One of Israel, imputed to us by faith.

The real danger that is facing us today is that we become nose-blind to the false teachings of those around us. Lest we think that can never happen to us, Isaiah’s vision closes with a word of caution: those who take this lightly, those who minimize either the law or the Gospel, ultimately become hardened against God’s Word. Rather, with joy let us rejoice that our Savior’s righteousness covers us when we are confronted with God’s holiness so that we are received as children of the Father. Joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. Joined together by the Holy Spirit Amen.