Fire from the Altar
After Isaiah’s repentant confession, one of the seraphim carried a coal with a tong from the altar and touched it to Isaiah’s mouth.
In the Old Testament, fire is not a symbol of cleansing, but God’s wrath. This makes sense because the altar was the place of sacrifice, the place where the blood of an innocent sacrifice was shed to atone for the guilt of the sinner. It is there at the altar that sin is atoned for, and God is satisfied. It is there we find the basis for the forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to God.
The coal is the symbol of the wrath of God that has fallen upon the sacrifice and satisfied His demand for justice. It is a coal from that altar that is carried to Isaiah and touched to his mouth. The words used show us the instantaneous nature of salvation in Christ. “Touched” and “taken away” are meant to be read in a way that indicates that one happened as soon as the other happened. As soon as his mouth was touched with the coal, his sin was taken away.
This salvation comes to Isaiah as a work of God. Isaiah contributes nothing but his sin to the process. He doesn’t kindle the fire on the altar. He doesn’t slay the sacrifice. He doesn’t gather up the coals. He doesn’t touch the coal to his mouth. Isaiah just stands there, a repentant sinner, in the presence of a holy God, and receives God’s mercy and grace.
The fire of God’s wrath fell on Christ the day He died on the Cross. There our sin was dealt with. The justice of God was satisfied. And all who come in faith to Him are touched by the “coals of that altar.” Their “guilt is taken away, and their sin is atoned for,” through Jesus Christ.
