Isaiah’s Glimpse of God’s Throne

 

Exposition: Verse by Verse THE DISPLAY OF GOD’S SUPREMACY ISA. 6:1 

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled

the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered

his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts:

the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house

was filled with smoke. 

Isaiah sets the historical scene with some crushing words in verse 1: “in the year that King Uzziah died.” While

he was not a great king by any stretch of the imagination, Uzziah was about the only good thing happening in a

country that was a spiritual disaster. He ruled for over fifty years (cf. 2 Chr. 26:3). {His death meant the loss of

hope, stability, and national security.}Q1 The death of Uzziah, however, is only the setup for what Isaiah saw

about God Himself in contrast to the deceased king. The eternality and sovereignty of the Lord (Isa. 6:1a).

We see God’s eternality clearly displayed in Isaiah 6:1 when Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on His throne.

{The contrast could not be clearer: the king is dead, but the Lord lives on. Uzziah’s reign ended, but the

Lord still reigns upon His throne—unfazed and unaffected by the affairs of men.}Q2 He sits on His throne u

nchanging, never beginning, and always existing. He is the living God, who existed centuries before He created

anything. He is the living God, who was there when ancient Egypt laid the first brick for the pyramids. He is

the living God, who was there when Socrates drank his poison. He is the living God, who was there when the

first shot of the Civil War was fired. And He is the living God ten trillion ages from now when all the pathetic

potshots against His reality will have vanished into oblivion like smoke in the wind. {The sovereignty of

God is displayed in two ways in Isaiah’s vision. First, Isaiah called God “the Lord.” The word in Hebrew is

Adonai and speaks to His authority, dominion, and power by which He rules all things. Second, God’s sovereignty

is pictured by His sitting on a throne.}Q3 No vision of heaven has ever portrayed God plowing a field or loading

a truck but always sitting on a throne. {A throne points to the absolute, undisputed dominion by which God

allows everything that comes to pass.}Q4 The Lord is never surprised, never caught off guard, always on time,

always in control. There is nothing that transpires in the universe except what He Himself allows, because

He is absolutely sovereign, and He sits on a lofty and majestic throne. The supremacy of the Lord (Isa. 6:1b).

As far as Isaiah could see, the royal robes of God filled every inch of the massive temple. The ground was

completely covered with His kingly robes. What do we make of this strange feature of Isaiah’s vision?

It simply means that the Lord is the most important person in the room. The Lord is matchless and supreme,

and it is His supremacy that keeps Isaiah from coming any closer! The splendor of the Lord (Isa. 6:2).

The scene Isaiah unfolds for us becomes increasingly unsettling, if not bizarre, as Isaiah saw others with

God at His throne. In the ancient Near East, many kings had an entourage around their throne, displaying

their splendor. The Lord also has an entourage around His throne, and Isaiah calls them seraphim.

The word “seraphim” means “the burning ones,” which tells us that they are fiery, dazzling, and even blinding

in appearance. {The primary role and function of the seraphim, however, was worship—to worship the Lord a

nd to revere Him.}Q5 Each possessed six wings, and with two of those wings, the seraphim covered their faces.

It was not out of shame or guilt. They were unable to look directly at the unfiltered majesty of God. His glory i

s too overwhelming even for the eyes of the angels. With two more wings the seraphim covered their feet.

The Lord is so majestic and supreme that they did not feel worthy to leave their feet exposed in His presence.

Finally, with two wings the seraphim flew, and they hovered in striking position ready to do the bidding of the King. 

The holiness of the Lord(Isa. 6:3a). While Isaiah said very little about the seraphim, it is clear they have wings and mouths—

wings to serve and do the bidding of the King, and mouths to proclaim His infinite worth. {And what they

proclaimed around the throne is one of the most jaw-dropping declarations ever made about God in the

pages of Scripture. Back-and-forth the seraphim proclaimed, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (vs. 3)!}Q6

The holiness of God stands out prominently in the threefold proclamation of the seraphim. And yet, what is

the holiness of God? We must understand that God’s holiness is not only His sinlessness or moral purity

but also His separateness and supremacy over everything that is not God. The word “holy” points to the

quality of being set apart and transcendent. God’s holiness, therefore, is His transcendence, His otherness,

His distinctness, and His matchless supremacy over all things. To state it another way: the very God-ness of God

makes Him separate from everything that is not God. The Lord is not holy because He keeps the rules; He is holy

because His very character defines the rules. God is in a class by Himself because He is supremely valuable in every way. 

The glory of the Lord (Isa. 6:3b-4). There are more lyrics to the song of the seraphim, who declare that all of the

earth is full of God’s glory. What is the glory of God? The word “glory” in Hebrew refers to a weight or something

that is heavy. Applied to a person, “glory” speaks of one whose qualities make them weighty—that is, a person of

distinction and importance. {Applied to God, it refers to the infinite weight and worth of God’s beauty and value

because of His innumerable perfections that make Him who He is (see lesson 1 for further discussion on God’s

glory).}Q7 The earth is filled with His glory in that creation bears a vivid witness to the uncreated God who

made it and brought it into being. Suddenly, Isaiah was awakened out of his captivated terror by a violent s

haking (vs. 4). The walls and beams were moving, and the temple filled with smoke. The ominous signs indicate

that Isaiah was invited to see in this vision nothing less than a scene of judgment and doom for the nation of Israel.

The point of the scene, however, is that the power Isaiah needed to sustain him for the mission to which he was

about to be called was a majestic vision of God, matchless and supreme. That is what would supply the courage

and perseverance he needed to preach to a people that was spiritually blind and unresponsive (cf. vss. 9-10). 

