Isaiah 6:1-7--Isaiah's Vision of the Lord

Isaiah 6:1-7
English Standard Version

Isaiah's Vision of the Lord
6 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.”

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Perhaps one of the most well-known passages from the book of Isaiah is this passage where Isaiah receives his calling.  Many writing their biographies would put this story first in their books, but to Isaiah, the LORD and His message were more important than the story of the messenger.  Even in this narrative, the focus is not on the prophet Isaiah, but on the Lord, seated on the throne, high and lifted up.  He is "Holy, holy, holy" and "The whole earth is filled with His glory."  He is worthy of worship, and drawing near to His presence makes us realize that we are sinners in need of forgiveness.  That is our greatest need above any word of prophecy or vision or experience.  Isaiah's first response when seeing the LORD was "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!,”  This should be telling after we just read all the woes proclaimed over Jerusalem and all of Judah.  Isaiah waits until this point in the story to say, "I am no better than those I am prophesying against.  I deserve the same fate they do."  It is only because the LORD intervenes and cleanses him that Isaiah is purified--it is not by his own works of righteousness, but it all started with a broken and contrite heart

Isaiah was priest in the midst of his ministry making atonement for the people.  In his role, he greatly felt the sin of the people that he partially took upon himself so that the people's sins could be atoned for, but he realized that he was an imperfect substitute for them as he had his own sin that needed to be atoned for.  This sets us up for the promises that will come later in Isaiah for the Messiah that would be the Lamb lead to the slaughter for His people.  By His wounds, we are healed.  As 1 Corinthians says it, "He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of Christ in Him."