In the Year King Uzziah Died (January 2021 Update)
Those ominous words come from Isaiah 6:1. For Isaiah and the nation of Israel, the death of King Uzziah was a national and a spiritual tragedy. It is difficult for us to imagine what the death of Uzziah meant for Israel and Isaiah. Uzziah had served as King of Judah for 52 years from the time he was just 16 years old! He was the best and most popular king since King Solomon. His rule had meant peace and prosperity for Israel. But now everyone was concerned about what would happen to Israel, especially since the newest superpower, Assyria, was threatening invasion. It appeared that Israel would fall apart. It was a time of great national crisis. But it was also a time of great personal crisis for many, including Isaiah. Uzziah was the only King that Isaiah had known in his life.
But it was also a time of spiritual crisis. This beloved leader, in his final days, had overstepped his power. He wanted to be named the High Priest as well as King. He was warned not to do so, but he entered into the Temple and to offer the holy incense. The Lord struck him with leprosy because of his great sin. And Uzziah had to leave Jerusalem and live in seclusion until the day of his death (2 Kings 15). The actual penalty for violating the sacred place of the temple was death (Numbers 18:7). Instead, God struck Uzziah with leprosy, a disease that has been described as a living death. Uzziah had done great things for Israel but, in the end, his pride and arrogance lead him to a disgraceful life and a lonely death.
First, in his distress, Isaiah went into the temple and what he saw there was that God was still seated on the throne (Isaiah 6:1)! No matter how tragic things appear on earth, God is still seated on the throne. And he also noticed that “the train of His robe filled the temple.” This indicates the majesty of God. Isaiah sees God seated like a King ruling over all. He not only saw God “seated” on His throne; he saw that God’s “train filled the temple.” These are scenes that portray the majesty of a Holy God. God is King and He rules over all that happens in the world. The occasion for Isaiah’s vision was the death of King Uzziah. With the death of Uzziah, the destiny of the nation of Israel was in question and Isaiah was concerned. But when Isaiah “saw the Lord high and lifted up,” he was reminded that – no matter what was happening on earth – even if evil and chaos might reign for a while on the earth – a thrice holy God was still seated on the throne. In difficult times, we need to take time to go into the temple and remember that our majestic God is still seated on the throne.
The past few months have been difficult ones for everyone. The events of the past week probably leave us all wondering what the future will hold. The truth is, only the Lord knows. In fact, that is a comforting truth. Not only does the Lord know what will happen, He was not surprised by any of the events of the last few months that have surprised all of us. He was in control and He will continue to be in control. But what should be our response? Look at Isaiah’s experience in Isaiah 6.
The second thing Isaiah saw was the seraphim covering their faces and their feet and crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” In his distress over the crisis in his nation, Isaiah needed a new vision of a Holy God. The word “Holy” in Hebrew has two aspects. Literally, it means “set apart.” God’s holiness means that He is set apart from everything in creation – He is unique. Second, it means purity, especially moral purity. Many passages also proclaim that because God is holy, that there is none like Him. He is pure righteousness, and He is separate from all His creation – He is Holy! Isaiah saw that God, in His holiness punished sin, even in the life of His favored king, Uzziah. He also saw that even though the nation might become immoral, God would remain holy. In times of moral crises, we need to see that we have a thrice holy God whose glory still fills the earth!
Third, in Isaiah 6:4, Isaiah saw that God was awesome in holiness. Exodus 15:11 declares, “Who is like you among the gods, O LORD— glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?” Awesome means to inspire awe, which is fear mingled with admiration. Isaiah says, “And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.” His vision of God’s awesome holiness is not unique. We see the same thing in Exodus 19:18 where Mt. Sinai was shaken and covered with smoke and fire and the people were warned not to come near or to touch the mountain. God’s holiness is awesomely fearful. When we see God’s awesome holiness, we fear Him – not evil men.
Fourth, we see that God’s holiness is convicting. When people truly see the holiness of God, they see their own unholiness as Isaiah did in Isaiah 6:5. Isaiah cried out, ““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 my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” The word “undone” is difficult to translate but it basically means “I am falling to pieces.” Everything I thought about myself is coming apart. I believed the world was bad and sinful but now I see that I am too. Isaiah had, perhaps rightly, condemned the actions of others, but now he saw that God condemned his own “unclean lips.” Even what Isaiah said about others was under God’s holy judgment! And this judgment applied to all – “for I live among a “people of unclean lips!” In the face of a holy God, we are all unholy. Revelation 15:4 says, “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy….” J. C. Ryle said, “I am convinced that the first step towards attaining a higher standard of holiness is to realize more fully the amazing sinfulness of sin.” Seeing God’s holiness causes us to stop pointing the finger at the sins of others and start looking at ourselves. God’s Holiness is convicting.
