“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’ And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 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.’ 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. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.’ Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’” Isaiah 6:1-8.
“Above it [God’s throne] stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.” Isaiah 6:2.
The seraphim hovered over God’s throne in a vertical position, as if standing. With two wings they covered their face, a posture of reverence toward a holy God; an example to all of us and one which all men will one day assume before God.
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11.
With two wings the seraphim covered his feet, or body perhaps waist down as some suggest. This certainly reminds the Christian of the need to have a pure walk before God and especially as we come boldly before the throne of grace.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” 1 John 1:9-10.
The Christian must keep short accounts with God and confess their sin as soon as they become aware of it.
“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22.
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16.
As mankind is humbled in the presence of an infinitely holy God so it is with the seraphim who covers his feet with his wings being aware that even the holiness of angels is nothing in comparison to God.
“Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? If He puts no trust in His servants, if He charges His angels with error, how much more those who dwell in houses of clay [flesh and blood], whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before a moth?” Job 4:17-19.
The seraphim above the throne of God, or beside it, or in front of it, as some say, cover their faces with two wings, their feet with two wings and with two they flew. These beings not only hovered near to God, flight would also indicate that they were ever ready to do His bidding.
The name seraph is difficult to define, seraph means to burn, perhaps meaning that seraphim have a dazzling brightness to them. These beings are not cherubim, nor are they the same creatures described in Ezekiel chapters one and ten.
It is my opinion that these are the very same living beings which we read of in Revelation chapter four.
“Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’” Revelation 4:6-8.
If indeed, these are the same seraphim it would indicate that from the time of Isaiah to the time of the event shown above, a period of about two thousand seven hundred years will have elapsed.
If this is so, it must be understood that these seraphim are not just some sort of a recording; rather they are honestly constantly and continually amazed at the personality and holiness of the living God.
“And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’” Isaiah 6:3.
Always holy three times, Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit, the entire Godhead is glorified when the seraphim cry out. The whole earth is full of His glory.
“The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad! Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. A fire goes before Him, and burns up His enemies round about. His lightnings light the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory.” Psalm 97:1-6.
“The Lord is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, who dwells on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?” Psalm 113:4-6.
The whole earth is full of the glory of the Creator, yet men rob Him by attributing the complexities God has built into the marvelous cosmos to evolution, random selection – time, plus chance, plus the impersonal.
These are willfully blind men who “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” stumbling toward a Christless grave and taking many people who foolishly trust them along with them.
“And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.” Isaiah 6:4.
The smoke is the Shekinah glory of the Lord. This smoke also filled the temple when King Solomon dedicated it after its completion, 1 Kings 8:10-11. The tabernacle in the wilderness was also filled when it was dedicated by Moses.
“Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:34-35.
“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.
This is the response of any man or woman who suddenly realizes that they are standing in the presence of God.
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6.
“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken…” Luke 5:8-9.
“For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts”, how can we reconcile this with the fact that no man can see God and live?
“…until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing [Jesus’ return to earth], which He [God the Father] will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:14b-16.
“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son [Jesus], who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” John 1:18.
It is generally agreed that the person seen on the throne in this passage in Isaiah six is actually God the Son before He came to earth in the form of a man. And, in fact, every time there was a meeting between God and man on this earth it was always Jesus Christ.
“Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, “Show us the Father”?’” John 14:9.
“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” Hebrews 1:1-3.
The response of the prophet to this vision of God was one of great anguish and the acknowledgement of his sin; as a result his sin was purged (atoned for).
“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. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.’ Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’” Isaiah 6:6-8.
The last question in this passage, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” is the second time that the Trinity is seen as being involved here.
Verse 3 glorifies the Godhead and suggests their presence when the seraphim calls out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”
And verse 8 when the Lord asks “who will go for Us?” speaks of the plurality of the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Isaiah stood before God and answered the call to service, and his life was never the same afterward.
High and Lifted Up, Part 2, Glory taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 5-11-16, updated on 9-17-19.
Scripture taken from the New King James version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.