In the year that King Uzziah died

Isaiah introduced his famous vision of the Lord in the temple by saying, “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1). King Uzziah had been a righteous king whose pride got the better of him—he went in to the temple to offer incense before the Lord, which was the priests’ role. In response, God struck him with leprosy for the rest of his life.

Here, Isaiah encountered the God who had judged and humbled King Uzziah. Unlike Uzziah, whose body had slowly wasted away over the final years of his rule, the Lord was “high and lifted up,” His glory overwhelming Isaiah and even the seraphim whose voices shook the temple. Isaiah rightly identified the Lord as the one true Sovereign, “the King, the LORD of hosts!” (v. 5).

When it seems like the presence of God in my life has decayed due to my own neglect of spiritual things, I need to remember that God Himself is my eternal King. His kingdom will never end—neither in this world nor in my soul. May He teach me to see Him as holy and eternal, the God whose glory fills the whole earth!