Just turned in a 12 page exegesis on Isaiah
6:1-7. Maybe it will be good enough to let you read it some day. Maybe
it won't. Either way, it was a useful exercise. I would rather write 10
exegesis papers in a semester than 1 research paper. I just like digging
through the Scripture and picking things apart to find nuggets. I will
share one with you.
"God sent one of the Seraphim to take a burning
coal from the altar. These coals were used to burn sacrifices for sin
offerings. What happened next is so profound as to be a microcosm of the
entire canon of Scripture. The angelic being placed the burning ember
on Isaiah’s mouth and said “Your guilt is taken away, and your sin is
atoned for”.
The original audience obviously did not understand
the full significance of this strange ceremony. However, through the
eyes of the New Testament, we can see exactly what was happening. God
was showing Isaiah that he absolutely could not save himself. His only
hope was for God to go to the altar and apply the cleansing power to his
life. Through the Seraphim, God transformed the instrument of death – a
burning coal – into the instrument of life. Animals were bound and
placed upon the fiery altar. By the altar’s fire, Isaiah’s bonds were
loosed. These are all parallels to what Christ did for me at Golgotha. I
was completely unable to save myself. My only hope was for God to go to
the cross and apply its cleansing power to my life. Through His son, God
transformed the instrument of death – a Roman crucifix – into the
instrument of life. Jesus was bound and hung upon a cruel cross. By His
death upon that cross, my bonds were loosed."
Anyway...good night.
