Isaiah 6:3 (NIV) And they were calling to one
another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his
glory.”
The other day I was reading the
first few chapters of the Book of Isaiah. Through the prophet Isaiah God
addresses the people of Judah during the reigns of their kings Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah. At this time in history the nation of Israel is divided
into a northern and southern kingdom: Israel and Judah. All of Israel’s kings have
been faithless and godless. Many of Judah’s kings are God-fearing, though none
are like David was years before – a man after God’s own heart. Some signs of
these times:
- Uzziah became powerful, but his pride led to his
downfall (2 Chronicles 26). He attempts to do what only priests are allowed to do in the temple and God
strikes him immediately with leprosy. He never
recovers, and his son reigns in his place during the last years of his life.
- Ahaz, Uzziah’s grandson (2 Chronicles 28) would
later not do what was right in the sight of the Lord and even sacrificed his sons in the Valley of
Ben Hinnom and worshipped other gods. During his reign Pekah, the king in Israel at the time, would kill 120,000 soldiers
of Judah in a single day, because Judah
had forsaken the Lord. Ahaz would be one of Judah’s most wicked kings and would
lead God to plan a fate for Judah
(destruction and captivity) similar to the fate that would first happen to the northern
kingdom of Israel.
- Isaiah 1-5 shows Judah as rebellious, corrupted,
desolate, being laid waste by foreigners, and making God sick of their empty sacrifices and meaningless
religious worship. They are unwilling to repent and experience God’s blessing. They look to other nations
for protection instead of to the Lord. They
are full of superstitions and pagan practices. Their land is full of idols.
They parade their sin like Sodom.
They oppress the poor. The women are
haughty and vain and materialistic. They are on
the verge of a great judgment of God. They call evil good and good evil. They
are “heroes” at drinking. They acquit the guilty for a bribe. They have
rejected God’s law…
Then, in Isaiah 6, the Lord appears to Isaiah in the
temple and commissions him to go and prophesy in His name, though the people
will never understand what he says because their ears will be calloused and
dull. What struck me in this passage was that, in the midst of all that was bad
and would lead to so much despair, Isaiah sees seraphim (high angels in the
near presence of God Himself) calling out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is
the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.” (6:3)
Really? The “whole earth” is full of God’s glory? In
the midst of all the wickedness and despair in Judah, the whole earth is full
of God’s glory? It doesn’t seem like there is much in Judah, at least, that is
bringing glory to God. If the earth in its fallen state – twisted and marred by
sin – is still full of God’s glory, what will it be like in the new heavens and
new earth when the earth is made new? It’s hard to imagine how much greater in
glory it will be. In my imagination I like to think about what the earth would
have been like before sin entered the picture, including places in my own
nation and state where I was raised… before there was any pollution or staining
of anything. How glorious it must have been. There are many echoes of God’s
glory that still remain all around us all over this planet. But in a way it is
a faded - or a shaded – glory. It isn’t
what it once was, or what it will be some day. While the glory of God that
currently covers the earth is astounding in so many ways, it’s exciting to think
about what we have to look forward to. The state of humanity today isn’t any
better than it was in Judah in Isaiah’s time. But now, as then, the whole earth
is full of God’s glory. Men must stop long enough to notice it and be reminded
of it and then to respond rightly to God’s grace. If they would seek Him, they
would find Him. And if they find Him, they will begin to behold His glory, just
as we have begun to. They will be able to look forward to the time when we
shall no longer “see through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13), but we shall
be able to look upon God’s glory filling the earth as we have never seen it
before. All because of Christ. All because of the cross and the resurrection.
All because one day He will make all things new. Redemption calls for
rejoicing. But waiting for its completion takes patience and trust and
confidence in the future that God has in store, along with the present He is
carrying us through now. No matter what… and when… the whole earth is full of His glory.
Romans 8:19-24 (NIV) 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for
the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was
subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who
subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will
be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of
the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation
has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were
saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already
has?
Jude 1:25 (NIV) to the only
God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
PRAYER: Father, thank you that your glory fills the
earth even when man in his sin makes this world a not-so-nice place. Be
glorified in all you do between now and the time you bring forth a new heaven
and a new earth, and let me be a witness of your inviting grace and love to men
and women and children who will have eyes to see you, know you, and acknowledge
your glory. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”
Jesus
Christ is Lord!
Scott
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