Jean-Baptiste Karr, was a French writer who lived from nearly the beginning to the end of the 19th century. Jean-Baptiste is credited with the statement: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” That is true in so many ways it’s almost a waste of time to point them out – but repetition is one of the responsibilities of the Bible teacher. So I will repeat it – “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Isaiah lived in a day which parallels our own – politically, socially and economically. When Isaiah was about ten-years-old, Israel’s old enemy, the Syrians were beating the war drums again. Like any self-respecting modern politician, the King of Israel, gave to the Syrians 1,000 talents of silver. The Israelite foreign policy expressed itself in money. But later the Syrians were threatened by a far greater monarch – Tiglath-Pileser, King of Assyria. When the Syrians attempted to unite the little countries around it, Ahaz, King of Israel, puffed out his chest, declaring that he was big enough to withstand any Assyrian terrorist assault alone. He beefed up the TSA of the day, doubled the Border Patrol and increased the power of his government. He taxed his people unmercifully to pay for his excesses, robbing the elderly, widows and orphans. The government became more and more corrupt, while the worship of Jehovah was severely curtailed – if not directly persecuted.
Then into this caldron of confusion and corruption, the Lord sent a previously, little-known prophet. Isaiah had been faithful to his earlier commission, preaching repentance and faith in Jehovah. But then one day, perhaps as a result of the prayers of the saints, God lit a fire under him. As Isaiah put it, “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 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.” Throughout chapters 1-5, Isaiah had been at his post, preaching the truth of God. But then in chapter 6 his ministry was revolutionized by the power of God, and he became the eye of a spiritual hurricane. He was personally as calm as a spring day, but swirling around him was the wrath of God and the Word of God. With the authority of Jehovah, Isaiah began to condemn every corner of wicked society, including those who sat on judge’s and even king’s thrones. “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!” Ungody judges, legislators and politicians had better fear for their souls, because God will not hold them guiltless. There is a day of judgment coming. Without implying that there is no judgment on the rest of us, those who are in positions of power and authority are responsible for their deeds in those circumstances. And as many in Israel discovered, the judgment of God may fall long before the final day.
There are three questions in this scripture which reach beyond the politicians of Israel and Judah. Each of them need to be asked and then answered by each one of us. Question #1: “What will YOU do in the day of visitation?” There is a day coming when the Lord will visit us in judgment – all of us. Often people think of God’s judgment as something general and long after we’re gone. The Bible declares that the righteous Judge will visit you and me – personally. It will be a day of thorough enquiry; a day of complete exposure.
I read the story of a sceptic, named Burt Olney who met the new pastor of the Grace Baptist Church. Olney said, “I don’t believe in God or any of that judgment stuff. What do you say to that?” A lot of people think that if they bluster and fume, they can silence people they fear. It didn’t work in this case, and the preacher replied, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Olney said, “That’s not argument.” The minister replied, “It is not my business to argue, but to declare the truth.” “I don’t think you know the Bible well enough to argue. Perhaps you are right, but “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” As Olney went home, it seemed that even the crickets and toads were saying, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” The next day he was at the preacher’s house, “Tell me what do, those words wont leave me.” What will YE do in the day of Judgment?
Isaiah’s second question was: “To whom shall the wicked flee in order to escape that judgment?” A common theme in news articles, documentaries, fictional stories and even science fiction, is the government’s ability to listen to our phone calls and conversation, watch us as we walk down the street and monitor every transaction we make. But what the government might be able to do, cannot be compared with what the omniscient God has been doing since man’s first day. Nothing on earth can protect us from the eye, and also from the hand, of God. Men shall call on the rocks to hide them from wrath of God during the upcoming Tribulation. But there will be no escape from any of God’s judgments. And certainly Satan will be of no help, for he shall judged as well. Years ago “Life Magazine” interviewed dozens of people for an upcoming article about prayer. In White Pine County, Nevada the author talked to a twenty-four-year-old prostitute. She described her prayer life as a type of meditation and then went beyond the theme of the interview. “A lot of people think working girls don’t have any morals, any religion, but I do. I don’t steal, I don’t lie. The way I look at it, I’m not sinning. He is not going to judge me. I don’t think that God judges anybody.” Few notions are more comforting than the idea that God judges no one. The problem is that this soothing notion is a lie: “It is appointed unto men, and women, once to die and after this the judgment.” To whom shall we flee in order to escape that judgment? The pastor of the Grace Baptist Church said to Burt Olney, “You should listen to the entire sentence – “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” There is a good and proper answer to that question – but there is only one.
