Game Of Thrones
Opening Prayer
Lord, I want to know You in a real and personal way. I want to go deeper in my relationship with You.
Read Isaiah 6:1–13
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”
And he answered:
“Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged,
12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.
13 And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Has anything made you afraid this week? Bring it before God and ask him to show you his perspective.King Uzziah of Judah was a mighty king, but not as mighty as God. For starters, Uzziah died (1), God didn’t. Isaiah was familiar with a king’s court, but the throne room of God (1–4) rendered him hysterical with terror (5). Isaiah knew who to be really afraid of, something we can easily forget in our world where the news reports are constantly
alarming.
Jesus, God-in- a-Skin, has made God more accessible to us, but we must not imagine he is tame. A cuddly God is more comfortable, but less helpful. It takes a scary God to erase our guilt (7). It takes a scary God to fill our lives with purpose (9). Isaiah is commissioned to deliver an awful message (11–13) to people who wouldn’t listen (9,10). It must have been a hard job, and sad—it was his country too. His people will lose a land (12) that is more than a home; it is the symbol of their spiritual identity.
However, a stump will remain (13), and it will sprout again from the “holy seed.” This week we celebrate the birth of that seed, the hope of all humanity.
Apply
When is it the most difficult to remember God and walk in the reality of his Kingdom?
Closing prayer
Lord God, help me to remember who You are, and to be as willing to serve You as Isaiah was.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.