A Call To Duty
Memorial Day Message
Is 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here [am] I; send me.
It is gratitude that prompted an old man to visit an old broken pier on the eastern seacoast of Florida. Every Friday night, until his death in 1973, he would return, walking slowly and slightly stooped with a large bucket of shrimp. The sea gulls would flock to this old man, and he would feed them from his bucket. Many years before, in October, 1942, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission in a B-17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea.
But there was an unexpected detour which would hurl Captain Eddie into the most harrowing adventure of his life.
Somewhere over the South Pacific the Flying Fortress became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran dangerously low, so the men ditched their plane in the ocean...
For nearly a month Captain Eddie and his companions would fight the water, and the weather, and the scorching sun. They spent many sleepless nights recoiling as giant sharks rammed their rafts. The largest raft was nine by five. The biggest shark...ten feet long.
But of all their enemies at sea, one proved most formidable: starvation. Eight days out, their rations were long gone or destroyed by the salt water. It would take a miracle to sustain them. And a miracle occurred.
In Captain Eddie's own words, "Cherry, that was the B-17 pilot, Captain William Cherry, 'read the service that afternoon, and we finished with a prayer for deliverance and a hymn of praise. There was some talk, but it tapered off in the oppressive heat. With my hat pulled down over my eyes to keep out some of the glare, I dozed off.
Now this is still Captain Rickenbacker talking...'something landed on my head. I knew that it was a sea gull. I don't know how I knew, I just knew. Everyone else knew too. No one said a word, but peering out from under my hat brim without moving my head, I could see the expression on their faces. They were staring at that gull. The gull meant food...if I could catch it.
And the rest, as they say, is history. Captain Eddie caught the gull. Its flesh was eaten. Its intestines were used for bait to catch fish. The survivors were sustained and their hopes renewed because a lone sea gull, uncharacteristically hundreds of miles from land, offered itself as a sacrifice. You know that Captain Eddie made it.
And now you also know...that he never forgot. Because every Friday evening, about sunset...on a lonely stretch along the eastern Florida seacoast...you could see an old man walking...white-haired, bushy-eyebrowed, slightly bent. His bucket filled with shrimp was to feed the gulls...to remember that one which, on a day long past, gave itself without a struggle...like manna in the wilderness.
I) A Day of Rememberance
Memorial Day was originally started right after the Civil War as a remembrance for those who had given their lives in service in that great conflict. It was originally known as Decoration Day.
Years later, after WWI, the observance was expanded to include the war dead from all wars in which the US was involved. The name "Memorial Day" was originally used in 1882, but wasn't used widely until just after WWII, then became Federal Law in 1967. It was originally held in April, then on May 30th, then ended up being the last Monday in May when the Federal government changed it and four other Monday holidays—President's Day, Columbus Day and Veteran's Day—to make long weekends.
It is right and proper that we remember our war dead this holiday weekend. Those who paid the ultimate price—paying with their lives—we too often take for granted and too often forget.
Looking back through the corridors of time, we think of the sacrifices made at Valley Forge, where many died of starvation; in the Civil War where many God fearing people on both sides of the conflict died; World War I, which was called the war to end all wars, with the men that died from both gunfire and in dogfights over Europe and also that horrible death from mustard gas; WWII, which was incredible in it's scope of destruction and in the loss of life from Normandy to Midway to the Philippines and more; the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War and more recently conflicts in Iraq. War is inevitable and will continue to occur until Jesus sits on the throne of David in Jerusalem.
These conflicts, and many others that our great country has been involved in, have cost our families much grief and despair but have secured and continued our freedom that we hold so dear.
This Memorial Day, wave a flag and say a prayer of thanks for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
II) God's Memorial Chapter
God also shows us those that are worthy of remembrance in Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 is often called "God's Hall of Fame", and includes such people of note as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, David and more.
Just as in any conflict, there are also those that are unnamed that are mentioned by the means by which they suffered and died.
Heb 11:36-38
36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented--
38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. (NKJ)
One in particular is Isaiah, whom Justin Martyr identified as the one that was "sawn asunder", is an example of a soldier called to duty—and a tough duty it was.
