Celebrate the Holiness of God
The prophet Isaiah has a dream, a vision. He sees into heaven. God sits on his throne over the temple. Six-winged angels, seraphim, hover above him. They sing out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. Earth fills with his glory.”
As their voices ring out, the temple shakes and fills with smoke.
What’s Isaiah do? He shakes in fear. “Woe is me.” He trembles before God because he knows he is unworthy. So unworthy. The sight of the Lord God Almighty overwhelms him. He becomes undone.
If Isaiah would cower before God with a feeling of complete unworthiness, how much more will we?
Yet God offers Isaiah grace and takes away the guilt of his sin. Then God sends Isaiah on a mission.
Does the words of the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy,” sound familiar?
It also appears in Revelation 4:8. Again, six-winged creatures hover around God. They worship him 24/7, saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.”
Three Times for Emphasis
These are the only two passages in the Bible that repeat the word holy three times. Saying that God is holy isn’t enough. Saying that he’s holy, very holy still falls short. Instead the Bible records that God is “Holy, holy, holy.”
Bible scholars tell us that the repetition of three gives emphasis. Today, it would be like bold, italic, and underlined all at the same time. God’s holiness is that significant.
We may gloss over the first holy and even miss it twice, but it’s hard to overlook it when we hear it three times.
The Lord God Almighty is holy, holy, holy. He was, and is, and is to come.
Let’s join the heavenly beings who worship God as holy, holy, holy.
God deserves our praise, and we will do well to offer it, always and forever.
Our Lord God is holy, holy, holy.
[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Isaiah 5-7, and today’s post is on Isaiah 6:3.]
Read more about the book of Isaiah in For Unto Us: 40 Prophetic Insights About Jesus, Justice, and Gentiles from the Prophet Isaiah available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.