Sometimes as people we don’t realize the holiness of God. When Isaiah has a vision of the Lord, he encounters the Lord and His angels proclaiming God’s holiness.
Isaiah 6:1In the year that King Uzziah died, I clearly saw the Lord. He was seated on his exalted throne, towering high above me. His long, flowing robe of splendor spread throughout the templet. 2 Standing above him were the angels of flaming fire, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces in reverence, with two wings they covered their feet, and with two wings they flew. 3 And one called out to another, saying: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, Commander of Angel Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”4 The thunderous voice of the fiery angels caused the foundations of the thresholds to tremble as the cloud of glory filled the temple!
The angels are crying out before God “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts” day and night. In fact, the praises of the angels cause the foundation of the temple to shake as they sang. Why they would say the same thing over? The angels are proclaiming the holiness or the uniqueness of God and how different He is from all Creation. To be holy is to be pure, clean and set apart. They are saying “You are so set apart, pure and clean from anything and everything in every situation! There is no one that loves us the way you do! No one has the mercy or the appropriate justice you do! You are so uniquely different than anything else you have created!
Jewish commentators say that the word “holy” is repeated three times because it speaks of how God manifests His holiness in heaven, this world, and the age to come. Today we can also see that this can be praise for our triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit. Since the time of Isaiah this sacred chant has been repeated in liturgy, worship, and song. In the writings of Isaiah, he will refer to God as the “Holy One of Israel” fifty times.[1]
For humankind, holiness is not about being absolutely perfect, but instead about being set apart for God’s purpose. In our text, God was calling Isaiah to be set apart as a prophet. God also calls us for His purpose. We cannot make ourselves perfect and blameless, but we can choose to place our faith in Jesus as our Savior. With God’s help we can obediently follow where the Lord leads us. With God’s help we can choose to be holy. May you say yes to God as He calls you into holiness.
To hear more about the call of Isaiah, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-call-isaiah
[1] Commentary on Isa. 6:3, The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017 by BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC.
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