Dear Friends,

I hope you can attend our Bible study tonight as we continue our study of Isaiah 6. Tonight's focus is on Isaiah 6:6-7. Notes are attached.

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

JUNE 11, 2025

Isaiah 6

vv. 6-7

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of

his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his

face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled

with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the

midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with

tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips;

your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

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v 6 – “Then one of the seraphim flew to me …”

In response to what?

Isaiah’s confession of and deploring of his lost condition—and that of his land.

God had a plan for Isaiah—and it did not depend upon Isaiah’s having the perfect prayer.

It was God who gave Isaiah the vision

It was God who directed the seraphim to go to Isaiah

“to me” – God’s vastness does not prevent him from knowing us personally and giving us his

individual attention.

God is not diminished by his giving.

“having in his hand a burning coal ...”

This resembled something that Isaiah knew about—the procedure when Aaron would make a sin

offering for atonement once a year—for himself and for the people:

“And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two

handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil and put the

incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy

seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die…. Thus he shall make atonement

for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of

their transgressions, all their sins.”—Leviticus 16:12-13,16

It is more accurate to say that the atonement sacrifices and priestly procedures were a mirror of

heavenly realities (not vice versa).

Coals often are mentioned in Scripture as a part of God’s judgment and anger.

“Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the

portion of their cup.”—Psalm 11:6

“Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals

flamed forth from him.”—Psalm 18:8 (also 2 Samuel 22:9)

2

“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to

drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”—

Proverbs 25:21-22 (also quoted in Romans 12:20)

This context may be related—since it is sin that is under God’s judgment—but these coals show

that sin itself is both judged and destroyed by the fire of God.

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”—1 Corinthians 15:26

“…and death shall be no more…”—Revelation 21:4

But this destruction of guilt—the atonement—required sacrifices. And all of those sacrifices

point to Christ and are fulfilled in Christ.

Hebrews 9-10 is a marvelous teaching on this very topic

The need for forgiveness according to Christ’s sacrifice is represented by the cross. And the

cross must be central in any true proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“that he had taken with tongs…”

It is natural enough to read this, because we would never pick up a coal barehanded—but we

don’t know that this is true of seraphim

The use of tongs may represent that the coal did not have meaning for the seraphim—it was not

for him to touch—but for him to deliver to Isaiah

We do not perhaps fully understand or appreciate that we have been created in the image of God,

and in Christ we have received “adoption as sons” (Rom. 8:15). The heavenly beings are

obviously greater in power and in other qualities than we are, but …

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and

so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved,

we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that

when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”—1 John 3:1-2

And “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?”—

1 Corinthians 3:16

“from the altar.”

The coal did not come out of nowhere—it came from the altar.

Isaiah does not say what altar. In the temple, it could have been the altar of incense or the altar of

sacrifice—here, the altar of sacrifice seems strongly to be indicated.

This aligns with the message of forgiveness and atonement.

What is coming to Isaiah proceeds

• from God’s initiative

• from sacrifice

v 7 – “And he touched my mouth and said…”

“touch” – naga`; from Strong’s: A primitive root; properly, to touch, i.e. Lay the hand upon (for

any purpose; euphemistically, to lie with a woman); by implication, to reach … violently, to

strike (punish, defeat, destroy, etc.) -- beat, … bring (down), cast, come (nigh), draw near

(nigh), get up, happen, join, near, plague, reach (up), smite, strike, touch.

In all of these meanings, the word does not mean what we would describe as “barely touching”

or “lightly touch” or typically, even, as “touch”

The KJV, he “laid it upon my mouth”—is probably a better rendering than “touched”

“Behold, this has touched your lips…”

The seraphim is not “pointing out the obvious.” He is making a pronouncement, a teaching—we

might say a formal declaration.

3

“Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is

going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Behold, I have told you.”—

Matthew 28:7

“And the angel answered him, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was

sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent

and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not

believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.’”—Luke 1:19-20

The seraphim, sent my God, responds in a direct way to Isaiah’s confession that he is a man of

unclean lips (v. 5). “Unclean lips” represented all of Isaiah’s sin, and God addressed Isaiah’s

sin in the very same terms.

“your guilt is taken away…”

Isaiah was correct in realizing that his lips were unclean, that he was a guilty, unclean person

before God

God responds in mercy to Isaiah, and according to God’s purposes for Isaiah, and God takes

away Isaiah’s guilt

“guilt” - `avon, usually translated “iniquity,” also “punishment”

“taken away” – removed, gone—and God is the one who took it away!

“and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah’s sin was “atoned for”—not just removed arbitrarily

This was because of the coal being placed on his mouth—and that represented his sin being

covered by the sacrifice on the altar from which the coal was taken

This was understandable, if miraculous, to Isaiah, as he was familiar with the offering of

atonement—

But Isaiah did not fully realize that one day, all of the previous sacrifices would be validated by

the offering of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.