In short
Isaiah sees a vision of God. Isaiah 6:1-7.
Why it is important
I think there are only five visions of God in the Bible—with details, anyway (Ex 24:10, Ezek 1:4-28, Dan 7:9-10, Rev 4, and this one)—so I know I’m paying attention.
Main characters
- The LORD!
- Seraphim, heavenly beings that ARE NOT ANGELS
What is in this story
- The Lord is on a throne… in the sky? (v. 1)
- The seraphim flying with two of six wings and covering with the others (v. 2)
- Shaking building with smoke (v. 4)
- Isaiah is petrified because he saw God (v.5)
- A seraph fixes that problem with a hot coal (vs. 6-7)
Where are they?
- There is an altar with burning coals (v. 6), and that would be outside the temple, in the courtyard
- The “train of his robe filled the temple” (v. 1). I take that to mean they are not in the temple, but then, what happened to the roof?
- The Lord was “high and lifted up” (v. 1 again), so it sounds like He is in the sky, though I assume Isaiah is on the ground
But how is Isaiah here? Is he a priest or Levite? I think only they could be in the temple court. I don’t think we are ever told about Isaiah’s lineage.
Theology and doctrine
What does this teach us about the LORD God?
- “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD” (v. 3). Twice isn’t even enough.
- Isaiah knows he is not worthy to be there (vs. 5, 7)
- The seraphim are covering their faces! Are they terrified, too, to be in God’s presence?
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