III) God's Calling
Background
If you read the five chapters prior to Isaiah 6, you would see that God is not just a little miffed at Israel, He is very angry.
In Isaiah 5, you can see from the imagery that God had given Israel every possible benefit that they might do His work and follow His will. Instead of bearing the fine grapes of following Him and being a witness to the unsaved masses of the known world, they had gone into idol worship, materialism and self indulgence. And as God is not slack in keeping His promises, though He is long suffering He deals with His own in a harsh, chastening way.
In the year that King Uzziah died...
The Human King
In the year that Uzziah died… King Uzziah had been king for 52 years, and for the most part he had been a good king. However, as sometimes happens with people that are godly, they think that they can do things their own way. At the end of his life, King Uzziah had taken it upon himself to become a priest and God afflicted him with leprosy. He died not on the throne, but instead in a death bed because of his disobedience.
The southern kingdom, Judah, which Uzziah was the king over, looked as if it was fine. It was prospering because of the good leadership of Uzziah prior to his disobedience.
However, the people forgot God in their hearts and instead depended upon the man on the throne. When Uzziah died, Isaiah along with the nation felt lost.
I know many a church that prospered under a pastor, only to flop when the pastor went to a "bigger, better church". Attendance dropped along with the spiritual teaching that had occurred there.
This is why it's important for a church not to depend solely upon it's pastor. Yes, I'm put here in leadership to lead the flock, but also God has given us other men in leadership that if something happened to me the church could thrive and survive. We're blessed.
The King of Creation—A Vision of His Holiness—God Is In Charge
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.
We go from the man on the throne to the true King on the throne. The word for Lord is not Yahweh as is often used in the OT., but is Adonai.
There are three different things that we can learn from the text here. First is that God is in charge—He is on the throne. A continual theme that runs throughout this chapter and indeed the entire Bible is that God is not a small manageable god but He is indeed in charge of things in all of creation.
As we have talked about in the past, mankind wants to create a more manageable God, which is not really God at all. People want to put God in a box and limit Him (for instance, stating that creation just can't be and other things stripping God of His supernaturality or they want to ignore what the Bible teaches and throw out certain parts of the Bible to make God fit them. No, God is in charge and we have to mold ourselves to conform to Him. God is in charge, not you or me or some leader.
Second, he is "high and lifted up". This indicates dignity, state and majesty that are afforded to a king. Here, this refers to his being elevated above every created thing. It also shows God as being the center of attention. Regardless of whether you or me are obedient to Him, God is still in charge.
The temple, made with human hands, was simply a copy of the throne room of heaven. This is why, when the original tabernacle was built in the wilderness by Moses and the nation of Israel, it was built to certain specifications laid down by God. God required that the worship be his way, and that approaching God had be done His way.
Third, "His train filled the temple". The train was part of the garment that a king wore, and in Eastern society the bigger the train the more grand and honored the king.
So what we see is a picture of God on the throne, in charge. No matter what situation we face in life God is in charge, and He not only has a handle on any situation we face, but He already has whatever we face figured out for us.
The Servants
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
The word for seraphim comes from a root Hebrew word that means "burning", so these seraphim are "burning ones". While it is unclear as to why these angels are called seraphim, the line of thought is that perhaps they were burning in their "ardor and zeal" in the service to God, or perhaps that they moved quickly, or perhaps they had a bright, shining appearance. The last is the one I favor, because often when angels appear they are bright and shining (cf book of Daniel, angels in Revelation, etc).
Seraphim are servant angels, as opposed to cherubim angels that are guardians of God's holiness. The text speaks only in plural, seraphim, and doesn't really tell us how many there were. There may have been hundreds.
Six wings—two covered the face. Even in the perfect, sinless state of an angel, there is a sense of awe and reverence that the seraphim display. They are in the very presence of God and cover their eyes because of God's great holiness.
Two covered the feet—Albert Barnes noted in his commentary that the expression here not only meant that he feet were covered but also the lower extremities. The feet and legs were covered so as not to touch even the train of the robe of God, showing great reverence and even perhaps unworthiness in the presence of God.