THE DESPAIR OVER MAN’S DEPRAVITY 

5 Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 

6 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: 

7 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. 

If you multiply by ten thousand the discomfort one would feel after showing up underdressed for a party, you

would have some idea of what Isaiah felt when he encountered the holiness of God. Isaiah was not merely

underdressed for a party, he was unclean before the Holy One, and that experience changed his life forever.

In verses 5-7, Isaiah’s response to the majesty of God comes in three parts. 

The ruin (Isa. 6:5a). {In response to God’s holiness, Isaiah declared that he was ruined.}Q8 That piercing utterance proclaimed

Isaiah’s self-condemnation. The response of “woe” was a cry of despair as Isaiah knew that his condemnation

was well deserved. The one who had been pronouncing woes upon other people for their sin (cf. chap. 5) now

had to pronounce a woe upon himself for his sins. 

The reason (Isa. 6:5b). {Isaiah’s despair resulted from his defiled state.}Q9 He referred to himself as a man with unclean lips, who lived

among a people with unclean lips. That referred not just to their speech but to their unclean hearts. In an instant,

whatever pretensions Isaiah may have had about himself before this vision had all been stripped away by the

piercing, penetrating power of God’s radiant being. That is what Isaiah meant at the end of verse 5 when he

proclaimed that his eyes had seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Just seeing the blazing splendor of the holiness

of God—even if it was through squinted eyes—exposed in an instant Isaiah’s own comparative unworthiness. I

saiah’s crippling despair and fear over his own sin, however, were about to be relieved.

The restoration (Isa. 6:6-7). Just when Isaiah’s despair was at its apex, the mercy of God intervened in a dramatic

way. The desperate cry of Isaiah was pleasing to the Lord, and in response He sent one of the seraphim to burn

Isaiah’s lips with a hot coal from the altar. That was a vivid illustration for Isaiah that all his sins and iniquities

had been purified by the cleansing mercy of the Holy One! 

THE DESCRIPTION OF ISAIAH’S MINISTRY 

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I;

send me. 

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 

10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes,

and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 

11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses

without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 

12 And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 

Suddenly the scene takes a surprising turn. With his deepest fears over his sin relieved, Isaiah stood in the

smoke-filled palace as a recipient of God’s atoning mercy. For the first time, the One who sits on the throne

spoke, asking the question, “Whom shall I send?” (vs. 8). The Lord was recruiting for a mission. And while

the details of that mission are left unstated, the ominous mood of the scene hints at a mission of preaching

judgment. As it turns out, that is precisely what happened. Uncertain of the exact details (or potential danger)

of this mission, Isaiah responded immediately to the call, “Here am I; send me.” 

{As heroic and commendable as Isaiah’s eagerness was, the people to whom he was being sent to preach, a

s a whole, would reject, ignore, and defy his message.}Q10 In verses 9-10, God explained that Isaiah’s audience

would be dull in heart, deaf in the ears, and blind in the eyes—being virtually unresponsive to his preaching.

Isaiah did not miss the significance of that. He asked in verse 11, “How long?” That is, how long would the

blindness last? How long would Israel defy and reject the call to repent and trust in God alone? The answer i

n verses 11-12 is frightening and sad—Israel would reject and defy the Lord until invaders arrived, torched

the cities, and enslaved the people. And in 586 B.C. (over 150 years after Isaiah’s vision), the armies of Babylon

stormed the gates and leveled the city of Jerusalem to the ground. 

THE DEPICTION OF ISRAEL’S DELIVERANCE 13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and

shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy

seed shall be the substance thereof. 

The chapter does not end entirely in despair, however. Verse 13 reveals that in the distant future a remnant of

Jews would, in fact, return. Despite the invasion, war, enslavement, and captivity that was coming in the future,

a remnant would be spared and would one day embrace their Messiah and receive the promised kingdom. 

The main theological lesson of Isaiah 6 is the matchless supremacy of God over all things. 

First, God is supreme over all kings and rulers. Kings, presidents, and tyrants will rise and fall, but it is God who

reigns over them and governs their lives (cf. Prov. 21:1). 

Second, God is supreme over all angelic beings. The seraphim are mighty and majestic (cf. Isa. 6:2-3), but they

could not even bring themselves to look directly at the blinding glory and splendor of the Holy One. 

Third, God is infinitely supreme over all creation. As the infinite, eternal, uncreated God, He is “holy, holy, holy.” 

Fourth, God is supreme over all human history. That is clear from Isaiah 6:9-13, where God revealed what would

happen to His people Israel in the future. 

Fifth, God is supreme over human sin and depravity. That is seen in the dramatic gesture of the seraphim touching

Isaiah’s lips with the burning coal. He was overwhelmed and crushed by his own sin, and it was declared to him

that his sin was taken away (vs. 7). 

Isaiah 6 is one of the great chapters of the Bible. It shows the Lord in all His splendor, demonstrating His power

nd majesty as He sits on His throne. This scene shows the Lord’s interaction with His ethereal entourage. Most

importantly for us, we see that we can have a relationship with the Holy One by having our sins forgiven through

the Lord’s mercy. —Jerod A. Gilcher

Union Gospel Press, LifeStone | . Bible Expositor and Illuminator: Winter Quarter | December 2025, January,

February 2026 | Volume 98 | Number 1 (pp. 212-220). LifeStone | Union Gospel Press. Kindle Edition.