The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary

glory." 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, whilethe temple was filling with smoke.5Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined!Because I am a man of unclean lips,And I live among a people of unclean lips;For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."6:1 “King Uzziah’s” Uzziah (792-740 B.C.) was one of the godly kings of Judah (cf. II Kgs. 15:3; IIChr. 26:4-5). It is possible that Isaiah and Uzziah were related (“iah” may have been a royal ending tonames). Uzziah offered incense (which only Levitical priests could do) and was struck by God withleprosy (cf. II Kgs. 15:5; II Chr. 26:16-23).Uzziah is called Azariah in II Kings 15 and Uzziah in II Chronicles 26. Uzziah (“my strength isYHWH”) was a throne name or we learn from II Chr. 26:17 that the High Priest was also namedAzariah, so to avoid confusion II Chronicles uses Uzziah. It was a dark day for Isaiah and Judah whenhe died in 740 B.C. Judah had become stable under his reign.} “I saw the Lord” It was a common belief that to see God meant death (cf. Gen. 16:13; Exod. 33:20;I Kgs. 19:13; Isa. 6:5; John 1:18; 6:46; I Tim. 6:16). This was a very traumatic moment! Apparently,Isaiah saw God’s throne and dress, but not His face (cf. John 12:41).There are some OT texts that imply God can be seen.1. Moses, Exod. 33:11; Num. 12:8; Deut. 34:102. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders, Exod. 24:10-11The question has to do with the results of a sinful person in the presence of a holy God. It is a questionof intimate personal fellowship. Apparently sight is not the key, but a relationship initiated by God!} “the Lord” This is translated from the Hebrew word adonai (BDB 10, see Special Topic at 1:1).Some ancient Hebrew Manuscripts have “YHWH.”} “throne” YHWH depicted as sitting on a throne is first found in the vision of the heavenly court of IKgs. 22:19; Ps. 103:19; and later in Isa. 66:1. In Ezekiel 1 and 10 YHWH’s throne is His portablethrone chariot (i.e., away from the temple in Jerusalem).This is ANE anthropomorphic language (cf. v. 5; Rev. 4:2,3; 20:11, see N. T. Wright, TheLanguage and Imagery of the Bible, pp. 172-182).SPECIAL TOPIC: GOD DESCRIBED AS A HUMAN (ANTHROPOMORPHIC LANGUAGE)I. This type of language is very common in the OT (some examples)A. Physical body parts1. eyes – Gen. 1:4,31; 6:8; Exod. 33:17; Num. 14:14; Deut. 11:12; Zech. 4:102. hands – Exod. 15:17; Num. 11:23; Deut. 2:153. arm – Exod. 6:6; 15:16; Deut. 4:34; 5:15; 26:84. ears – Num. 11:18; I Sam. 8:21; II Kgs. 19:16; Ps. 5:1; 10:17; 18:65. face – Exod. 33:11; Num. 6:25; 12:8; Deut. 34:106. finger – Exod. 8:19; 31:18; Deut. 9:10; Ps. 8:37. voice – Gen. 3:8,10; Exod. 15:26; 19:19; Deut. 26:17; 27:108. feet – Exod. 24:10; Ezek. 43:788