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SEPTEMBER 8
the 4 living creatures of Revelation 4:6, which in turn resemble the cherubim of Ezekiel 10:1ff.“Six
wings.”Two wings covered the faces of the seraphim because they dared not gaze directly at God’s
glory.Two covered their feet,acknowledging their lowliness even though engaged in divine service.
With two they flew in serving the One on the throne.Thus, 4 wings related to worship, emphasizing
the priority of praise.
“One cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy’ ” (v. 3). The seraphs were speaking to each
other in antiphonal praise.The primary thrust of the 3-fold repetition of God’s holiness is to empha-
size God’s separateness from and independence of His fallen creation, though it implies secondar-
ily that God is 3 Persons.The earth is the worldwide display of His immeasurable glory, perfections,
and attributes as seen in creation (Rom.1:20).Fallen man has nevertheless refused to glorify Him as
God (Rom. 1:23).“And the posts of the door were shaken…smoke” (v. 4). The shaking and smoke
symbolize God’s holiness as it relates to His wrath and judgment (Ex. 19:16–20; Rev. 15:8).
Isaiah’s vision made him painfully aware of his sin and broke him;in this way God has prepared
him for his cleansing and his commission.“Woe is me…I am a man of unclean lips”(v. 5). If the lips
are unclean, so is the heart. This vision of God’s holiness vividly reminded the prophet of his own
unworthiness which deserved judgment.Job (Job 42:6) and Peter (Luke 5:8) came to the same real-
ization about themselves when confronted with the presence of the Lord (Ezek.1:28–2:7;Rev.1:17).
The hot coal taken from the altar of incense in heaven (Rev.8:3–5) is emblematic of God’s purifying
work (v. 6). Repentance is painful. Spiritual cleansing for special service to the Lord, not salvation, is
in view (v. 8).

So that it will not be a people.
September 8 9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s
son.
If you will not believe,
Isaiah 7:1–8:22
Surely you shall not be established.” ’ ”
Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz 10
7 the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz,
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of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the saying, “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD
son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Je- your God; ask it either in the depth or in the
rusalem to make war against it, but could not height above.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test
prevail against it. And it was told to the house the LORD!”
2
of David, saying, “Syria’s forces are deployed
13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David!
in Ephraim.” So his heart and the heart of his Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will
people were moved as the trees of the woods you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord
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are moved with the wind.
3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out now Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin
to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His
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name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall
at the end of the aqueduct from the upper eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and
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pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, and choose the good. For before the Child shall
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say to him: ‘Take heed, and be quiet; do not know to refuse the evil and choose the good,
fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of the land that you dread will be forsaken by
smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of both her kings. The LORD will bring the king
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Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. Be- of Assyria upon you and your people and your
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cause Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah father’s house—days that have not come since
have plotted evil against you, saying, “Let us the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.”
6
go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us
make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a
king over them, the son of Tabel”— thus says
7
the Lord GOD:
7:18 fly…bee. Egypt was full of flies, and
“It shall not stand, Assyria was a country noted for beekeeping.
Nor shall it come to pass. These insects represented the armies from the
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, powerful countries which the Lord would
And the head of Damascus is Rezin. summon to overrun Judah and take the peo-
Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be ple into exile.
broken,
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