Coals from the Altar Isaiah 6

Isaiah 6:1-5 NLTse It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. (2) Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. (3) They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” (4) Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. (5) Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”

Imagine seeing God sitting on His throne. Isaiah looked up to see the most majestic site of his life. The view was too much for words. God was too large and bright to ignore. It couldn’t have been a vision of any mortal king in any palace in this world. The light was too bright. There were no shadows. Beings around the throne were not like anyone on earth. They were huge. Isaiah felt like he was to be an ant crossing a busy sidewalk. Beings towered over Isaiah while he wandered why he was there. Isaiah felt out of place. His stature was much smaller, his clothing looked like dirty rags compared to the glistening materials worn by those gathered around the throne. Isaiah had no idea how large the courtroom was, it seemed to go on forever, and was open to the outside. The sky appeared to be a much deeper blue than on earth. Stones in the Sanctuary glistened like highly polished marble, brighter than Isaiah had ever seen.

A long rode made of shimmering material went from the entrance of the temple up to the throne. Isaiah was captivated by the way the light reflected from the robe as his eyes slowly followed the long train of the rode. Just as Isaiah looked up, thick smoke covered the throne, and filled a good portion of the Sanctuary. The cloud drew attention to Isaiah, who felt even smaller as eyes were trained upon the little figure in the courtroom.

Beings began flying around. Each had six wings. One set of wings covered their faces, something Isaiah considered a sign of respect for the One who sat upon the throne. Or it may have been a way to make their visitor feel less intimidated.

All at once all of the beings began shouting, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” The entire Sanctuary shook, as if the voices moved the entire foundation. Isaiah looked for something to hang onto. Seeing how their voices frightened Isaiah, the room fell silent. Isaiah felt a sense of security in the silence.

The Coal

Isaiah 6:6-13 NLTse Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. (7) He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” (8) Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” (9) And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ (10) Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.” (11) Then I said, “Lord, how long will this go on?” And he replied, “Until their towns are empty, their houses are deserted, and the whole country is a wasteland; (12) until the LORD has sent everyone away, and the entire land of Israel lies deserted. (13) If even a tenth–a remnant–survive, it will be invaded again and burned. But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.”

It took a few minutes for Isaiah’s heart to stop racing. As soon as he settled down, he took a look around the room. No one was moving. All eyes were focused on him. It seemed even the beings flying over held their position facing Isaiah. Movement across the room caught Isaiah’s eye. One of the winged beings came from the alter carrying a burning coal in a tong and hovered just in front of Isaiah. For a moment Isaiah thought he was lost. His mind quickly went over every detail that could possible make him unclean. In an instant, all those ceremonial laws seemed less than adequate for the surroundings he found himself in.

Isaiah braced himself as the winged being held out the burning coal, allowing Isaiah to examine it. Isaiah handled burning coals before. This one was different. Coals always leave ashes and embers behind. Isaiah didn’t notice a single ember falling from the coal when the being carried it from across the room. The coal seemed much more like a burning rock, a much harder surface than wooden coals. The black, hard surface seemed to do more than burn. It appeared to be on fire but omitted no smoke. Fire seemed to dance around on the surface, and appeared to originate from inside the coal.

After a few seconds the being held out the coal, touching Isaiah’s lips. Something inside Isaiah told him to trust the being, as well as the burning coal. It wasn’t hot. It didn’t burn. What just happened? The angel said to Isaiah, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” What did he mean by, “my sins are forgiven?” Was that all there was to it? Is that all people need to go through? Isaiah thought, “hold on for a second. Why me of all people?”

Then Isaiah heard the LORD ask, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” Isaiah had to think about that question for a minute. Everything seemed to be moving so quickly. Then it dawned in Isaiah, maybe that is why I am here, to get a message to deliver. Isaiah said, “Here I am. Send me.” As soon as he said that, it suddenly dawned on Isaiah, the room is filled with much larger beings more capable than himself to deliver a message directly from God. Isaiah was certain his request would be ignored.

Much to his surprises, God addressed Isaiah’s request. “Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.”

The message didn’t seem to make much sense. Was God going to send a host of those countess angels to harden hearts, shut up ears, and close eyes, or was that the message Isaiah was to deliver? It all seemed so confusing for a second.

It began to dawn in Isaiah, he was supposed to block their ears, and close their eyes. But how? Sure he was in God’s presence at the moment, but what’s going to happen the minute he gets back on earth? If he told anyone about what he saw, no one would believe him. That was it, the missing piece of the puzzle. Isaiah had to deliver his message just like God would, or any of those beings in the Sanctuary would. All Isaiah can do is tell the truth, give people the details, and leave it in their hands.

As soon as Isaiah understood the message, the next obvious question was, “Lord, how long will this go on?” Isaiah wanted to know how long this message was to be given, in other words, how long he has to tell people about his experience in Heaven. Isaiah thought about how many times his message has to be rejected, how many people will laugh at him, how many times he will see doubts in people’s eyes, and how many arguments he will have to endure. The task didn’t seem easy.

Isaiah knew when he would tell his story, people for the most part would reject everything. Some people have the attitude, if it didn’t happen to me, it couldn’t be true. If God didn’t talk to me, why would He talk to Isaiah?

After a minute to reflect on the message, God told Isaiah how long the message has to be delivered. “Until their towns are empty, their houses are deserted, and the whole country is a wasteland; until the LORD has sent everyone away, and the entire land of Israel lies deserted. If even a tenth–a remnant–survive, it will be invaded again and burned. But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.”

Suddenly Isaiah looked around the Sanctuary again, comparing it to the towns, cities, country, and wasteland God mentioned. There was no comparison. Isaiah volunteered to leave Heaven and return to this world with the message. Even being the littlest one in Heaven would be better than being back on earth. Isaiah thought to himself, “what was I thinking?”

Isaiah had no idea how long the message would last. Isaiah knew there was a physical interpretation, which most likely would be seen in his day, and a spiritual interpretation taking place in some far distant generation. Isaiah looked around the Sanctuary, up at the throne, and knew he could complete his part of the job. But what about those future generations? Who would approach God’s throne to receive the same view, encouragement, and message? Isaiah would stand up for Jerusalem when it was time for her to fall, but who would take on a much larger role, standing up for the earth when the world was about to fall?