The Feet of God
The Feet of God
J. Mike Minnix
Sermon 2 of 6 sermons in a series entitled, "A Portrait of God."
Introduction
Genesis 3:8 ...
"8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden."
Today we are going to study divine podiatry – that is, we are going to study the feet of God. John 1:14 tells us that God took upon Him a human body. We read in Revelation 1:15, as well as Revelation 2:18, that the Son of God has feet like burnished brass. In Genesis 3:8 we read that God walked in the Garden of Eden.
A corn syrup manufacturing company received the following letter: "Dear Sirs: I have ate three cans of your corn syrup and it has not helped my corns one bit." I don't think the man understood the purpose of 'Corn Syrup!'
Well, let me tell you that the Lord does not have any problems with His feet. The earth is still His footstool, and He still walks where He wishes.
Few people would ever need to know how to praise someone’s feet, but it can be a good idea to do so when selling shoes. A young man was applying for a job as clerk in a shoe store. The store owner asked him, "Suppose that a lady customer asked you, 'Don't you think one of my feet is bigger than the other?' What would you say?" The young man responded promptly, "I'd say, 'Oh, no ma'am! If anything, one is a little smaller than the other.'"
Well, today we are going to look at the feet of God as described in the Bible. Let's examine some important elements related to the feet of the Lord.
I. The Footfall of God
Adam and Eve heard the footsteps of God - called the "footfall." This was not comforting to them at the time, but was rather very troubling. Whywas this so? Because they had sinned against Him and felt the shame and guilt of their actions. When they heard God approaching they ran and hid - as if one can actually hide from the Lord!
A. The Footfall of Discovery
The Bible warns, "...be sure your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23)
Someone has said that sin is the greatest of all detectives, but it is not that sin that finds you, but rahter it is that sin find you OUT. That means that God will bring OUT into the light that which we are unwilling to deal with properly. Adam and Eve learned this lesson the hard way and many others have done so as well.
David sinned with Bathsheba and time passed without incident. Then, one day, the Prophet came before hjim and revealed his sin and the judgment of God to come. Surely in David’s mind he could hear the footfall of God. The Lord had walked into David’s world and brought his sin to light.
You will remember the story of the couple in the New Testament who sold a piece of property and told Peter and the congregation that they were giving ALL the money from the sale to the church. Actually, they were keeping part of the money. Of course, it was theirs to keep, but they has willing promised to give it to God and His church. You recall, I am sure, that they gave only a portion of the money from the sale and thus had lied to God and God’s people. When Peter confronted the husband with the facts, he dropped dead on the spot. Then the wife arrived, not realizing that her husband had died. Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" She replied, "Oh, Yes, that is what we received for the land." Peter then said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also." At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Surely those footsteps must have sounded like the footfall of God! Yes, you and I can be sure that our sins will find us out.
There are many such stories in the Bible. Like the story of Achan, who stole items from Jericho and hid them in his tent. One day the footfall of God came to his family and he was found out. Then there is the story of the brothers of Joseph, who sold him into slavery. One day they realized they were standing before their brother and he had the power of life and death over them. They suddenly heard the footfall of God.
When I was a little boy, my mother would sometimes warn me that my behavior would be dealt with when my father got home. I would not think much about at the time. I would go on with my playing. But then, I would hear my father drive the care into the driveway. I would hear my dad’s footsteps coming through the house. I would hear mom whispering to him and then his steps would near my room. It felt like judgment day had arrived. The footfall of the father had come at last.
One day, my friend, if you delay your repentance and confession, you will hear the footfall of God. Vance Havner used to say, "It is too late to drain the swamp when you are up to your eyelids in alligators." Now is the time to make things right with God, before the footfall of the Lord arrives and it is too late for you.
B. The Footfall of Eternity
One day our Lord is coming back for His Church. Listen to how Jesus described it, "He shall come like a thief in the night." (1 Thessalonians 5:2) The Lord will come suddenly. We are warned again and again in the Scriptures to be prepared, for we do not know what hour the Son of Man will come.
II. The Footsteps of God
One can turn the fear of the footfall of God into the joy of the footsteps of God. This simply refers to the fact that Jesus has promised to be with those who know Him and love Him, and that He will walk with us on the pathway of life.
