Articles
Here I Am, Send Me
In Isaiah 6 the prophet gets glimpse at the glory of the Lord. God is described as sitting on His throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. The Seraphim in their praise for Him, praise Him saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” Picture for a moment your own self, in the shoes of Isaiah. As you see the glory of God, that those who are in His presence declare that God is holy. Not one who is seeking to be holy, but rather, it is the essence of who He is. So much so that in other scriptures we would learn just how dangerous it is for sin to come into the presence of God, for it cannot exist there. Adam and Eve were banished from God’s presence in the garden. Nadab and Abihu met their end. Animals would even lose their life is they so much touched the mountain that God was at when there with Moses.
And for a moment in time, Isaiah sees his sinfulness in the presence of the holy God, and he recognizes an all too terrible fate, as he states in verse 5, “Woe is me for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.” What a humbling moment; One might say, I don’t stand a chance in His presence on my own, and I cannot exist as a sinful man in the presence of a holy God. There is no hope, destruction awaits for me.
As Isaiah recognizes his most certain fate, a Seraphim comes to him, with a burning coal in his hand that was taken from God’s altar, now touching the lips and cleansing Isaiah of his sin; He has been forgiven. Isaiah goes from a man of fear, to a man of boldness and readiness before the Lord, ready to commit to His calling. When God calls, Isaiah says: "Here I am, send me!"
If anything, this is a shadow of the great things we have in Jesus. All of us need to reflect on where we were, prior to being cleansed. Most certain death awaited us, and we were unable, and unready to do the Lord’s work. Through Jesus however we have access with confidence to the throne of grace(Heb 4:16), and we can also enter into the most Holy place through the blood of Jesus(Heb 10:18-21). Imagine a Jewish Christian reading that text, thinking back to the Jews in the times of old, unable to enter into the presence of God. Imagine the thoughts of how no one, save the high priest and only once a year, could enter into the most holy place or else death is certain. And even then, would one not be fearful and trembling? And how now, because of Jesus, we can enter into the presence of God behind the veil, in the Holy of Holies thanks be to Jesus. Let it lead you to confidence in Jesus, and in your Salvation. Let it motivate you to a service to Him in which you love the Lord your God with all of your heart and all your soul, an with all your mind. (Emph Matt 22:37) And let it lead you to tell others of how great our Lord is, and the great things He has done for you, and can do for them.
God can take us from a state of fear and no hope, remove the barrier that exists because of sin, and bring us to be forever home with Him.
