What is the coolest thing you have ever seen? An eclipse of the sun? The Grand Canyon? An awesome sports stadium? Take those amazing sights and multiply them times infinity and you’ll get close to the awesomeness of what Isaiah saw. He saw God! Actually, he saw a vision of God—a dreamlike picture of what God is like. These visions, though strange sometimes, are like symbols or little clues that help us understand how amazing God is. Isaiah’s vision of God was awesome. He saw the Lord sitting on a humongous throne that was lifted high in the air. God was wearing a kingly robe so long that just the hem of it filled a huge temple about twenty stories high. Why was God’s robe so long in this vision? His robe was far longer than any earthly king’s robe to show he is much more powerful and glorious than any other ruler. What an awesome King.

But there was more to the vision. Above God were six-winged angels called seraphim. With two of their wings, they flew; with the other four, they covered their faces and feet. They covered themselves from head to toe because God was too holy to see. As they flew above him, they called out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isa. 6:3). When Isaiah saw this holy King, he cried out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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!” (6:5). He recognized that God alone was perfectly holy (that’s why the angels said “holy” three times). He also realized he wasn’t holy, which terrified him. He was a sinner. His unclean lips were just one part of his unclean self. He needed a Savior ASAP!

But there was even more to the vision. And this part is super important because it showed how God saved a sinner like Isaiah. A seraph swooped down, grabbed a burning coal from the altar, touched Isaiah’s mouth, and said, “Your guilt is taken away and your sin completely covered” (see 6:7). This strange picture shows a wonderful truth. Only God has the power to take away guilt and sin and make sinners holy. Our gracious and holy God did this for Isaiah. And he can do it for you.