11/25

Isaiah 6:3-5

³And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." ⁴At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. ⁵"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

In Isaiah chapter 5 Isaiah was pronouncing words of woe to the corrupt society in which he lived. In chapter 6 the king had died. Isaiah went into the house of God and saw a vision of God's throne. Angelic beings were flying about the throne singing to each other, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." The sound of their voices was so powerful that the doorposts and foundations shook.

Isaiah was no longer pronouncing woes on others. There in the presence of God, in the light of His holiness, Isaiah saw his own sinfulness. He pronounced woe upon himself. A vision of God's holiness reveals the depths of our sinfulness. The realization of his own depravity caused him to say he was ruined. The Hebrew word can be translated 'unraveled'. Like a rug that had come unwoven, Isaiah felt as if he had fallen apart.

The first thing he noticed was the words he had spoken. The words we speak reveal our wicked heart. We live around people who are constantly speaking unkind, corrupt, and ungrateful words. We tend to speak like those we are around. In the light of God's perfections, Isaiah saw this as his most blatant rebellion against God. We need a greater revelation of God to see by contrast how great our sin is and how desperately we need to change.

Consider: Jesus said that whoever loves truth comes to the light. Step into the light and let your need be revealed.