Isaiah's Heavenly Vision

 

Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple

 

This portion of Scripture has always been one of my favorites. There are so many lessons to be learned from this encounter with a holy and loving God! Today I want to talk specifically about the train of His robe filling the temple.

I saw a picture of a bridal gown on Facebook the other day, with this huge train attached to it, and whoever posted it was asking for comments. I could kick myself for not immediately thinking of this passage from Isaiah.

This vision came to Isaiah in the year 758 B.C. (the year King Uzziah died) The first thing we note is the Lord was sitting on a throne. He rules! He is the King of the Universe. He is high and lifted up over any and all things. How foolish for us then to look to any other thing as a god.

The train of His robe filled the temple. This is no small thing. 1 Kings 6:2 give us the dimensions of Solomons Temple, “Now the house which King Solomon built for the LORD, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. There are approximately two yards to a cubit, so the total yards of fabric needed to make this train would be 288,000 yards!

 

So what can we make of this? I believe this train is meant to portray an important biblical truth. The true church of Jesus Christ is often portrayed in Scripture as the bride of Christ. As a believer, you are part of this bridal gown and the church fills the whole temple. The temple will be filled to capacity! Not one believing soul (Old Testament and New) will be missing, at the consummation of all things on Judgment Day. John talked about the church as the Bride of Christ in the Book of Revelation!

 

Re 21:2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Re 21:9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."

 

As a believer, you are part of this bridal gown and the church fills the whole temple. The temple will be filled to capacity! Not one believing soul (Old Testament and New) will be missing, at the consummation of all things on Judgment Day.

I find it extremely interesting, that 288,000 is a multiple of the 144,000 mentioned in the Book of Revelation. That 144,000 figure is not to be taken literally. It is in one instance, symbolic of the Old Testament believers spoken of in Re 7:4 And I heard the number of those sealed, (one hundred and forty four thousands were sealed out of all the tribes of the sons of Israel):

And in another instance symbolic of the New Testament believers as recounted  in Re 14:1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads.

 

Now I know this is speculative on my part. Don’t go building a doctrine on these numbers, BUT this is not speculation, when Jesus returns not one believer will be missing in the church. They will be “all present and accounted for.”

This is a message that Isaiah needed to hear and we need to hear in the church today as well. Isaiah was about to be commissioned to  preach God’s Word to an audience that didn’t want to hear it.

 

Isa 6:9 And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'

 

But he went and preached it anyway, and that’s our responsibility as well. Never mind the number just keep preaching the Word, trusting God for the results. Don’t fret…..none will be missing.

God Whistles

 

 

Isa 5:26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly. 27 No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken; 28 Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses' hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind. 29 Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver. 30 In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds.

The catastrophic earthquake didn’t get their attention, so God uses another one of His judgment cards. He whistles for a conquering army and they do His bidding. If this doesn’t convince one of the sovereignty of God, I don’t know what will. I remember growing up on a farm and when I wanted my dog to come to me I would simply whistle and he would come running.

 

God is able to do this with an army of any nation that He chooses. Indeed He eventually whistled for the Babylonian army to come and carry the Israelites off into captivity.

What a fearful thing to hear the sound of an approaching disciplined army with the latest in weaponry. The very noise of their approach similar to that of the roaring sea drowning out all semblance of normalcy in the lives of the conquered.

 

The very land itself testifying of the darkness and sorrow of conquest! Isa 8:22 says, “Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.”

“But God, how could you let such a terrible thing happen to Your people?” And the answer is given way back in the Book of Deuteronomy when God warned His people of what would happen when His children refuse to obey. What would happen when His people became a joyless, thankless people.

 De 28:45 "Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 "And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever. 47 "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48 "therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.

 

God warned the people of this judgment when the people entered the promised land and over 800 years later….it was fulfilled.

We have been blessed as a nation in that we have not experienced such a conquering, but that’s not to say it couldn’t happen if God so chooses. For our part then, let us seek to be joyful, glad, and thankful servants of God, seeking to obey His commands. And if we are to be yoked, let us be yoked to Jesus. As He said in Mt 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

The Hills Get It, Why Don't We?

 

Isa 5:25 Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.

 

Remember, whenever you see the word “therefore” in Scripture, you need to go back a verse or two and see what the “therefore” is “there for.” In this case, it is because the people rejected the Law of God and despised His Word. Therefore God stretched out His hand and struck them with punishment. He started out with using nature itself to get their attention.

“Trembling hills” is just another way of saying earthquake, and I think we could learn a thing or two about the holiness of God and its connection with “trembling hills.”

Trembling is a natural reaction when the unholy meets the holy. An example is found in the very next chapter of Isaiah. He was ushered into the presence of God and said, "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips,…… For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." (Isa 6:5)

 

So, as the hand of God draws near to punish His children, the hills themselves tremble in His presence and the very hills, stained by the sin of Adam, tremble. They recognize the holy hand of God and react accordingly, but sadly most of us miss it.

 

These earthquakes in the days of Uzziah, were very real and get mention in other places of Scripture!

 

Am 1:1 says, “The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

And  Zec 14:5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.

 

These quakes were so horrific that human life was lost and carcasses were as refuse in the street!

 

But even after this catastrophic event, the people did not repent. They blew it off in much the same way that we blow these things off today, forgetting that God often uses His creation to get our attention.

 

And our text today ends with these chilling words:  “But His hand is stretched out still.” In other words, because they didn’t repent after this catastrophe, there will be more to come. Chilling words to say the least! But words that are repeated elsewhere in Isaiah:  Isa 9:12. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. And in  Isa 10:4 " For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.”

