Dear Friends,

I hope you can attend our Bible study tonight as we continue our study of Isaiah 6. Tonight's focus is on Isaiah 6:4-5. Notes are attached.

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

JUNE 4, 2025

Isaiah 6

vv. 4-5

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!”

______________________

A further description of the proclamation of the seraphim

“And the foundations of the thresholds shook…”

The “big picture” of what is being described is not hard to understand, but the words can be

understood in several ways. Our own walls and doors shake if there is thunder close enough

God’s voice and other heavenly voices are often described in Scripture as being like thunder.

“…Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The

crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ‘An angel

has spoken to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not

mine.’”—John 12:28-30

“From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and

before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of

God”—Revelation 4:5

“Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the

four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’”—Revelation 6:1

The actual description can be understood is slightly different architectural ways.

“foundations” – ammah, cubit. A measurement, and translated as such hundreds of times. It can

also mean, per different dictionaries, a door-base, a post, a foundation ….

“thresholds” – saf – this is often translated “threshold,” as here. But it is also translated door

post, gate, goblet, dish, basin, …

So there are different possibilities, but we certainly understand that the doors shook from top to

bottom. And that is could be representative of a greater effect. As when we say that some

thunder “made the windows rattle”—to give an immediate impression of what it did—but it

could be that some walls shook as well!

There may also be a spiritual message here, since it is the doors to the temple that are mentioned

specifically, not the temple itself, that our access to God is indeed “shaken” by his holiness

and our unworthiness.

“at the voice of him who called…”

Whatever we may imagine that the seraphim “sounded like”—this should inform our

understanding

By “called,” the prophet was referring to when the seraphim called to one another (v. 3)

2

It was the proclamation of worship, “Holy, holy, holy …” that caused the foundations of the

doors to tremble.

This revealing of God upon his throne must also inform our own ideas about worship and

approaching the throne of grace.

The holiness of God is a reason that the writer of Hebrews encourages us: “We should draw near

then with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and may find

grace to help in time of need.”—Hebrews 4:16

“and the house was filled with smoke.”

Smoke is often associated with God’s judgment and anger (there are many Scripture references),

but it is also associated with prayer, with worship, and with God’s glory.

The burning of fragrant incense by the priests before Yahweh was a part of maintaining the

Tabernacle and the Temple. The incense was specially prepared and was holy to the Lord.

“And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much

incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the

smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the

angel.”—Revelation 8:3-4

“and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one

could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.”—

Revelation 15:8

“And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost…”

This is Isaiah’s first response to this vision—it appears to be spontaneous.

“But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for

I am a sinful man, O Lord.’”—Luke 5:8

“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat

his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’”—Luke 18:13

This is the response at the moment of realization—the moment of encounter—when Isaiah truly

sees God as he is and then sees himself as he really is before God.

“Woe is me!”—I’ve had it. I don’t have a chance. I am doomed. There is no hope for me.

“lost” – damah, ruined, cut off, silenced, perish, destroy (KJV “undone”)

Before God, everything becomes clear—and when it does, what is clear is devastating

No one stands casually or acts with swagger before God

No one has a chance without his mercy—or has ever had a chance without him

“for I am a man of unclean lips”

“unclean” – meaning “sinful,” and also the nature of sin.

tame’ – unclean, defiled. What is unclean cannot be in God’s presence—it is not

acceptable to him.

Earlier Isaiah had prophesied: “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil

of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil.”—Isaiah 1:16

“Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!”—Psalm 51:2

“Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and

they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.”—Revelation 3:4

“lips” – his speech as representing his entire life. (Although, perhaps this was particularly

meaningful for Isaiah as a prophet—a proclaimer—for God.)

“and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips…”

By “dwell” Isaiah means he is a part of them—there is a certain collective guilt and

responsibility

3

In WWII, we held Germany as a whole responsible for its actions, even though we knew

that each and every person in Germany was not equally responsible.

Isaiah was grieved that his nation (Judah) was not right with God—and this vision of Yahweh

only compounded his understanding of Judah’s sinful condition.

“for my eyes have seen…”

Isaiah’s reaction to seeing what no person has a right would dare to see--

“Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, ‘Alas, O

Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.’”—Judges 6:22

“…Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. And Manoah said to his wife,

‘We shall surely die, for we have seen God.’”—Judges 13:21-22

Our sin makes us unworthy to look upon God or to abide in his presence

“For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The

boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.”—Psalm 5:4-5

How conscious are we of the holiness of God? How do we show that we are conscious of his

holiness?

“the King, the LORD of hosts!”

God has many titles in the Scripture—and even within Isaiah.

God is King—and he still is.

Do we understand this?

This was written in a day when kings with absolute power were the norm of government.

LORD of hosts – “Yahweh of armies”

God is not just a heavenly onlooker—he is not a watchmaker God

He is the Lord of hosts—he walks the earth—he rules over all the affairs of people

He is all-powerful and holy; no one is worthy before him or can even look upon his face

As Christians, our knowledge of God’s holiness and our worship of him accordingly should be

pronounced in our lives.

That Christ has given us access to the Father does not decrease God’s holiness or make us worthy in

ourselves—Christ is worthy. And God is holy.