My Bible study lesson this week is on Isaiah 6. Boy, what a vision! We all yearn for such a revelation. Who would not want to see God filling the temple with his majesty?
But there is another aspect to this experience. For Isaiah it revealed the depth of his unworthiness. Listen to his words, "I am a man of unclean lips." His sin and his unworthiness began with the very words in his mouth. And he also lived among a people who were just like him--their words weren't worthy of God either. What was he to do when he was in the presence of God and he knew he was not worthy to be here?
There were angelic beings there who praised God and did his bidding continually. One of the seraphs took a coal from the altar with tongs and cleansed his lips with fire. The words of the Bible do not indicate that he was burned, but he was cleansed. He was made worthy, worthy to take God's message to the people.
This passage includes one of the most enigmatic passages in the Bible. Why does God not want them to hear and understand and be saved? There is more to this story that I can grasp. Maybe he doesn't want them to obey without depth, without heart conversion. Maybe he doesn't want them to fail to understand the level of obedience and change he expects. Maybe I need to study this passage more. It is easy to get caught up in the glory and radiance of the vision and forget the requirements and obligations.
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