It’s A Foot Thang

Text:

Isaiah 52:7:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

 

Romans 10:15

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

 

Theme:

It’s A Foot Thang

 

Introduction:

• The Book of Isaiah is the first of the books of major prophecy in the Old Testament and are written, of course, by the prophet Isaiah, sometime referred to as “Esaias” in the New Testament.
  • The book is divided into three sections:
    • The first section (35 chapters) is purely prophetic and written during the Assyrian threat.
    • The second section (4 chapters) is historical and reflective of the life and times of King Hezekiah.
    • The third section (27 chapters) is once again prophetic and written during the Babylonian threat.
  • The book has 66 chapters, the same number of chapter as books in the Biblical canon.
    • 39 chapters in the first two sections — the same number of books in the Old Testament.
    • 27 chapters in the third section — the same number of book in the New Testament.
• The 52^nd chapter of Isaiah adds to the book’s reflection upon the day when the Savior shall come to claim His redeemed nation
  • è The First Coming of the Savior for the Jews of Isaiah’s day
    • à The Second Coming for us Christians today
  • Our text, the 7^th verse of this chapter, gives an eloquently poetic description of that glorious day.
    • “How beautiful” à In other words, “how good it is to see”
    • “upon the mountains”
      • It was always believed that the Savior would come from over the mountains.
        • Psalms 121:1, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.”
      • Mountains that conceptually served as the boundary of the world for the Jews encircled the land of Palestine. They did not go outside of those mountains and the world outside of those mountains was seen as foreign.
        • Joshua 18:16, “And the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom”
      • The Savior would descend upon them in a glorious and triumphant fashion. Notice in the Word:
        • 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”
      • “of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth”
        • The evangelical description of God’s Preacher!
          • Romans 10:15 makes this clear as to the reference when it says, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent?”
          • As the hymn says,
            • I love to tell the story
              of unseen things above
              of Jesus and His glory,
              of Jesus and His love.
              I love to tell the story,
              because I know ’tis true;
              It satisfies my longings
              as nothing else could do.
          • There is one piece of the verse that wasn’t covered:
• ARE THE FEET”  (They were happy to see the preacher’s feet?)
  • Why did the prophet poetically refer to the FEET of the preacher?
  • What is the significance of the FEET?
  • While growing up, I would comically refer to this quandary with this phrase “It’s A Foot Thang”

 

Body:

• What are some interpretations of “feet”?
  • A place of the human anatomy that can determine comfort or discomfortJ
    • In the army it is commonly known and taught that a good soldier must take care of his feet by wearing socks and keeping the feet dry at all times.
  • Feet can experience comfort to the degree that it effects the intimate triggers of the human psycheJ
    • The Bible gives a good example with Ruth and Boaz. Naomi, her mother in law, gave Ruth sound instructions on how to gain the favor of Boaz.
      • Ruth 3:4, “And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.”
      • Surely, as Naomi said, when Ruth followed her instructions, Boaz immediately sought to have Ruth for himself! It’s A Foot Thang, y’all!!
  • The feet of the woman in the Asian and Middle Eastern cultures reflects her purity and femininity.
    • Song of Solomon 7:1 is an example, “How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.”
  • The feet mark the territory or power of the person.
    • Psalms 8:6, “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:”
    • What you stand on, you have power (dominion) over!
  • The feet denote the stability or balance of the person.
    • Psalms 8:36, “Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.”
  • The washing of feet was the first act on entering the tent or house after a journey.
    • The people wore only sandals, and this washing was refreshing as well as cleanly.
    • In the case of ordinary people, the host furnished the water, and the guests washed their own feet, but in the richer houses, the washing was done by a slave.
    • It was looked upon as the lowliest of all services.
      • Jesus did so to show the extent of the servitude of the servant of God.
      • John 13:5, “After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”
• One interpretation gives Divine consistency to all of the others…
  • The “feet” anthropomorphically identify the principles of the person!
    • Paul explains the “feet” of the child of God suited with the “full armor” of God:
    • Ephesians 6:15, “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”
• •  What are you prepared to do?
    • Notice also what Paul said in Acts 22:3, “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel”
      • The “feet” of Gamaliel signified the wisdom that Gamaliel had to teach Paul…what he had to offerJ
      • Whose “feet” are you hanging around?
      • For the child of God, we are to sit at the “feet” of Jesus!
        • For healing — Matthew 15:30, “And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:”
        • For comfort and help — Luke 8:41, “And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:”
        • To worship Him — Revelation 19:10, “And I fell at his feet to worship him….”
        • To get His Word (knowledge, teaching, wisdom) — Luke 10:39, “And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.”
• The “feet” of Jesus are like none other
  • Revelations 2:18, “And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;”
    • The Word of God has been “tried” in the fire like fine brass and is PERFECT à meaning…
      • Proverbs 30:5, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”
      • John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
      • Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
    • We are “tried” in the fire of life’s trials and tribulations and, if we are faithful, are “PERFECTED”
      • Job 23:10, “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
    • Jesus’ feet deserved special treatmentJ
      • Mary Magdalene knew what to do!
      • Luke 7:37-38, “And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.”

 

Conclusion:

• If we sit at the Master’s “feet” and are “tried” in this life, then we can STAND on our own “feet”
  • Romans 16:20, “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”
    • The Word of God (through the “feet” of a Godly person) is the only power that can bind Satan!
    • IT IS A FOOT THANG!!!
      • We must stand on and bruise the head of the serpent!
      • We must stand on and trample out hatred!
      • We must stand on and trample out backbiting!
      • We must stand on and trample out envy, strife, infidelity, lust, lying……!!!!
        • And it can only be done by the beautiful feet standing on the mountain
          • à It is where the feet are planted that makes them beautiful
            • “On Christ the Solid Rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.”

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