God, Send Me

One of the Bible's most favored sentences comes from Isaiah 6. Isaiah beholds the Lord seated on a throne in the Temple and is so moved by this experience that he is ready to do whatever the Lord needs. 

Isaiah 6:8–9 (ESV) And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

How does he get here? First, he's overwhelmed by the image of the Lord. And what an interesting image to consider. The God of Israel is not in a palace but in a temple. He's not standing but seated on a Throne. The Temple of Israel did not have seats. The reason is that the Priest's work was never done. He was on his feet working for as long as he was there. But this Lord will become our final and true High Priest. Isaiah is given an image he may not have fully understood. There will be a final sacrifice to end all sacrifices. And when it is complete, the great high priest and LORD will take his seat. It is finished. 

Isaiah 6:3 (ESV) And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Isaiah also beheld worshipping angels. Their cry emphasized ONE attribute of God above all - HOLY. Not just HOLY... but HOLY HOLY HOLY. In other words, there is NO ONE LIKE this God...

And then the refrain, "The whole earth is full of His glory." These are words Isaiah needed more than ever. The wicked Ahaz is now on the throne in Judah. What kind of mess will he make of God's righteous leader Uzziah's work? The unthinkable lay ahead. But God is STILL in charge and the world is His stage to display His glory!

God's first statement may not be the statement in verse 8. Verse 4 records that God called and the building shook. 

Isaiah 6:4 (ESV) And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of Him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

Isaiah learned at that moment... God's voice shakes our place. Even sacred places such as the sturdy Temple Solomon spent 7 years building. Moreover, God's voice shakes our confidence in our religious structures. As the Temple shook, Isaiah's self-confidence was demolished and he was broken open. 

Isaiah 6:5 (ESV) And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Every time someone encountered God, this sort of thing happened. They lost all sense of self and self-assurance. They knew they were nowhere close to who God is. Yet those very same people - Moses, Gideon, John, Peter, and others also became the most confident people on the planet for their calling. Not because of self-confidence, but God-confidence. 

This sort of thinking betrays all the modern jargon about finding your confidence in life. We are told to believe in ourselves, trust in ourselves, and put our best foot forward. Those are worldly mantras. God's plan is simple, let His presence be the most overwhelming thing for you so that no other thing can overwhelm you from that moment on. 

Perhaps the best news for Isaiah was that God could provide instant atonement. 

Isaiah 6:6–7 (ESV) Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Now we see the seated Lord who becomes our high priest making a way for Isaiah to stand justified and later change the world with the Word of God. His heart now bursts to do what God wants. 

Many of us need to learn this now: God sends you after He upends you with Himself. That's the only way to go "for HIM" because apart from Him you're on your own.