God’s holiness also provokes fear in us because we are not holy like Him. Whenever people in the Bible saw the LORD in His awesome holiness, they trembled with fear (Isaiah 6:5; Revelation 1:17). Those moments made people realize how absolutely unholy they truly were because of sin. Charles Spurgeon said, “I believe the holier a man becomes, the more he mourns over the unholiness which remains in him.” God’s holiness is convicting!
Fifth, the holiness of God is cleansing. In Isaiah 6:6-7, one of the seraphim takes a hot coal from the altar and touches the mouth of Isaiah and says, “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” It is God’s holiness, not ours, that cleanses us. We have no righteousness in ourselves to cleanse ourselves. Cleansing comes when we allow a holy God to cleanse us from our sin.
This is most clear in the cross of Jesus. In His grace and mercy, God sent the seraphim to cleanse the unclean lips of Isaiah. But it was only a temporary cleansing and it was only a cleansing for one man – Isaiah. But, in His grace and mercy, God sent His only son into the world to be the “propitiation” for all our sins. Jesus, the sinless, holy Son of God, took on our sin so that we might be holy. One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” It is the holiness of Jesus cleanses us from all our sin.
And this is true, not only about our salvation – it is also true about our sanctification. We do not become holy by trying to be more holy. We become holy by spending time with the Holy One – by spending time with Jesus. Charles Spurgeon reminds us: “If you think you can walk in holiness without keeping up perpetual fellowship with Christ, you have made a great mistake. If you would be holy, you must live close to Jesus.” James H. Aughey says the same, “Remember that holiness is not the way to Christ, but Christ is the way to holiness.” He is holy – we are not. Any attempt to be holy apart from abiding in Him will result in a false, hypocritical holiness that is not pleasing to God. We are cleansed only by the holiness of a Holy God.
Finally, the Holiness of God motivates us to serve Him. In Isaiah 6:8, Isaiah says, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
But then God gives Isaiah the impossible task of faithfully sharing God’s Word with people even though they will not hear. And Isaiah asks the obvious question, “How long, O Lord?” God answered – until the land is utterly desolate and the cut down stump is beginning to bud new life. It is a difficult task – an impossible task! But it will yield fruit because a Holy God will bring about the change. We just need to be faithful. We just need to be holy. Elizabeth Elliot reminds us: “Holiness has never been the driving force of the majority.” We may be alone in our task, but we will be strengthened by a holy God.
What are the implications of God’s holiness for us and our holiness? First, God tells us to “Be Holy for I am Holy.” We are to reflect His holiness in our lives. Ours is not, and never will be, perfect and pure like His, but we are called to be Holy because He is Holy.
Second, we need to be holy because our behavior is our testimony. In 1 Peter 2:9-10, Peter tells us that we are a holy nation: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” In verses 11-12, Peter “begs” believers to live holy lifestyles: “having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” Our behavior is our testimony about the holy God we serve.
Third, we must understand that our Sin affects our Worship. In Matthew 5 :21-26, Jesus tells us that our worship is not acceptable to God if we are treating others in a sinful manner. He says that you are to “leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Psalm 24:3-4 asks an important question: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” Sin affects our worship.
Fourth, Our Sin affects our Prayers. In Isaiah 59:1-2, we are told: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” 1 Peter 3:7 has specific instructions for husbands: “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.” We must be holy because sin affects our prayers.
Finally, we must be holy because God will Judge His People. Deuteronomy 32:36-39 and Hebrews 10:30 remind us that “The Lord will judge His people.” In 1 Peter 4:17, Peter reminds us that God’s judgment begins with the people of God: “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” This judgment is not for salvation, but it does include discipline. In fact, Hebrews 12:3-12 reminds us that God will discipline His children. He wants us to be holy as He is holy, and He will discipline His children who are not living holy lives.
We are living in difficult times – times that truly “try men’s hearts.” But what should we do as believers? We need to go into the temple and get a vision of a Holy God. We need to repent of our own sinfulness and be cleansed by Him so that we can be useful to Him and His Kingdom.
