The Permeating Glory of God

 

 

Isa 6:3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

Whoever this particular Seraphim is, he certainly had a booming voice, as we read that it shakes the very doorposts of the temple! Imagine if you will a threefold sonic boom fly by, or a thrice repeated 4^th of July booming fireworks, and then note the emphasis here on the holiness of God! The voice so loud that the inanimate door posts tremble at the word, how much more then should we tremble at His holiness?

 

Then we are told that the house was “filled with smoke.”  Here’s the thing about smoke, it permeates everything. It hangs in the air after the fireworks are finished. It causes your clothing to testify that you have been near a campfire. And anyone who has experienced a housefire can tell you of the lingering effect of the smoke that permeates!

This smoke described for us in Isaiah is meant to be a picture of the glory of God! Ex 40:34 Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

 Moses couldn’t handle the glory of the Lord!

Neither could the priests found in 1Ki 8:10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. 12 Then Solomon spoke: "The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud.

Truth is, no one is able to handle the presence of the Lord!

Re 15:8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

And you and I have the audacity to think we are “good enough” to earn our way to heaven? Give me a break! We need help just as Isaiah will need help and we’ll look at that help next time.