A. Footsteps of Correction
How sweet the footsteps of the shepherd must have sounded to the lost sheep as recorded in Luke 15. Even though the sheep had wandered away, at last the rescue by the Shepherd had come and all would be made right.
In Psalm 139:24 we read ...
"See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."
What a great prayer that is. Be sure of his, He is always leading. The great question regards whether we are following in His footsteps.
B. Footsteps of Care
Psalm 61:2-3 reads ...
"From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe."
Yes, the Lord is willing to lead to the rock of safety and to the strong tower against the foe. We must following in His footsteps.
C. Footsteps of Comfort
Look at Psalm 23. Here we see that ...
- He leads us
- He gives us water
- He guides us
- He restores us
- He is with us in the valley of the shadow of death
- He comforts us in the hour of our passing
The songwriter penned the words to the hymn Footsteps of Jesus:
"Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling,
'Come follow Me!'
And we see where Thy footprints falling,
Lead us to Thee.
Footprints of Jesus that
make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus
where'er they go.
Tho they lead o'er the cold, dark mountains,
Seeking His sheep,
Or along by Siloam's fountains,
Helping the weak.
If they lead through the temple holy,
Preaching the Word,
Or in homes of the poor and lowly,
Serving the Lord.
Then at last, when on high He sees us,
Our journey done,
We will rest where the steps of Jesus
End at His throne." (Mary Bridges Canedy Slade, 1871)
III. The Footrest ( or Footstool ) of God
A. The Place of Glorification
We are told to worship at His footstool. The footstool of God was the Temple, and more precisely the Ark of the Covenant. Also, however, the earth is spoken of as His footstool (Isaiah 66:1). In each case the phrase, Footstool of God, is used figuratively to help us understand the immensity of God’s person and the magnitude of His greatness.
Suppose you were big enough to sit on Stone Mountain and use the train station for your footstool. How big would you be? Just think of God, so immense that He sits in the heavens and uses the earth as His footstool. Look at how Nahum speaks of this in 1:3. He speaks of the clouds as the dust of God’s feet! In essence, we are called to bow before Him and glorify Him and to worship Him.
In Psalm 132 we read a passage which speaks directly to our duty to worship at His footstool. In verse 7 we are called to glorify Him and worship Him.
In Ephesians 1:22 we read that all things have been put under His feet. Indeed, we are to worship Him who is above all things!
Some people no longer have an old-fashioned altar area in their churches. People are not called to bow down in worship, thankfulness, repentance and faith. Yet, look at Psalm 95:6, which reads, "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker."
So, we see clearly that the footstool of the Lord is a place of glorification. It is a place where we can honor Him, glorify Him and worship Him!
B. The Place of Education
Sitting at the feet of another person has longed been viewed as a place of education. Paul sat at Gamaliel’s feet and was taught the Jewish Law (Acts 22:3). Mary sat at Jesus feet as recorded in Luke 10:39. She was listened to what He said. She was learning. You are I are to educated at His feet. That is, we are to submit to His Word, seek His will, and follow His way.
We often hear people speak figuratively of sitting at the feet of some professor and teacher. There is no teacher like Jesus. We can sit at His feet and learn from Him and of Him. This requires being still. It requires spending time in His Word. It means to let His mind be in us (Philippians 2:5-10).
C. The Place of Convocation
In Revelation, chapter 4, we see the twenty and four elders bowing at His feet and casting their crowns before Him. This is a picture of the day when we are gathered before the Lord. What a day of convocation that will be. We will receive rewards in the form of crowns. Then, with a great act of love and devotion to Him who paid it all, we will cast our crowns at His feet. The songwriter has penned,
What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see,
When I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace. (James Hill, 1955)
Conclusion
J. Wilbur Chapman tells of the time when Queen Victoria had just ascended her throne and went, as was the custom of Royalty, to hear The Messiah rendered. She had been instructed as to her conduct by those who knew, and was told that she must not rise when the others stood at the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus. When that magnificent chorus was being sung and the singers were shouting Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, she sat with great difficulty. It seemed as if she would rise in spite of the custom of kings and queens, but finally when they came to that part of the chorus where with a shout they proclaim Him King of kings suddenly the young queen rose and stood with bowed head, as if she would take her own crown from off her head and cast it at His feet. Let us make Him King and every day be loyal to Him. This is the secret of peace.