The NIV 365 Day Devotional
Isaiah’s Commission
It started out as a humdrum, nothing-special day. But it sure didn’t end that way. Isaiah was going about his business when, without warning, the invisible curtain that separates worlds parted.
In Isaiah’s own words: “I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isa 6:1). Isaiah also saw six-winged seraphim—burning angelic creatures—dipping and whirling all about the throne. In their high, wild voices they kept repeating: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (6:3).
Suddenly, there came a great shaking like an earthquake. In the smoke, Isaiah found himself clutching at the ground for dear life and struggling to catch his breath. For several moments his heart stopped altogether.
“Woe to me!...I am ruined!” he heard himself gasp (6:5). This wasn’t Whoa!...a way of saying, “Cool! Far out!” This was Woe! A passionate cry of grief or despair. And undone, in Hebrew, means “I’m finished.” In other words, Isaiah truly believed his life was over.
The Hebrew word for holy is qadosh. It means sacred or set apart. Holiness speaks of the “otherness” of God. It means every-thing about God is different from everything he has made. What’s telling in Isaiah’s shocking encounter is that the creatures who see God most clearly obviously regard him most highly. He is so pure, so “other,” the sinless seraphim use two of their six wings to cover their faces. They cannot bear to look at him!
Isaiah couldn’t bear to look either. When he saw the shattering, majestic holiness of God, he collapsed, awestruck, in a shuddering, muttering heap.
It’s hard to say what’s more amazing here, God’s holiness or his mercy. At the end of this encounter, the Almighty dispatched one of the seraphim to touch Isaiah’s unholy lips with a burning coal. By this act, Isaiah was pardoned and commissioned for service as a prophet.
In that role, he would tell of a coming Servant, a “son” who would be “Mighty God” (9:6), who would be “pierced for our transgressions” (53:5), bringing pardon to every unholy person who believes.
Taken from The NIV Lucado Encouraging Word Bible.