The third question from our scripture is one which I’d like to develop just a bit. Question number three from verse number 3 is: “Where will you leave your glory?”
God will permit no glory in Heaven. but that which belongs to Him.
Heaven is not a retirement home for tired and overworked best people on earth. The Third Heaven is the abode of the Most High God. Praise the Lord that He has chosen to permit His adopted children to reside with Him there. But as owner and manager, only He has authority to decorate that place. And He will permit no glory in Glory, but what either belongs to Him or has been given by His Grace.
In fact God’s glory eats up the glory of man. Think of Moses on Sinai and how he looked when came down from the top. His face resembled hot steel. Not even his brother could look at him without blindness. He had to put a woman’s thick veil upon his face before he could continue ministering. That radiance came from a light source greater than anything in the universe – it came from Heaven. Now listen to II Thessalonians 1:8-9 – “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.”
Minutes ago I referred to the day that mediocre Isaiah became the fiery Isaiah – it took place in chapter 6. Isaiah may have felt good about the little church he was pastoring, and the few souls who had turned to the Lord during his earlier ministry. He had not compromised; he had not overly simplified the gospel, or twisted any scriptures. But then he was somehow given a vision of God’s glory in the divine throne room. “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
God will permit no glory in Heaven but His, and He doesn’t put up with prideful men very long – anywhere. “Where will you leave your glory?” Hell will be filled with the stench of burning pride. At the foot of the cross there are mountains of forsaken pride. In Heaven there will be no pride at all except for pride in Christ. “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”
Isaiah, asks, Where will you leave your glory?
You will be leaving it somewhere. Just as there is no glue super strong enough to forever cement together body and soul, there is nothing else that will forever adhere to your soul. It is no less true of our glory than it is of our money or car, we can’t take it with us when we die. And there is no safe place of earthly deposit for one’s glory either. We can put money in a bank, or in annuities, or pensions, and perhaps we will see it again. We might loan our car to a relative and have it returned. The wicked servant put his master’s money in napkin and buried it in the ground. It was there when his master called for it. But we can’t put human glory in box and bury it, expecting to find it later when we need it.
Over twenty years ago, football player O. J. Simpson was accused of murdering two people. Many people involved in the case, are absolutely convinced that he was guilty, but he walked away. He may have freely walked out of the court room, but he left behind his glory. Here is a man who owned the glory of being the best player in college football for a few years. Then it might be argued that he became one of the best players in professional football. He had the fame, the glory, the money, the recognition, and all the glory that his sport could offer. But today only the recognition remains, the glory is gone. There is nothing so mournful as parting with something extremely precious. For most people, their fame and glory is less than a percentage point of that of O.J. Simpson, but it is still important to them. And they will leave their’s just as he has left his.
Take another example – actor and self-professed comedian Chris Farley. If you don’t know who this is I am happy for you. Like so many others from Hollywood, Las Vegas and New York clubs, he was found dead from drug abuse. Before his death, he said in an interview – “I used to think that you could get to a level of success where the laws of the universe didn’t apply. But they do. It’s still life on life’s terms, not on movie-star terms. Once I thought that if I just had enough in the bank, if I had enough fame, that it would be all right. But I’m a human being like every one else, I’m not exempt.” While the gist of his statement is worthy of consideration, he still missed the point. It’s not the universe which judges us, it is the holy God.
Where are you going to leave YOUR glory?
