The book of Isaiah is one that is written in the context of a prideful, haughty, and prosperous people who have forgotten their need for God. The prophet confronts them in their pride and reminds them of God’s glory. God’s glory is the very antithesis of our pride. He is not arrogant or proud, yet more than anyone else He is the only Being who is actually worthy of thinking Himself better than all the rest. When God reveals Himself, we see the very pinnacle of the Universe; no (better said) we see the very creator who is above and beyond all of the Universe, and there is no other word for it than Glory. When people think more highly of themselves than they should, that is pride… when the God of the universe is revealed in His matchless majesty that is nothing but Glory. We could never think more highly of God than He deserves because He is above and beyond what we can even think or imagine; as Isaiah will say later “His ways and His thoughts are above ours.”
This true revelation of His glory creates two immediate responses in the prophet Isaiah in chapter 6. First, it immediately exposes his own sinfulness and lack of glory. Isaiah is struck by a glimpse of God in His glory, and then he immediately falls on his face and cries out “Woe is me for I am ruined!” We all know that we are not what we should be, but in the presence of God’s blinding glory we see every nook and cranny of our depravity and it should drive us to remorseful repentance. Second, the revelation of God’s glory, and the resulting forgiveness that is offered, drives Isaiah to obedience. He wanted to serve; he says “here am I, send me!” We often make too much of this commission and use it in the missionary context. A continued reading reveals that his calling was to go and preach judgment and ruin on the people of God because of their repeated failures. There is not quite a one to one correlation between Isaiah’s call and the Great Commission… yet, the principle remains… a glimpse of God’s glory drives us to repentance and then it should drive us to service. Our task is to go into all the world and make disciples of all creation.
In 6:3, the angels “called to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth.” May the glory of God fill the whole earth; may we see it, be humbled by it and be driven to God honoring obedience and service. May His glory terrify us, thrill us, and drive us to be all that He calls us to be.
