Thursday

Related Verses
Isa. 5:20
20 Woe to those who call evil good, And good evil; Who put darkness for light, And light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, And sweet for bitter!

Isa. 22:1
1 The burden concerning the valley of vision: What then troubles you That all have gone up to the housetops?

John 12:38-41
38 That the word of the prophet Isaiah which he said might be fulfilled, “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this reason they could not believe, because again Isaiah said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, that they might not see with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn, and I will heal them.”
41 These things said Isaiah because he saw His glory and spoke concerning Him.

Lam. 5:19
19 You, O Jehovah, abide forever; Your throne is from generation to generation.

Rev. 22:1
1 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.

Ezek. 1:22, 26
22 And over the heads of the living creature there was the likeness of an expanse, like the sight of awesome crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.
26 And above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, like the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was One in appearance like a man, above it.

Related Reading
In spite of the rebellion, iniquities, and corruptions of Israel, His chosen and beloved people, Christ is still sitting on a high and lofty throne in glory (Isa. 6:1-4). These verses indicate that no matter what the situation might be on earth and regardless of the corruption and degradation among God’s people, Christ is still on the throne in His glory. 

When Isaiah looked at the situation among the children of Israel, he became very disappointed…It was at this point that the Lord brought him into a vision so that he could see the Lord of glory sitting on the throne (v. 1). The Lord seemed to say to Isaiah, “Don’t look down at the situation. If you look down, you will be disappointed. Look up at Me. I am still here. There may be nothing good there, but everything is good here. I am the unique good thing in the universe. Look at Me.” 

In the church life, we need to learn not to look down at the situation but to look up to Christ…The Christ whom we look up to is no longer on the cross; today Christ is on the throne. 

The people had become fallen, but Christ and His throne remained the same in His glory (v. 1a). On this earth, everything changes and fluctuates, but Christ remains the same today and forever (Heb. 13:8). (Life-study of Isaiah, pp. 35-36) 

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The train of Christ’s robe still filled the temple (Isa. 6:1b). Christ’s long robe signifies Christ’s splendor in His virtues…The splendor of Christ in His virtues is expressed mainly in and through His humanity. 

We may desire to go to heaven to see Christ’s glory in His divinity, but in Isaiah’s vision this Christ in glory is full of splendor in His human virtues. When we see Christ in His glory, we will see Him mainly in His humanity, which is full of virtues. All of Christ’s virtues are bright and shining, and this shining is His splendor. Christ’s glory is in His divinity, and His splendor is in His humanity. 

The vision of Christ in glory was seen by Isaiah in his depression (vv. 1, 5). Isaiah loved God and loved Israel, God’s elect. He realized by looking at Israel’s situation that there was not the expression of God’s glory. Israel had also violated God’s holiness and had become corrupt in human virtues. Furthermore, King Uzziah had died. Among the kings of Israel, he was a very good king, yet he died. In that kind of environment, Isaiah was surely very depressed. The Lord appeared to him in his depression. 

In Isaiah 6 Christ, the God-man, is seen in His divine glory. This God-man is unveiled in chapter 4 as the Shoot of Jehovah, the fruit of the earth, a canopy covering God’s interests in the entire universe, and the tabernacle overshadowing God’s elect to protect them from all kinds of troubles…In Isaiah 6 He is the God in glory sitting on the throne. Because He is wearing a long robe, He is also a man. This One is the God-man with divine glory and human virtues. 

His human virtues are signified by the long train of His robe. This indicates that the vision here pays more attention to Christ’s human virtues. The four Gospels show us Christ as God and as man, but they show us more concerning Christ as a man. In the Gospels we see more of Christ in His manhood and in His humanity than in His divinity. Christ is expressed in His human virtues much more than in His divine glory. However, His human virtues need the divine glory as a source. Christ is a person with the divine glory expressed in His human virtues. (Life-study of Isaiah, pp. 36-37, 235-236) 

Further Reading: Life-study of Isaiah, msgs. 6, 34