NEWS & THOUGHTS ARCHIVE

When the “Also” Becomes an “Only”

Evangelist Bob Sanders
September 1, 2007

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“I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne . . .
Also I heard the voice of the Lord,” — Isaiah 6:1,8 

James, the earthly brother of our Lord, recorded for us this divine truth; “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). James points out that when a person finds themselves preoccupied with more than one thing at a time, it produces inconsistency in life’s journey. This is not only true for a few select endeavors, but James said, “In all his ways.” This principle does not only applies to the lost, but to all men! For many of God’s children, the inconsistency of their spiritual life can be attributed to being “double minded.” This divine truth is exhibited and revealed in the life of Isaiah by the little word “also.” A good man was inhibited from becoming a better man because of being “double minded.” When we first encounter Isaiah, he is a man hampered in his worship and his work. 
 

The Plurality of Vision
“I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne” verse 1 

As Isaiah 6 opens, Isaiah was trying to focus on an earthly king and an Eternal King at the same time. Isaiah had been preoccupied with the temporal throne of King Uzziah until he entered the Temple on this particular day. It was then that the earthly king died so that the Eternal King might take the place of supremacy! It was the single vision of “Adonay”, the Lord, which began a process of transformation. Isaiah saw the Lord “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1). While Isaiah had found himself unmoved in the presence of Uzziah, Isaiah was crushed beneath the revelation of the exalted Monarch of the Universe. The first thing to be generated was remorse, “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone” (Isaiah 6:5). At the sight of this Holy God, Isaiah finds himself speechless, frail, and being brought to the point of destruction. Is this not similar to what Job experienced at his first glimpse of the Lord? “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6 Oh, that humanity would find their pride deflated and their boastful spirit silenced by a fresh revelation of Heaven’s Monarch! 

The remorse leads to repentance, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). Isaiah’s reference to lips is but a revelation of the condition of the heart, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). A simple test of the waters of the lips will reveal the true nature of the fountainhead of the heart. A corrupt well can only produce corrupt water! Two areas quickly surface in reference to Isaiah’s repentance. There is the repentance of his nature, “I am.” It can no longer be hid, Isaiah sees himself as God sees him. It is more than the fact that we do the wrong thing. We do wrong because we are wrong. A corrupt nature yields corrupt actions. The answer is not in correcting the actions, but in correcting the nature that produces the actions! Isaiah expressed repentance for his nation, “I dwell.” Isaiah finds himself in a polluted environment. 

The remorse led to repentance, and the repentance led to removal. “Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” Isaiah 6:6-7 This was not something that Isaiah did for himself, it was something that God did. Isaiah was not responsible, he was only the recipient! All cleansing and removal of sin is accomplished by the sacrifice on the altar. 

Isaiah’s abhorrence of himself only served to magnify his adoration for the Sovereign! Isaiah has been introduced to “One” and “Only One” that is worthy of adoration and praise! 

The Plurality of Voices
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord,” verse 8 

On this particular day, not only had Isaiah’s eyes been opened, but so had his ears. He not only saw the Sovereign, but he heard the seraphim’s, “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). There is nothing sinful about hearing the voice of the seraphim unless it silences the voice of the Sovereign. The voices of salutations would be silenced by the voice of service. This voice was unlike any other voice. It was not a loud voice like that of the seraphim, “And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried” (vs. 4). While it was not loud, it overshadowed all others. Much like Elijah in the mount, this was a still small voice. “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” I Kings 19:11-12 This was the voice of love and not the voice of law. 

The voice revealed a void, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (vs. 8) God was in need of a servant that would be His ambassador and bear His name to others. I am afraid the Church has become deaf to the voice of service. Jesus revealed the need for servants when he told the disciples to “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:38). 

The drawing power of that voice produces a volunteer, “Here am I; send me” (vs. 8). Isaiah does not discuss any of the details of the assignment. He does not ask where, to whom, or what he will be asked to do. Totally aware of who it is that is speaking, Isaiah is made willing. 

The voice reveals that Isaiah was to visit his people, “Go, and tell this people” (vs. 9). The voice reveals that the visit would be one of tragedy as well as treasure. The tragedy is that most will not heed the Word of the Lord. Their rejection of the truth will cause them to be conquered, controlled, and crushed (see verses 9-12). But, hidden within the tragedy is a treasure, a small remnant, “But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return” (vs. 13). It is not Isaiah’s responsibility to get the people to turn, he has volunteered to tell. God did not call Isaiah to produce, he called him to proclaim! 

Like all men, Isaiah found it easy to work for one that he worshipped. It was necessary to see the right subject before he could yield to the right service. Isaiah had found his work and his worship stunted by a plurality of vision and voices. When the “also” became an “only” his love as well as his labor was enhanced.

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