High and Lifted Up

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.” ESV Isaiah 6:1

The reign of Uzziah was marked by an extended period of prosperity, economic development and military strength. Under his leadership, Judah built cities among the Philistines, built towers in the wilderness and hewed cisterns across the kingdom. Vineyards dressed the hill country and Uzziah himself had many cattle. He also commanded a great army of accomplished warriors in excess of 300,000 men (2 Chronicles 26:6-15). Life was good.

Even so, the people of this era were turning their backs on God and headed towards spiritual bankruptcy. In his latter years, even Uzziah had been blinded by pride and turned his back on God. Now he was dead. And it’s here that Isaiah gets his call to the ministry. The King is dead and the nation is headed into moral decline. Talk about timing.

What was Isaiah thinking? What was going through his mind? Was Isaiah distraught? The King was dead; perhaps he was grieving. Was he depressed as he looked around at moral the decline in his community? Was Isaiah anxious over who would lead the country or how the moral decline would be reversed? The text does not give us a definitive answer to any of these questions. But it does give us a picture of faith and hope in an eternal King.

Your imagination does not have to run very far in order to conjure up a bleak scenario in Isaiah’s world. But the same uncertainties and frailties of Isaiah’s time are with us still today. Truth is, we all wonder when (not if) another terrorist attack will occur on American soil. We all wonder when (not if) some bit of unsettling news will rattle our financial fortunes. We all, for different reasons, fear one political candidate over another. Our world is just as frail as Isaiah’s.

But Isaiah caught a vision of our eternal God. And guess what? Even in Isaiah’s bleak world, God was still sitting upon his throne. The king was dead, but THE King was alive! Not just alive and on the throne, but “high and lifted up” in an exalted position of authority; ruler of heaven and earth. And His majesty was such that even the train of His robe filled the temple that Isaiah saw. Yes, the King of all creation was reigning still (even in Isaiah’s uncertain world) and He still reigns today.

It’s easy to understand why depression, anxiety and worry creep into our lives. Our world is an uncertain place and we live in uncertain times. Each day we are reminded either by personal loss or by the news that life is short and that our times are uncertain. When will the next roadside bomb claim the life of a soldier? Which bridge will be the next to fall and claim innocent life? When will the medical diagnosis of a loved one be bleak? Not if, but when.

When the news hits home, will you hang your head in defeat or will you look up and catch a vision of the all powerful Lord, majestically sitting on His eternal throne? His reign is forever; His authority is forever; He will forever be “high and lifted up.”