 

We need to pay attention here to the unchanging holiness of God. He fires off warning shots to us by various means seeking repentance from His children. Repentance that is earmarked and proven by a people who once again revere the Law of God and His Word.

The All-consuming Wrath of God!

 

Isa 5:24 Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

The all-consuming wrath of God. Can you tell me why, we typically don’t tremble at the wrath of God? Why do we blow it off as if it doesn’t apply anymore? The Israelites blew it off at great cost as we shall see! Why can’t we learn from their example?

This is a picture of utter destruction! There is no chance of reclaiming burnt stubble or chaff. A rotten root will ensure the demise of the tree or the plant. Why did God do this to the Israelites?

The answer is “because.” Because they rejected the Law of God, and because they despised the Word of God. And this is the great warning shot of God given to the world. Utter destruction awaits those who go to their grave rejecting Jesus, who is the embodiment of the Word.

 

Jesus said Joh 12:48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

This is not the only time that God uses the chaff and root analogy in Scripture: Ex 15:7 says, “And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble.”

Ho 9:16 Ephraim is stricken, Their root is dried up; They shall bear no fruit. Yes, were they to bear children, I would kill the darlings of their womb."

Am 2:9 "Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath.

Let’s stop pussyfooting around with the Word of God. God’s wrath is real and on Judgement Day, it is final. The only escape is Jesus.

 

The Six-fold Woes: Woe # 6

 

 

Isa 5:22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, 23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!

 

This is the second time in the list of six woes that excessive drinking makes the list. Hmmmm, do you think God is trying to tell us something here? There is a subtle difference between the two mentions. In the first case it is woe to those who live to drink and party, and in this case it’s woe to those who are what I call “two-fisted drinkers.”

 

Those of us who have come out of the lifestyle of partying know these people well. They have quite a reputation for being able to “chug” their drinks and are usually quite boisterous. Their claim to fame, is their valor in being able to hoist more than a few and put them down quickly.  Woe to them if they don’t change their ways! 

To such people, I pray that one day you will wake up with a massive hangover and see the futility of this lifestyle, and turn to Jesus. He will lead you in the true way of being a mighty and valiant man!

 

This final woe also includes those whose eyes for justice are closed through the use of bribes. Let’s call it “hush money.” It most often is associated with politics. Legislation is passed, court verdicts are reached through the influence of lobbying groups, rather than the influence of biblical right and wrong.

 

But beware, this same kind of thing can happen in congregations where the temptation is to hush the truth of pointing out sin if it threatens to ruffle the feathers of the ones who line the offering plate.

Pr 17:15 reminds us: “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.”

 Still another biblical example is found in  Jas 2:2-4, “For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?”

Father God, raise up might men of valor in the church today. Not boisterous men, but people who valiantly stand for Your truth, Your justice, and Your righteousness!

The Six-fold Woes: Woe # 5 - Self-sufficiency

 

Isa 5:21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!

 

Woe to the self-sufficient. The ones who are at that place where they feel they do not need God. No need to call upon Him for help or advice. “I’ll figure this out for myself.” IF (and that’s a mighty big IF) the world believed in such a thing as sin….they would probably be working on a vaccine to combat it.

But the vaccine for all sin was given to us on a hill outside Jerusalem over 2000 years ago when the Son of God “who knew no sin, became sin for us.” (2 Cor 5:21)

And whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. (Jn 3:16)

The Bible is rife with warnings about self-sufficiency. For instance, Pr 16:25 tells us: “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”

And in Re 3:14-18 we read, "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' --and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- 18 "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.”

 

Woe to the self-sufficient, for they will spewed out of the mouth of Jesus! They will quite literally be “parted from Jesus.” Mt 7:23 " 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

Still one more quick example that also provides the cure. Remember the parable of  the Pharisee and the tax collector? Lu 18:9-14, “Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' 13 "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' 14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The Pharisee thought his good works were sufficient while the tax collector pleaded for the sufficiency of God’s mercy.  

 

One more verse to remind us of our need to rely on God rather than our own high opinion of ourselves: 2Co 3:5 says, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,

The Six-fold Woes: # 4 - Confusing Right and Wrong

 

Isa 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

 

Woe! The Hebrew word for “alas.” Now that’s a word we don’t use much these days. The word can be used to express grief, pity, or concern.

Grieve over those who confuse good and evil, dark and light, bitter and sweet. Pity them! Have concern for them, because if they don’t come to repentance the judgment of God will fall upon them.

Perhaps the greatest example of this confusion is plainly laid out for us on Calvary, where the Son of God, the ultimate Good was called evil and crucified. Where the ultimate in Light was considered dark and nailed to a tree. Where the ultimate in sweetness was deemed worthy of nothing but bitter gall as He was breathing His last.

 

And what did He do? He grieved over their confusion! He pitied them and was greatly concerned for them as He cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:34)

 

When Peter gave his first sermon on that day of Pentecost, you can sense the grave concern he had for the souls of those who clamored for the crucifixion of Jesus  when he said, "Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.  18 "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.  19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, (Acts 3:17-20)

We live in a world where confusion between biblically right and wrong is greatly confused. Wrong is glorified and lifted up, whereas right is mocked and labeled as intolerant. Woe to those who make a mockery of the Word of God. Grieve over their lostness. Pity their end, be concerned about their souls as you boldly proclaim the truth of God’s Word in what you say and do.