he makes us fit for service

behold me! send me!

As I’ve written previously, I’ve been parked in the prophecy of Isaiah in my reading and study of the Scriptures. This morning was a particularly rich passage, and as one who frequently struggles with insecurity, it was so encouraging to see—in Isaiah’s personal story of being called into service—how God prepares each of us to serve him in his kingdom. He makes us fit for his service. Take a look at Isaiah’s story with me, in his own words:

In the year of the death of King Uzziah,
I saw the Sovereign,
exalted and uplifted,
and his robes were filling the temple.
Seraphim (the burning ones) were standing in attendance on him.
Each had six wings:
With two he was covering his face,
and with two he was covering his feet,
and with two he was flying.
And one kept calling to another and saying:
’Holy, Holy, Holy is Yahweh of hosts;
that which fills all the earth is his glory. Isaiah 6:1-3

In other words, in the middle of Isaiah’s everyday, GOD appears on the scene! He has his attendants with him, and “his active presence in the full reality of deity fills every place and is the only thing capable of doing so” (Motyer). And when the presence of the transcendent God breaks into our reality, he shakes things up…

And the posts of the threshold trembled
because of the voice of him who was calling,
and the house itself began to be filled with smoke. Isaiah 6:4

Have you ever been quietly minding your own business, wrapped up in thought, maybe in a quiet spot in the park or wherever you favorite place for getting away on your own may be, and in that moment someone made a grand entrance, interrupting you?

It elicits a response, doesn’t it?

Now imagine if God himself—the God of the universe, in all his diety, rule, holiness, and power—were to break in on you like he did with Isaiah. Look at the descriptions again (above) and imagine it.

How would you respond?
What would you say?
What would you do?
It’s hard to fathom it.

Here’s how Isaiah handled it…

And I said:
’Woe is me!
For I am silenced.
For a man unclean in lips am I,
and among people of unclean lips I am living.
For my eyes have seen The King,
Yahweh of Heaven’s Hosts!’ Isaiah 6:5

Huh.

Well, that makes sense.

In the blinding light of God’s pure radiance all of one’s imperfections would be magnified. Isaiah is humbled, bent down in the dust, aware of his own inadequacy, insufficiency, insecurity, and sin. He learns that the only way he can see himself truly is in fully seeing who God is. We have no reality apart from his reality, and his informs ours.

But this creates a problem.

How do you move forward in life in light of this God-revelation that has resulted in a self-revelation?
What moves us from being a paralyzed puddle on the floor before a holy God, overwhelmed by our sin,
into joy-filled, confident action and service?

And one from among the Seraphim (the burning ones) flew to me,
and in his hand a glowing ember
he had taken with tongs from upon the altar.
And he touched it to my mouth,
and said:
’Behold!
This touched your lips
And your iniquity went.
And as for your sin—the price is paid! Isaiah 6:6-7

Well look at that!

It wasn’t something, anything, Isaiah could do.
It would take the action of God himself.
You see, Isaiah’s sin stands in the way of service,
so the Sovereign sends the Seraphim to sanitize his stained soul,
and to shatter the debt of his defilement with a divine deposit that covers what is due.

And I heard the Sovereign’s voice,
as he was saying,
’Whom shall I send?’
and,
’Who will go for us?’ Isaiah 6:8

This powerful, filling-the-earth-with-his-glory God now searches the world for someone capable, fit, for his service.
Isaiah now stands ready, made fit by God himself!

And I said:
’Behold me! Send me!’ Isaiah 6:9

Don’t you just love it?!

No longer a paralyzed puddle on the floor,
Isaiah is now that eager student at the back of the room,
with the teacher having asked the question,
and he knows the answer!
He’s jumping up and down, thrusting his hand into the air, “Pick me! Pick me!”

Having been made ready by God,
having been made fit for service,
Isaiah’s insecurities and hesitation have vanished.

I am reminded by his testimony that every sinner after him has been made ready for service to the King by the King himself.
We need not fear the holy places, the powerful presence of a pure Father.
We can boldly enter, knowing we have been made clean.
We can stand in confidence because we have been sprinkled with the blood of Jesus — our iniquity went! — and as for our sin: the price is paid!
And in this knowledge, all our insecurities and hesitation about being sent by him to advance his kingdom should vanish.
And instead, we hold tightly to his affirmation and promises without wavering because God can be trusted.

And so we thrust our hands into the air today, proclaiming,
“Pick me! Pick me!”,
while we think of ways to motivate one another to acts of service,
acts of love and good works,
meeting together regularly encouraging each other,
because we know the King is coming back one day to finish what he started,
and complete what we’ve been working on with him in his absence.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.
By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,
let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.
For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean,
and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm,
for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
And let us not neglect our meeting together,
as some people do,
but encourage one another,
especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:19-25