JEHOVAH OF HOSTS

Uzziah the king was dead! Fifty-two years under the rule of a godly monarch were over, 2 Kings 15.1-7; 2 Chron. 26.1-13. The last years of his reign had been blighted by his rash attempt to burn incense upon the altar of incense in the temple, the consequences of which he had to endure until the day of his death. Nevertheless, for the people it had been a lifetime of stable government under a ruler who ‘did that which was right in the sight of the Lord’, 2 Chron. 26. 4.

But uncertainty now clouds the horizon! What does the future hold? How will the new king exercise his rule? Isaiah, in the midst of the doubts and fears which must have crowded in, turns to the sanctuary and there sees a throne on which the Lord sat, high and lifted up with His train filling the temple. The seraphim engage in their unbroken song of ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts’, and what a title this is, Jehovah of Hosts. It speaks of One who has complete control over all; all the hosts of heaven; all the stars in the universe, all the hosts of earth, all the powers that are and all the circumstances through which we pass. Isaiah sees Him sitting ‘upon a throne’, denoting His authority, ‘high’, denoting His dignity, and ‘lifted up’, denoting His unique position above all others.

What lessons from this holy scene! In the midst of the changing tides of time He sits above them, holy in His majesty, reigning supreme, never having abdicated or been deposed, for ‘God is still on the throne’.

Isaiah’s sense of unworthiness does not halt the seraphim. The coals from the altar touch his lips and his words ‘Here am I, send me’, are a fit response to the question of the Lord, ‘Whom shall I send’, v. 8.

Today, midst the doubts and fears that grip our hearts, it behoves us to do as Isaiah did and to seek the sanctuary. There again we learn that all is still under His control. His throne is unshakeable and His purpose is unalterable. Lost in a sense of His holiness we realise that it is not a time for doubt and wavering, but rather a time to reaffirm our faith in His omnipotence and to cry, ‘Here I am, send me to whatever is Thy will’.