Isaiah 6:1–8
Holy, Holy, Holy
The big idea
A true sight of God's holiness undoes a man before it commissions him, and the order is never reversed.
Context you need before you preach it
"In the year that King Uzziah died" is not decoration. Uzziah reigned about fifty-two years; he was the political certainty of Isaiah's entire life, and he died a leper. The earthly throne is empty — and Isaiah sees the Lord on a throne that is not.
The threefold "holy" is the strongest form of emphasis available in Hebrew. No other divine attribute is repeated this way anywhere in scripture.
The outline
A throne that is still occupied
vv. 1–2Set the political context. When the stable thing dies, the vision is of a throne that was never vacant.
Holy, holy, holy
vv. 3–4Even the seraphim cover their faces. Creatures who have never sinned still shield themselves.
Woe is me — I am undone
v. 5His first response is not worship but disintegration, and specifically about his lips. Then note verse 6: the coal comes from the altar, the place of sacrifice.
Whom shall I send?
vv. 6–8Cleansing precedes commission, always in that order. And the call goes out as an open question rather than a direct order.
Application
- Beware a view of God that never undoes you. Isaiah's first reaction to holiness was not comfort.
- The coal comes from the altar. Cleansing is never self-administered.
- Notice that the commission is offered to a volunteer who has just been cleansed, not to a qualified candidate.
Where preachers go wrong on this text
- Jumping to "here am I, send me" as the application and skipping verses 5–7. That produces volunteers who have never been undone, which is a pastoral problem waiting to happen.
- Losing the Uzziah context, which is doing real work.
- Preaching holiness as mere moral purity. It carries the sense of otherness and separateness as much as sinlessness.
Other ways to structure it
The outline above is one defensible reading, not the only one. If it does not fit the congregation in front of you, these are legitimate alternatives:
- Preach it as a call-to-mission sermon, provided you keep verses 5–7 in full.
- Preach it as a sermon on the holiness of God, which most congregations rarely hear directly.
- Preach through verses 9–13 as well, which are bleak and almost never touched.
Illustrations that fit this text
Frequently asked questions
Why does Isaiah mention his lips specifically?
He is a prophet — words are his instrument and his offering. The uncleanness he becomes aware of is located precisely where his vocation lives, which is why the coal is applied there.
You have preached this passage before
Probably more than once, and the earlier version had a line in it you would want back. Transcribe your sermons and every text you have ever preached becomes searchable by reference — $19/month for as many as you preach, and the first one is free.
More from Isaiah
Preaching resources for Isaiah — themes, famous chapters, and background for the whole book.