November 22: LIPS THAT SPREAD FRAGRANT INCENSE

“…what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. …For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” Matthew 15:11b, 19-20

Jesus was answering the accusation against His disciples of breaking tradition lobbed by the scribes and Pharisees. Isaiah’s confession of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5) reflected a sudden and acute awareness of severe character defects within himself. Lips signify not only speech, but basic characteristics of the personality of the speaker. Isaiah had been taught the foundational concept of God’s holiness, but the vision that he was given to assure him that God was (and is) on His throne also revealed a matchless purity that evoked the heartfelt confession of his own impurity.

Fire is an agent of purification, as it burns away impurities. It well-symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The seraph explained to Isaiah that through touching his lips, his sin and guilt were removed (Isaiah 6:7). He had used a live coal from the special, holy fire of the altar that God Himself had lighted; this fire was to be kept perpetually burning there (see Leviticus 6:12-13). The seraph’s act, in combination with Isaiah’s repentance and faith, rendered the prophet holy and pure. Immediately, Isaiah 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.”

There is a precious lesson in the divine calling of Isaiah into service. Its timing — specifically on the heels of the death of Uzziah — brings to the literary mind a vivid comparison and contrast. In the sanctuary, the main purpose in taking a coal from the altar was to light incense. But here, the seraph applies the coal to Isaiah rather than to incense. Whereas Uzziah mistakenly deemed himself worthy to offer incense, the humble Isaiah becomes the incense! Just as holy fire lights incense to fill God’s house with holy fragrance, it lights up Isaiah to spread a holy message. To this very moment in our day, God’s message spread through Isaiah is a welcome ‘fragrance’ to everyone who will be saved. Isaiah had seen a brief vision of the beauty and glory of God. It drew him in closer and rendered him a pure fragrance of holiness in this fallen world.

Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. Psalm 27:4

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:15-17

Further study: Genesis 32:30; Exodus 33:20; Judges 6:22, 23; Malachi 3:16; Matthew 12:36-37; 2 Thessalonians 2:8