Holy, Holy, Holy

Holy, Holy, Holy
By Shirley Mitchell

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, 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.'
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.' "
Isaiah 6:1-5

Have you stopped to think lately as you hustle to and fro through this life that you and I as believers in Christ will spend eternity in heaven? The sights and sounds of this world will disappear and be replaced with a perfect place of no pollution, no defilement, no aging, no decay, no wilted flowers, and no imperfection. Nothing will need to ever be repaired or replaced. We will enter into a world of unparalled beauty. Most importantly, we will behold the Lord God Almighty. There are only a few places in the Bible where a man actually has a vision of this eternal glory.

Isaiah was a prophet when the Kingdom of David was divided into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah). Isaiah served God during the reign of the Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Mannasseh. Isaiah 6:1 says that Isaiah's vision occurred during the year that King Uzziah died. For the most part, King Uzziah was a faithful king although he offered incense in the temple and was struck down with leprosy. He ruled for 52 years until 739 B.C. His death was a turning point for the Kingdom of Judah which plummeted into idol worship and immorality until the exile to Babylon in 586 B.C. His death was also a turning point for Isaiah who saw the Lord like no else ever has seen Him.

After the king whom he had served died, Isaiah was somehow transported to the throne room of Almighty God. We don't know whether he dreamed it in his sleep or saw it in a vision while he was awake. We only know that Isaiah saw the Lord. He beheld the majestic sight of the throne room of God. Since John 1:18 says that "no one has ever seen God" and John 12:41 says that Isaiah, "saw Jesus' glory and spoke about Him," the person on the throne is interpreted to be the pre-incarnate Jesus. He is seated high and exalted on the throne.

The train of His robe fills the temple. On earth, a king's or queen's garments symbolized his or her power and majesty. So to say that the entire temple was filled by the garments trailing behind Him showed that His majesty surpassed every king or emperor in the history of the world.

These seraphs in this vision are only mentioned in Isaiah 6. They are attendants to God who continuously give Him praise. I did not expect when I looked up the Hebrew word that it also meant "fiery serpent." What a picture this paints of a burning creature in the presence of God! Two of the six wings covered the seraphs' faces signifying that they could not look at God's immeasurable holiness and brilliance. They are sinless, but they do not want the holy eyes of God looking at them. They serve God and do as He says. Although they have always been in His presence, they are in so much awe that they proclaim, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!" By the sound of their voices of praise, the doorposts and thresholds shook.

The Hebrew term for "holy" is qodesh. It means, "sacred, to be set apart." God is set apart that there is no one like Him. We cannot compare Him to anyone else. There is nothing common about our God.

The Hebrew language may lack punctuation used in our English language, but it had many other literary techniques. One technique was repetition which was used to show emphasis. For example, when Jacob's sons bring Joseph's bloody coat to him to prove to him that Joseph is dead, Jacob says in Genesis 37:33 (KJV), "It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces." In the Hebrew, he is saying "Joseph taraph taraph" or "Joseph cutting to pieces cut to pieces." Jacob was saying that his son was ferociously and violently torn apart. When the seraphs declared, "Holy, holy, holy," they were saying God is not just holy. He is not only holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy. It is the only attribute of God that is tripled. Isaiah's entire vision supported this three-fold reiteration of God's holiness. It has an intensifying effect like the crescendo in a grand symphony.

Some of us need to be humbled and reminded that our God is transcendent. He is not merely our buddy, but His holiness brings us to our knees. Some of us are so ashamed of the things that we have done that we have no problem admitting that we are unclean. Maybe you look around at the people at church and think they have pretty lives with a clean past. We have to remember there is not one person reading this who can stand before God without the grace of Jesus. It is grace that allows us to approach this Holy God in this majestic and brilliant throne room. Let's praise this Holy God who is so far above us but still is the One who comforts us and holds us in His arms. Let's ask God to help us grasp this vision of Him.

Pray with me: Oh, Lord, You are illustrious, radiant, and will forevermore be dazzling in majesty. You are high and exalted. Your train fills the temple demonstrating Your majesty. The seraphs cover their faces and their feet in humbleness and declare Your holiness. The whole earth reflects the glory of its Creator. Help us to grasp this vision of You and use it to transform our daily lives as we live to serve You. It's in the Name above all names, in Jesus' Name, Yeshua's Name, we pray. Amen.
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