Two he flew—this speaks of service to God. The seraphim were quick to respond to God in service to Him. The word flew literally translates as "hovering" before the throne, literally waiting with anticipation on how they can serve God.
The Worship
3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!"
Holy, Holy, Holy. Called the triple hagion by scholars, this pattern of a repetition of three is common to the Jews of old. It is also how God often does things—in threes:
Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
Father, Mother, Son.
Solid, liquid, gas.
Sun, moon, stars.
The word used here for holy corresponds to the word in the NT, hagion or hagios, which means to separate or to be set apart from.
Of the great masses that believe in God but do not have a relationship with Him don't understand that God is not "the man upstairs", one of those phrases that really bugs me. God is not like us:
Isa 55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. (NKJ)
Deut 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He. (NKJ)
Prov 17:15 He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD. (NKJ)
God is, instead, radically different from us in that no sin is in Him, and He is radically repulsed by the sin of the human race. Think about this: if the angels in heaven can't look directly upon God, what makes us think that we can? No, God dwells in "light unapproachable (1 Timothy 6:16).
God is not respected as he should be these days, even in the church. Isn't it interesting that of the three wing sets that two are used in worship and reverence to God and only one set are used for service.
Is 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
"The whole earth is full of His glory" This is one fact that the evolutionist is trying to take away from God—the earth is filled with his glory. They want to take the responsibility of God creating the earth in six literal days and reduce it to mere chance, to nothing more than the wildest of luck. To see God's glory, all you have to do is look at creation. Try to explain away how a woodpecker could not have evolved. How to explain the evolution of the eye.
One of my favorite views in the United States—or at least the part that I've seen so far—is when you come out of Virginia and into North Carolina after you exit this tunnel on the interstate. You can see for tens of miles. God's glory is evident in what He has made.
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
The voice shook the huge columns in this vision temple, even down the very foundation. It would have been like an earthquake, the announcement made.
The smoke that filled the temple is reminiscent of the cloud that followed the Israelites in the wilderness, the presence of God. Smoke also is reminiscent of the smoke from incense, which represents the prayers of the saints. In this case, perhaps this smoke would represent the worship words of the seraphim.
Purification
5 So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
When a person is confronted with the holiness of God, there is the natural feeling of humility. When we look at the Ten Commandments, we realize just how far we fall short of the Glory of God. I truly believe that unless one is convicted of their sin and is broken by it that that person will not come to salvation.
Woe is me!
The word for woe means "to be condemned" and is best translated as "I am filled with overwhelming convictions of my own unworthiness, with alarm that I have seen God"
"I am undone"—Cut off , I have sinned, and the Greek translation in the Septuagint "I am miserable, I am pierced through. Syriac, I am struck dumb (what can I say). Hebrew meaning to be destroyed, to be ruined, to perish." "I shall be ruined, or destroyed."
A man of unclean lips—foul mouth. One unworthy to lift up praise to a holy God for to do so would be a great insult to God, as Isaiah saw himself as unfit. Here we see a deep consciousness of guilt, compared to God's holiness.
How did he come to this? For I my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts
Rom 7:24—Oh wretched man that I am!
Sanctification
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.
7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged."
Calling
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Orders
10 "Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed."
11 Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered: "Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate,
12 The LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump."
You will notice that the call occurred, then the acceptance, then the orders.
In the military, a person goes through the basic training then gets their orders. Likewise, when God calls you to duty, it is God that determines where, when and how you go.
Key points:
1) God calls us to serve Him and others, not just stand with our hands out in expectation. We should pattern the love of Jesus Christ, who gave his life and atonement for sin.
2) God is who He is regardless of what people think of Him. God is not small or manageable.
3) God should be given the respect and honor due Him. Only God is Holy, Holy, Holy
4) Worship of God (through study of His Word, music and even the lifesong of our life) should predominate over acts of service.
5) When exposed to the holiness and majesty of God we should feel incredibly blessed to be in God's family as we do not deserve it.
6) When we are called to God's service, we must respond no matter what it is that God has for us to do.
