THE HOLINESS OF GOD

ISAIAH 6:1–4

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory

(Isaiah 6:3).

In the eighth century b.c., Uzziah came to the throne in Jerusalem and reigned for over 50 years. In the course of his long reign, Uzziah brought about one of the last significant spiritual reformations in the nation’s history. In the last year of his life, however, he broke God’s principles and died in disgrace (2 Chronicles 26). His death was a watershed in the history of Judah.

The call of Isaiah

In that very year, Isaiah was called to the sacred vocation of prophet. The record of that call is found in Isaiah 6. I am persuaded for a variety of reasons that God opened the veil and allowed Isaiah to see into heaven itself. He “saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted” (Isaiah 6:1). The word “Lord” here is in Hebrew Adonai, which is the most majestic title given to God in the Old Testament. It means “the sovereign one.”

We must understand the significance of this event in context. The king is dead. There is a time of mourning and uncertainty in the land. Then Isaiah comes, and he is given a glimpse into heaven. There he sees not Uzziah or David but Adonai, the Supreme Sovereign, enthroned in heaven. The people may have lost their human king, but they have not lost their immutable Divine King.

The message of the angels

What is most important about this passage, to my mind, is the message of the angels, quoted above. The fact that the word “holy” is repeated is for emphasis. This was a common Jewish literary technique. Jesus, for instance, when He wanted to stress something, said “Truly, truly,” or literally “Amen, amen.”

Of all the repetitions for emphasis that we can find in the Bible, however, there is only one of God’s attributes that is emphasized by a triple repetition. God is not simply “holy,” or even “holy, holy.” He is “holy, holy, holy” (compare Revelation 4:8). So overwhelming was this angelic confession of God’s holiness that the very “doorposts and thresholds shook” (Isaiah 6:4). Isaiah cried out, “Woe to me. I am ruined.” He recognized that he could not stand on his own merit in the presence of absolute holiness. That’s a point to which we all must come.

CORAM DEO

While seraphs shield their eyes from the holiness of God the Bible says we shall behold Him as He really is. Read 1 John 2:28–3:3 and contemplate how you will behold God’s holiness in heaven.

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