The Hebrew word for “glory” is “cabod” – it is a big little word, meaning several things. For example, it is a synonym for Heaven, the abode of the Lord – God dwells in glory. But then Joseph sent word to his father of the great glory he had in Egypt. Moses asked to see God’s glory, but he wasn’t asking for a vision of Heaven. “Cabod” means the same as “praise.” “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name, bring an offering and come before him; worship the Lord in beauty of holiness.” In the Book of Esther wicked Haman reveled in his political and social glory. “He told them of the GLORY of his riches, and the multitude of his children all the things wherein the King had promoted him, and how he advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.”
The New Testament equivalent to “cabod” is “doxa.” And that is a part of God’s salvation of sinners like us. Paul said, “We are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth Whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul commands, “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” And he says that God’s glory shall even be revealed in us. Obviously, what is “glory” to one person may not be glorious to another.
Maybe your personal beauty is your glory. Where will you leave that? Maybe your glory is the fame or notoriety that you have among your friends or your peers. Perhaps your glory is made up of fantastic feats and accomplishments. Maybe history will record your name, or Guiness might mention you in his book of world records. I used to get invitations to have my name published in different people’s “Who’s Who” books. But if I have to pay to have my name in some book, does it guarantee glory? And besides, there is no book in world that will last eternity with but a couple of exceptions. “Heaven and earth shall pass away,” but the Word of God will not. And there is reason to believe that the Lamb’s Book of Life is eternal as well. In that book we should all want to leave our names. The glory of the people in our first scripture in Isaiah was their wealth and secular power. Jesus reminds us that there are thieves, moths and corruptive rust to eat all that sort of thing. It is said that Constantine once showed all the glories of Rome to a Persian King: The Persian is reported to have said, “These are wonderful, but I see that Romans die as they do in Persia.” Perhaps your glory is contained in your intellect. Perhaps the smartest man I have ever known is suffering with Altzimer’s disease and today doesn’t know his own wife. You may have something registered in some patent office, but for how long? Oh, and you’ve written a book – I can assure you that is not much either. We can summarize all of these with I Peter 1:24 – because they are all a human kind of glory. “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
At one point in the history of Israel things were about at bedrock bottom. The Philistines dominated the land, while anarchy ruled the people. In battle the Jews wanted the presence of God, so they carried the glorious Ark of Covenant into the battle. But they lost the battle, the ark was stolen and the sons of the High Priest were killed. As she heard the news, the wife of one of the dead, gave birth to a son to whom she gave strange name. Call him “Icabod” — prefex “I” coupled to “cabod” – “The glory is departed.”
Where will YOU leave YOUR glory?
Let me suggest an answer that was illustrated through a rising star among the Jews. This man was a Jew born outside of Palestine, but a Pharisee of Pharisees. He was educated beyond what most men had in that day – he had a Th.D. degree. He had a good grasp on the religious, political world. Describing himself he said, “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” He really had whereof to glory in man’s eyes. “Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.”
But all that came to an abrupt end one day while on his way to what he thought would be more glory. On a journey of persecution and mayhem, Saul of Tarsus met the risen, ascended Jesus Christ. That meeting forever changed his life and eventually his name – “Paul.” It changed him first of all because it stripped him of his personal glory. He saw for first time in life that he fell infinitely short of the glory of God. In what Paul had been glorying, he learned was useless before the Holy God. So he began to glory in something new. “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Paul considered everything which he had highly esteemed earlier – to be a waste. “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”
Ths is the only glory accepted in Glory, in Heaven. Its source is the Lord, and we sinners have no input in it. If you can not glory in the wooden altar where Jesus Christ poured out His blood then you will have no glory in anything, for no glory exists in Hell. Can I glory before God in my human merits? Paul asks, “Where is boasting, it is excluded in God’s sight, by what law, works? Nay but by the law of Grace” – saving grace.
Paul was speaking about some friends of his in the little town of Thessalonica. He said, the “Lord called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That is essentially the same as saying, “The Lord called you to salvation in Christ Jesus.” I implore you to think about all three of the questions of our text. There is no escape from God’s judgment – except by hiding in God Himself. The only glory acceptable, yea, necessary in our lives is God’s glory. Do you possess it? Can you say, “God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Jesus Christ?” Repent before God, put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.