Bible Studies
What Is the Glory of the Lord?
Series: Glory of God from IsaiahIntroduction:
1. In the previous lesson Isaiah looked into heaven (as represented by the temple) and saw the throne of God. 2. Seraphim called out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.” 3. The door sockets rattled at the voice of him who called out and Isaiah was struck with his own sinfulness and the sinfulness of the people among whom he lived. 4. Immediately God acted for his forgiveness. And when God sought for a messenger Isaiah volunteered saying, “Here am I, send me!” 5. But what was this glory that Isaiah saw that produced such profound responses?Discussion:
I. The terms.A. There are 25 (Gordon, ZPEB) different Hebrew words translated “doxa” in the Greek translation of the O.T.
1. The most frequently used word means “difficult,” “weight,” “heaviness,” “worthiness,” “reputation,” or “honor.”
2. The word is used to describe men of great weight—not because they eat too much, but weighty because of their prominence, substance, wealth.
a. Joseph told his brothers to tell his father about all his splendor (Gen. 45:13). He was a man of wealth and position and was held in high esteem in Egypt, with servants and clothes reflecting his position.
b. Haman recounted to his friends the glory of his riches, the number of his sons, and every instance where the king magnified and promoted him (Esther 5:11).
c. The Queen of Sheba illustrates the idea when she described the splendor and dignity of Solomon’s court. She said, “The half has not been told” (1 Kings 10:1ff).
3. The temple was a place of “fame and glory” (1 Chron. 22:5; Isa. 60:7).
4. Isaiah refers to the “glory of Lebanon” (35:2; 60:13). Lebanon was a prosperous agricultural region. Its mountains were known for the famous cedars of Lebanon. The temple and the palace of David were constructed from these.
5. In many instances the word signifies brightness. Ezekiel’s vision of God’s glory involved something like glowing metal, something like fire and a radiance as the appearance of the rainbow (1:26ff).
B. The N.T. uses the concept in the same way.
1. The glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds as the angel announced the coming of Christ. It was so awesome that the shepherds were “terribly frightened” (Lk. 2:9).
2. It is used of national splendor in Matt. 4:8 of “the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them.”
3. Christ is referred to as “the radiance of God’s glory (Heb. 1:3; cf. Jn. 1:14) and the Lord of glory (James 2:1).
C. When Scripture refers to the glory of God it is referring to His majesty, His incomparable greatness, His splendor, His awe-inspiring dignity. This is what Isaiah experienced (6:1ff). It was God’s greatness that lead to Isaiah humbling himself and volunteering to serve as a prophet. In one way or another the whole of Isaiah’s prophecies teach about the greatness of God. (To be addressed in future lessons.)
II. Glory belongs intrinsically to God (Matt. 6:13). It is not some accidental feature of God’s character but an essential quality of it (Psa. 8:1; 102:15).A. In Matthew 6 Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Hallowed be Your name.”
B. Psa. 8:1, 9 begins and ends his prayer, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth.”
C. Psa. 102:15-16 says, “the nations will fear the name of the Lord and all the kings of the earth Your glory. For the Lord has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory.”
D. So majestic is God’s glory that to see it and continue to live is remarkable.
1. In Ex. 33:18ff Moses asked to see the glory of God.
2. God said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you: and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion. But you cannot see My face, for no man can see me and live!”
3. God placed Moses in the cleft of the rock and covered him with His hand and took His hand away so Moses could see His back as He passed by.
4. Cf. Gen. 16:13; 32:30; Deut. 4:33; 5:24 (God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice. Now then should we die?”); Judges 6:22ff.
E. God’s glory is part of who He is. You may take away the glory of a man and he is still a man. But glory belongs intrinsically to God.
F. How insulting then to take the glory of the incorruptible God and exchange it for images in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures (Rom. 1:23).
G. God was the glory of Judah, but she had turned away from her glory to serve worthless and unprofitable idols (Jer. 2:11).
III. The glory of the Lord shines on His people to bring blessing to them (Isa. 60:1-7).A. Though darkness may cover the earth the Lord’s glory will appear upon His people (1-2).
B. Nations will come to the light, peoples from everywhere will gather (3-4).
C. Wealth, camels, gold, silver, frankincense, flocks, rams are theirs (5-7).
D. The people of God fly like clouds and like doves because God glorifies them (8-9).
E. Though there is judgment because of sin God’s glory also brings forgiveness by His gracious goodness(Ex. 33:18ff).
1. This is why Isaiah confessed sin when he saw the glory of God (6:5).
2. This is why he was forgiven (6:6).
3. This is why he volunteered for service (6:8).
In future lessons we will see the glory of God manifesting itself in judgment against the sins of Judah and against the foreign nations. We will see the glory of God manifesting itself in forgiveness, through the promised Messiah. We will see the glory of God manifest in the great kingdom that Isaiah prophecies. We will see the glory of God revealed in His gracious invitation to repentance. We will see the glory of God revealed in His people. It is Isaiah’s job to reveal the glory of the great God that he has personally experienced and that is what he will do in the book that bears his name.Conclusion:
1. Have you been touched by the glory of God? 2. When you are you will be made aware of His great righteousness and your own unworthiness. 3. You will come face to face with your need for forgiveness. And at the same time you will come face to face with His goodness that will invite you to repentance and His forgiving embrace. 4. And because you have seen His glory You will humble yourself to serve Him just as Isaiah did for this is the only appropriate response. That service involves doing just what Isaiah did—he proclaimed God’s glory to others.
