Key Theme: God’s Holiness & Man’s Sinfulness;
Right Use of the Law
[Core Gospel Concepts: Use of the Law, Sin, Justification]
Uzziah had been one of the godly kings of Judah during the time of the divided kingdom. As long as he humbly sought the Lord and listened to the Lord’s priests, God gave Uzziah success against his enemies. But later, when he was strong, he became proud and burned incense in the temple, ignoring the priests’ cries for him to stop and leave. So the Lord afflicted him with leprosy, and he died alone, never able to enter the temple again.
Isaiah was one of the great prophets God sent to Judah to warn them of judgment for their sins, and to give them hope of future blessing when they repent. This is the story of how God called Isaiah during the sad time after Uzziah died a leper. Isaiah describes what happened:
“I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted. His robe was so long that it filled the whole temple. Above him were angels, each with six wings. Two wings covered their faces, two covered their feet, and the other two were used for flying. They were calling out to each other: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’
“At the sound of their voices the whole place shook and the temple was filled with smoke. And I cried out, ‘Woe is me! 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.’
“Then one of the angels flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’
“And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”
Then God gave Isaiah the difficult task of preaching to his hard-hearted people even though most would not listen and would be destroyed, and only a remnant of faithful people would remain.
Optional Memory Verse: Psalm 51:1-3: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.”