Apart from my personal feelings about the recent U.S. presidential election—whether it was stolen or not; or whether the media coverage was scandalously biased or not; or now whether or not the philosophies of the new administration will prove untenable for Christians—one simple fact is undeniable. Donald Trump is no longer the President of the United States. He is out of office. His executive prerogatives have been stripped. He can no longer move the great levers of power in America in favor of any agenda, much less a conservative path. In a sense, a king has died. And with his fall, many are left defeated, threatened, lost, and bereft.

What are we to do when terrestrial kings—so to say—fall? As always, we must look to Scripture for answers.

Almost 2800 years ago, a great King of Israel died, and the people of Judah were left defeated, threatened, lost, and bereft. That sovereign was King Uzziah.

King Uzziah took the throne of Israel at the age of 16 and reigned for about 52 years. Overall, his reign was considered a great success: “the most prosperous excepting that of Jehoshaphat since the time of Solomon,” as one writer put it.

In the earlier part of his reign, under the prophet Zechariah’s influence, he was faithful to God and “did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Kings 15:3; 2 Chronicles 26:4–5).

In Jerusalem, he made machines designed by skillful men for use on the towers and on the corner defenses to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. According to 2 Chron. 26, Uzziah conquered the Philistines and the Arabians and received tribute from the Ammonites. He refortified the country, reorganized and reequipped the army, and personally engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a vigorous and able ruler, and “his name spread abroad, even to the entrance of Egypt” (2 Chronicles 26:8–14).

Then something terrible happened. Uzziah’s pride led to his downfall. He entered the Temple of Yahweh to burn incense on the sacred altar. Azariah the High Priest saw this as an attempt to usurp the prerogatives of the chosen priests and confronted him with a band of eighty men, saying, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense.” (2 Chronicles 26:18). Then God Himself intervened. As narrated by Josephus Flavius, in Antiquities IX 10:4, “a great earthquake shook the ground, and a rent was made in the temple, and the bright rays of the sun shone through it, and fell upon the king’s face, insomuch that the leprosy seized upon him immediately.” Uzziah was suddenly struck with leprosy before he had offered the incense (2 Chronicles 26:19)!  In his defilement, Uzziah was driven from the Temple and compelled to reside in “a separate house” until his death (2 Kings 15:5, 27; 2 Chronicles 26:3). The government was emergently turned over to his son Jotham (2 Kings 15:5), who inefficiently ruled alongside the stricken king in a co-regency of sorts that lasted for the last 11 years of Uzziah’s life (750 to 739 BC).

Sadly, this great King Uzziah died as he lived in his final decade of life, estranged and unclean. What were these ancient people to do when their king fell?

The wonderful Old Testament Book of Isaiah provided a relevant answer to the question then, that is also relevant to you and me today as we consider American presidential politics. The Answer? Turn to the Heavenly King!

Consider Isaiah, chapter six, verses 1 through 5, when Isaiah receives his call from Yahweh to become His prophet to Israel:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the Temple. ² Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called to another and said:“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory!”⁴ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.  ⁵ And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:1–5)

The first thing to notice in comprehending Isaiah’s miraculous vision is that the Lord is sitting upon a throne, and this throne is high and lifted up, and the train of His robe—as He sits upon this high and lifted up throne—is utterly majestic. It fills the entire Temple. Also present are awesome, heavenly attendants, the Seraphim.

What Isaiah is seeing is a theophany, which is Holy God providing a visible manifestation of Himself for an important purpose. John 1:18 correctly tells us that no one has ever seen God for He is Spirit, and it’s is a good thing that no one has ever seen God, because, in Exodus 33:20, God tells Moses, “You cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live.” God holiness can kill! But in His gracious condescension to His created ones—us—God sometimes clothes Himself with “safe” visibility for our good.  And in this instance, He became visible to Isaiah in exulted kingliness, with a throne, regal robes, and court attendants, all of which spoke of sovereign majesty and dominion!

As Isaiah’s terrestrial human king is declared dead in the passage’s opening, God wants Isaiah to visibly see Him in the starkest of contrasts to dead King Uzziah, who can be said to represent all earthy kings in the context of this vision. Yahweh is showing Himself as THE Holy, Heavenly KING.

The word holy means sacred, set apart, revered, or divine. And yet, none of those words is adequate to describe the awesome holiness of our God. But, even as mere words fail, we need to understand holiness to turn rightly to Him. Because turning to Him means we, by faith, place our trust wholly in Him, just as we turn away from any earthly sovereign.

John MacArthur writes this about God’s holiness:

“Of all the attributes of God, holiness is the one that most uniquely describes Him and in reality is a summation of all His other attributes. The word holiness refers to His separateness, His otherness, the fact that He is unlike any other being.” Other commentators have said it this way: “Holiness is God’s infinite moral perfection crowning His infinite intelligence and power.” Or “Holiness is the most sparkling jewel of God’s crown. It is the name by which He is known.” Or “Holiness is to be regarded not as a distinct attribute but as the result of all God’s moral perfection together.”

The inspired text helps us to scratch the surface of our poor comprehension of holiness. The otherworldly Seraphim point us in the right direction:

Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!” (v2–3)

These attendants to Yahweh are not to be found in any human court. They are indescribably awesome, and they, in turn, are expressing overwhelming awe of God as they experience His holiness. Moreover, the voice of righteousness shakes foundations and brings sanctified smoke:

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. (v4)

Although we are not there to see and experience this vision as Isaiah was privileged to do, we are to respond just as the young prophet did. We are to be undone by God’s holiness:

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (v5)

In the early chapters of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, written by John Calvin, he makes a statement that goes something like this: “Hence that dread and terror by which holy men of old trembled before God, as Scripture uniformly relates.” Calvin was saying that there is a pattern to human responses to God’s presence in the Scripture. And it seems that the more righteous the person is described, the more he trembles when he enters the immediate presence of God.

How is it that even as our earthly kings die, many still yet turn away from the Holy Heavenly King while hoping in some terrestrial counterfeit? How is it that so many choose not to ponder true holiness?

Romans 1:18–23 provides the tragic answer:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Many reject The Holy Heavenly King knowingly because they foolishly believe they can do better at ruling creation than He can.  Such foolishness is a path of utter destruction.

On which path are you? Are you holding out hope in terrestrial kings, believing that somehow they (or you) can rule creation better than the Creator? Or have you turned by faith to the Holy Heavenly King?

Lord, let me be as Isaiah, undone before your throne!