Isaiah had a personal encounter with the living God, in the form of a vision of the Father on His throne. The prophet was overcome with great emotion, as any of us would be. But his were mixed emotions.
Part of it had to be a great joy – the innocent part of our soul yearns to be in the presence of a loving God, so to finally have this experience must have been a moment of great exuberance. But there was also a sudden awareness that his soul was not innocent – like us, he was often rebellious, willfully disobedient, and self-seeking. His overwhelming reaction was, ultimately, one of woe and regret.
Though Isaiah was presumably a good person who usually tried to do the right thing, as God did select him to be one of His most important prophets. But to be in the presence of such pure goodness and holiness brought out a glaring contrast with Isaiah’s own character. He was instantly convicted in his heart of sin, and his initial joy and delight was quickly overcome by an extreme sadness and distress.
5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because 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.” Isaiah 6:5 (NKJV)
The good news for Isaiah, and for us, is that this penitent state is right where God wants us to be. We are ALL sinners, even the prophets. In His wonderful grace and love, the Lord did not leave Isaiah in that troubled state. He immediately sent one of the heavenly seraphs, who serve Him at His throne, to completely remove Isaiah’s sin, eliminating any barrier that existed between Isaiah and God. The Lord does this for all of us who choose to believe on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s generous gift as a substitute for our sin, offered on the holy altar of the cross.
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” Isaiah 6:6-7 (NKJV)
The apostle Peter had a similar woe in his soul when he first recognized who Jesus really was. Peter and his fellow fisherman had been working all night on the Sea of Galilee and had failed to catch anything. Jesus told them to go out one more time to try again. Though reluctant, Peter obeyed, and proceeded to catch so many fish that the net was on the verge of breaking. At that moment, Peter’s eyes were opened, and he recognized that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ of God. He, like Isaiah, was immediately overcome by the sharp contrast between his own imperfect character and the holiness of the Lord in his presence.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” Luke 5:8 (NKJV)
Jesus told him not to worry. He would deal with the sin of Peter and of all believers once and for all on His journey to the cross. Meanwhile, Peter would be fishing for the souls of men rather than toiling for fish on the Sea of Galilee.
Now, what did Isaiah mean when he was convicted by his “unclean lips”?
We get additional understanding from a teaching that Jesus gave His disciples during some verbal rebuking of the scribes and Pharisees. These religious leaders were confronting and condemning Jesus, the God they should have been serving and worshiping, for the lack of ceremony Jesus’ disciples followed, claiming that they were therefore unclean.
Jesus replied later to his followers that it is not the food that goes into a person that makes them unclean, or how they choose to go about ceremonial washing beforehand, but it is what comes “out of unclean lips” which reveals our true hearts.
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” Matthew 15:18-20 (NKJV)
No matter how hard we try to contain it, any thoughts, feelings, yearnings, and cravings within us that are not compatible with God will eventually make their way out through our lips. Our words will eventually reflect the motives and content of our hearts.
When Isaiah deeply regretted his own unclean lips, he was not just talking about the use of swear words or filthy talk, although these can be a part of it. He was referring to the impurity and unholiness that existed in his core.
Like Isaiah, do our own words reflect the love of God in our hearts, or are we sitting on our own “throne”, coveting things we see, devising schemes, and judging the people around us in our lives? Probably some of both. I know that is the case for me.
We all do it at times – that is the whole point. God wants to forgive and heal each of us of our sinful habits to help us to do a better job of following Him. Each day, He cleanses us as we confess our sins and shortcomings, and He fills us with His presence through the power of the Holy Spirit. Out of cleansed lips, we are now free to bless and pray for others as we walk along on our spiritual journey.
Reflection
What comes out of my lips? How does this reflect what is truly in my heart?
Lord, scrub our hearts of impure thoughts and forgive us of all of our sinful motives and actions. We confess these to You and claim your forgiveness and healing through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Help us to forgive and bless others, in return. May You be glorified today because of your great love, grace, and patience with us – we thank You and praise You! In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
May we all enjoy clean lips and a forgiven, clean slate as we walk in the power of God today!
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10 (NIV)
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 