“How beautiful upon the mountains are
the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes
salvation, who says to Zion, ‘your God reigns.’
The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice, together they sing
for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing you waste
places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted His people: He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared His holy arm before the
eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation
of our God.” –Isaiah 52:7-10 (ESV).
Today
we cannot tune onto a television or radio newscast, read a newspaper or talk
with friends without hearing bad news.
Doom and gloom are too often the subjects we talk about and dwell upon. “In these times,” we often say, “all we hear
is bad news.” Contrast our day to the
time when Isaiah penned the words in our focus for today. He was writing a message to Zion—to the
Israelites in Babylonian captivity. In
this beautiful hymn telling of God’s coming deliverance and salvation, he
implores “Awake, awake, put on your
strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy
city.” How like Paul’s admonition in
Ephesians 6:10-20 to put on the whole armor of God!This
message of Isaiah was intended to bring hope and encouragement, even joy, to
the captives in Babylon. The day of the
Lord, a time of deliverance was coming.
No longer would they have to cower in sackcloth and ashes, but they
could put on the garments of rejoicing; for oppression—the bad news, even
living the bad news—would have its end. This message also speaks of “end times”
hope and the triumph of the believers.
So much is carried with the messenger with “beautiful feet”!
This
section of Isaiah and subsequent chapters, especially Isaiah 53, constitute the
Messianic hope message of the prophet. “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried
our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He
was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us
peace, and with His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5). And how beautiful upon the mountains are
those who tell forth this message! The
good news may at times be ignored and seemingly lost amidst all the clamor of
bad news. The main message, despite the
naysayers, is “Your God reigns!”(Isaiah
52:7)
God’s people are to take hope and listen to the messengers who bear
God’s news. It is the news that will
ultimately triumph. This is a sure
promise from Sovereign God: “all the ends of the earth shall see the
salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:10) The
Israelites in captivity may have wondered at Isaiah’s optimistic message. How could he hold forth hope when they were
oppressed and far from their beloved Jerusalem, with not even the hope of going
to the holy city at times of religious festival to worship God in “His holy hill”? Isaiah wanted his own
people, and us today to hear, for his message miraculously has come to us, and
we hold forth hope.
Hope
is at the heart of God’s message of love for any age. And they who bear that message, are
distinctive and engender hope:“How
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news!” (v.
7). Paul reiterates this theme in
Romans 10:14-17: “How, then will they
call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him
of whom they have never heard? And how
are they to hear without someone preaching?
And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet
of those who preach the good news!’ But
they have not all obeyed the gospel. For
Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?’ So, then, faith comes from hearing, and
hearing through the word of Christ.” I
recall with gratitude when my husband felt the distinctive call of God to be a
bearer of this marvelous message of the ages.
His ministry was, geographically, to the people who dwelt in the
mountain region of the state of Georgia. His were, indeed, as the prophet
foretold, “beautiful feet upon the
mountains.” Such are the feet of those who bear the good news of Jesus
Christ wherever they are. Thank God today for the beautiful feet of
those who are faithful to tell God’s message and who give hope amidst the bad
news! Indeed, “our God reigns!”
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