THE TRAUMA OF HOLINESS

ISAIAH 6:5–8

“Woe is me!” I cried. “I am ruined [undone]! 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 6:5).

John Calvin long ago pointed out that there is a pattern of human response to God’s holiness in the Bible. The more righteous a person is described as being, the more he or she trembles when entering the immediate presence of God. We see examples of this trembling in Job (Job 40), Habakkuk (3:16), and John the apostle (Rev. 1). We also see it here in Isaiah 6. Isaiah cries out “Woe is me! I am undone!”

The word woe is oracular. By that we mean, it is used in oracles. There are two kinds of oracles in the Bible. The first is the oracle of weal, which is an announcement of divine favor. The formula begins with the word blessed, and examples are seen in Deuteronomy 28 and in the Beatitudes.

The oracle of doom, however, is an announcement of divine judgment and wrath. Matthew 23 contains a set of woes against the Pharisees. The book of Revelation, which contains eight beatitudes, or oracles of weal (for example, Revelation 1:3), also contains three oracles of woe (Revelation 9:12).

What strikes us in Isaiah 6 is that the prophet pronounces woe upon himself. When he finds out who God is, he sees more clearly than ever who he himself is. He describes his condition as being “undone.” It is an experience of personal disintegration in the presence of God. Habakkuk 3:16 puts it this way: “I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled.”

Isaiah and Habakkuk were suddenly aware of the absolute holiness of God. It is easy for people who are far from God to say things like “Well, everybody makes mistakes” and “We’re all entitled to one sin.” But when God draws near, such nonsense evaporates. What we’ve done is a whole lot worse than mere mistakes, and we’ve all committed far more than just one sin.

Isaiah became aware that his lips were unclean, which means that in the presence of God’s holiness, even his lips were dead in sin. He was unable to join the song of the angels and praise God until the fire of God’s altar purged his sin and he was forgiven. Then he received new lips for praise and preaching.

CORAM DEO

Zechariah 9–11

When it comes to God’s praise, do your lips feel dead? Perhaps you need a new experience of the holiness of God and of His restoring, transforming grace. Seek the Lord in your prayers today, and ask Him to give you new, undefiled lips.

For further study: Ex. 33:12–23 • Ezek. 1:25–2:2 • Luke 5:1–11

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