Sit here with me for just a minute.

Be still.

Take a deep breath.

And another.

Now, let’s read from Isaiah’s journal.

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.

Isaiah 6:1

Under King Uzziah’s reign, Judah experienced unprecedented peace and prosperity. He brought military innovation and resources that kept Judah safe from her enemies. With lasting peace came many years of economic abundance and stability.

King Uzziah was a deeply devout man too. He promoted the worship of the Living God and opposed idolatry and corruption among religious leaders.

But in 740BC, King Uzziah dared to enter the Holy of Holies and offer a sacrifice as if he were also a priest. His face was afflicted with a virus known as leprosy, he went into quarantine, and anxiety gripped the people of Judah. Eventually, this virus took his life and plunged the nation into uncertainty and fear.

With King Uzziah dead, how much longer would peace and prosperity last in Judah?

Would his son, Joatham, only twenty-five years old, keep the nation safe from the Assyrian armies gathering at the border?

That’s when Isaiah saw the LORD seated on a throne. The train of his robe filled the temple.

In the Ancient Near East, it was common for a victorious king to cut off the train of a defeated king’s robe – symbolically removing his authority to rule. Then, the defeated king’s train would be added onto the end of the victorious king’s robe – symbolically adding to his authority the authority to rule the newly conquered kingdom.

Isaiah saw the LORD sitting like a king on a throne with a robe so lengthy that it filled the temple.

The King of Heaven is the King of kings and the ruler of the entire world. All authority is the LORD’s!

That’s what the LORD wanted Isaiah to see… During a viral outbreak, economic uncertainty, political upheaval, tremendous anxiety.

The train of HIS robe fills the temple.