Fired Up and ready To Go

 

Isa 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.  7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged."

Oh that I would grasp the holiness of God and just how far short I fall from the glory of God!  Hab 1:13 reminds us: “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.” And the Psalmist says in Ps 5:5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.

Isaiah knew his dilemma and there was nothing he could do about it. If there was to be further business conducted with Isaiah,  God had to step in…and He did!

But why a live coal from the altar? Why the searing of the lips? What’s that got to do with removal of sin?

It’s fairly simple. Fire is a purifying agent and is often used in the Bible as an example of burning off dross, that unwanted slag, that pollutes the pure metal in the refining process.

 

That fire is used to purify the lips of Isaiah is more for his sake than ours. As a sinner who had been “undone,” in the presence of the Lord, he might be feeling a little inadequate to continue as a prophet of God, but God assures him that the fire that came from the holy altar has made him fit for the office. His sin has been purged and his iniquity taken away!

 

His slate wiped clean, he is now fit to be a spokesman for God! And if you look at the next verse of Isaiah, you’ll see how quickly he jumped at the opportunity!

Isa 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

There can be no better spokesperson for God on earth, than the one who has knowledge of the holiness of God! The one who thereby sees his total depravity and has experienced the cleansing fire of the Gospel!

 

He, like Isaiah is “fired up,” and ready to go!