Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
    The whole earth is filled with his glory! (Isaiah 6:3)

Read: Isaiah 6:1-7:25, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33, Psalm 54:1-7, Proverbs 23:1-3 

Relate: The whole earth is full of your glory. This is the way I first learned this verse. It is another reason why I don’t like the KJV. The whole earth is filled is a much better translation. I know, I know, it really doesn’t seem like much of a difference. I filled the glass with water. The glass is full of water. Either way, you have a full glass of water, right. But where is the focus? When I say, the glass is full of water, the focus is on the glass and the water within it. When I say, I filled the glass with water, the focus on the action performed that caused the glass to have water. The focus is on me, or you, or whoever did the filling.

In the same way, when I say, “The whole earth is full of His glory” the focus is on the earth and the glory that has saturated it. When we say “The whole earth is filled with his glory” the focus is on God who is doing the filling. Honestly, in English, the two phrases are practically interchangeable and it would take a very careful reading for us to notice this difference. “Melo” is a transliteration of the Hebrew word we use for “filled” (or “full” in the KJV). In Hebrew, this difference is much more noticeable. It is not just that the earth has been saturated with the glory of God. It is much more that God is constantly, in new and different ways pouring out His glory that the earth might be filled.

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. Uzziah was a good and godly king. God’s glory was revealed to the people of the Kingdom of Judah through his obedience and actions (mostly… nobody’s perfect). God’s glory will still fill the earth, but the way it will come will be new. Yesterday I went to a beautiful traditional Turkish wedding. Both the bride and groom are Christians, but she is Turkish from a Muslim family. He is Israeli from a Jewish family. A Muslim and Jewish wedding is something one would think less likely than the Hatfields and McCoys and when it is done under Christ is has a more beautiful outcome than the blending of Montague and Capulet. I was seeing the glory of God filling the earth in a way I have never seen before.

React: There are times when I wish I could get back to the passion of my summer camp revival days. I wish I could have the certainty and zeal by which I led Bible clubs and prayer meetings at my school. I wish I could have the discipline and comradarie of my days in Bible College where we were all safe and secure behind the Christian bubble. I even wish sometimes to hide back under the safety and freedom to share Christ I had when living in the US. (Not that I took advantage of that freedom nearly as much as I could/should have) But those “King Uzziah’s have died. The way He is working today and the way He will work tomorrow is different than what has gone before. Times and circumstances will change But the God who fills the earth with His glory every day, every hour, every minute does not change. Lets keep our focus on Him.

Respond: 

Dear God,
I know that Your glory will cover the earth. You are too good, and too awesome, and too loving not to allow Your glory to be manifest everywhere I turn. I ask that I might part of the way You are displaying Your glory today. Help me to live and act and think and talk in a way that other people might see Your glory filling the earth through me. Let me be a part of the new thing You are doing.
Amen