Title: A Refining Fire
Author: Randy Tomko
Date:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:07 — 30.9MB)
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Just as Isaiah proclaims “…I am a man of unclean lips,” so also do we. But also, just as the burning coal refined the prophet, so can we submit to that same holy refining.
Will we do so? Will we turn our gaze away from the world and towards the One who heals us, who melts away the impurities in our lives? Will we allow His presence to be our good?
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphim[a] were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies;
his glory fills the whole earth.4 The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said:
Woe is me for I am ruined[b]
because I am a man of unclean lips
and live among a people of unclean lips,
and because my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of Armies.6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said:
Now that this has touched your lips,
your iniquity is removed
and your sin is atoned for.Isaiah 6:1-7 (CSB)
1 God is indeed good to Israel,
to the pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my steps nearly went astray.
3 For I envied the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.4 They have an easy time until they die,[a]
and their bodies are well fed.[b]
5 They are not in trouble like others;
they are not afflicted like most people.
6 Therefore, pride is their necklace,
and violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes bulge out from fatness;
the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
8 They mock, and they speak maliciously;
they arrogantly threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues strut across the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn to them[c]
and drink in their overflowing words.[d]
11 The wicked say, “How can God know?
Does the Most High know everything?”
12 Look at them—the wicked!
They are always at ease,
and they increase their wealth.13 Did I purify my heart
and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?
14 For I am afflicted all day long
and punished every morning.
15 If I had decided to say these things aloud,
I would have betrayed your people.[e]
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it seemed hopeless[f]
17 until I entered God’s sanctuary.
Then I understood their destiny.
18 Indeed, you put them in slippery places;
you make them fall into ruin.
19 How suddenly they become a desolation!
They come to an end, swept away by terrors.
20 Like one waking from a dream,
Lord, when arising, you will despise their image.21 When I became embittered
and my innermost being[g] was wounded,
22 I was stupid and didn’t understand;
I was an unthinking animal toward you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me up in glory.[h]
25 Who do I have in heaven but you?
And I desire nothing on earth but you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength[i] of my heart,
my portion forever.
27 Those far from you will certainly perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, God’s presence is my good.
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
so I can tell about all you do.Psalm 73 (CSB)