Teaching Ministry …
I think I have never worked harder or more than I have in the last 9 months! The quarantine affected everything for us, but it especially affected my time and my work. Because of the quarantine, I have not been able to teach any classes in class. That meant converting everything to online formats. That has meant hours of typing all my lectures, having them translated into Russian and Ukrainian and then reformatting all the new courses online. And then it meant grading the enormous amounts of work that the online format requires! But what a blessing to have been able to teach all my normal classes (plus one additional when an American professor could not travel here due to COVID) in a year that has been anything but normal!
I am also grateful for your support too. We received a number of gifts that we think will cover all the translation costs. We are still working on the last class and I haven’t seen the bill yet, but I think we should have enough finances now to cover everything. And I have been greatly blessed to have worked with so many Ukrainians in translating and helping me teach these classes! My first class of 2021 just began this week. We are studying about the nature of Revelation and about the nature of God. It has been nearly 20 years since I taught these sections of theology, and it has been a joy to revise these materials.
In preparation, I also read a number of books that I had been wanting to read. Preparing for the classes “forced” me to read them! I am especially grateful for Steve Lawson’s book, Show Me Your Glory. It is one of the best books I have ever read about the attributes of God. I also would recommend Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves. Reeves gave me some very helpful insights to understanding the trinity from eternity. I would highly recommend both of these books to you!
Family Times …
The girls are really growing fast – Kristina will be 7 years old in a few days and she has not only grown physically this last year but also as a person. We are praying for both girls as they continue to grow up.
Teaching Nadia and Kristina at home continues to be a real blessing. They are now both reading English and Russian without any difficulties. And they can read a lot of Ukrainian too. I wish I could grasp things as quickly as they do. They are amazingly curious about everything and they are often creating their own “experiments” to see how everything works. Both girls have learned to pick out songs on the piano – we need to get them lessons soon so they can really learn piano. And they love American History. Daniel Boone is their new hero as we have been watching Fess Parker and the old Daniel Boone TV series.
In addition to studies, we have had time to celebrate 2 Christmases (December 25 and January 7) and one New Year. The celebrations here are not as elaborate but they do have more emphasis on spending time with family and enjoying lots of tasty dishes. And we like that! We had our own New Year’s Eve celebration at home complete with costumes and dancing! We all loved it!
We also enjoyed a very special time of Christmas worship with our church family on January 6th (Christmas Eve here). We also were able to see the Nutcracker Ballet and another Christmas drama. We love going to the ballet here – especially since the tickets are so low. Our whole family can go for under $20 total!
And, even with the colder than normal temperatures, we have had fun seeing the lights and enjoying the festive atmosphere. And the girls also learned how to ice skate this year. After my class, we are hoping to go skiing again. They learned to ski last year and are eagerly awaiting another time on the skis.
Health Issues …
My health has really improved. Blood pressure issues and heart issues and lung seem to be almost completely gone. My colon issues are greatly improved too but I’m still getting treatments for this. I’m now down from over 30 medicines a day to just 3! I’m not out of the woods completely but I certainly feel a lot better. Thanks for praying for my health.
Finances …
We continue to be blessed by your giving. Whenever we have had needs this past year, God has placed the burden on someone’s heart and all our needs have been provided for! The amazing thing is that each provision seems to come from different people! And all of this during a time when many in America are struggling with work layoffs and business shutdowns. Yet God’s people have continued to help us to minister here. We are eternally grateful!!!
Pray for Ukraine …
We continue to ask that you remember to pray for the nation of Ukraine. The country is stable now and, except for the on-going war in the East, most things have returned to normal. But please remember to pray for Ukraine. Soldiers still die every week and people in the east are displaced by the ongoing war. And we all continue to wonder if Putin will decide to resume the conflict on a greater scale. Most of all, pray for our chaplains and students serving there, ministering to soldiers, refugees and churches in the war-torn area.
But, honestly, our greatest concern over the last few months has not been for Ukraine but for the United States. We are heartbroken over the election and over the events surrounding it. We are praying for America as are many evangelicals here in Ukraine. Most Ukrainians realize that American missionaries have been one of the biggest helps in bringing the gospel to post-Soviet Ukraine. Many realize that – as America goes, so goes much of the world. That is especially true for missionaries, not only in Ukraine, but around the world. Without a strong America, it would be very difficult for missionaries around the world to continue their work. So, we pray for the US – because we love America and because we need America to continue to be the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya, Kristina and Nadia
Teaching Resources International 