How Should We Understand the Feet of God?

God the Father is an invisible spirit and has no physical body.  Yet the Bible refers to Him as having physical characteristics that theologians call Anthropormorphisms.  Even though He has no body, Scripture does speak of God’s eyes, ears, nose, arms, etc.  We’ve already covered the mind, face, eyes, ears, nose, voice, shoulder, back,arms, hands and fingers of God.  Let’s now consider the feet of God.  The words, “feet” or “foot” occur some 315 times in scripture, with about 35 of those referring to God’s feet.  The word, “footstool” is found 16 times, and all are in reference to God.  So we will see that the feet of God reveal at least four things about Him.   

God’s Feet Remind Us of His PREEMINENCE

Nahum 1:3-4 “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not acquit the wicked.  The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.”  

Sometimes I look up at the clouds and marvel at how high and majestic they are.  Scripture says that God looks down at the clouds and they are like “the dust of His feet.”  No one but God is that powerful, mighty, or preeminent!  Similar words are found in a prayer of the prophet, Habakkuk:

Habakkuk 3:3-6  “God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran.  His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise.  His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand…before Him went the pestilence, and fever followed at His feet.”   

 Again and again, the Bible describes God in glowing terms that leave no doubt that He is the only true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Most High God, the King of kings and Lord of lords.  His titles and names, His transcendent descriptions, His mighty signs and wonders- these all add up to the fact that our God is preeminent.  There is no other God, and no other being in heaven and earth that even comes close.  He is… 

“Far above all principality and power, might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.  And He has put all things under His feet…”, Ephesians 1:21-22.

He is Greater Than…

Clearly, it only makes sense that the potter is greater than the clay, the painter is greater than the painting, the Master is greater than the masterpiece, the Shepherd is greater than the sheep.  The Psalmist wrote:

 “Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.  We are His people and the sheep of His pasture…”   (Psalm 100:3)

It is important to remember that the Lord is God and we are not.  He is far above all others, overwhelmingly preeminent!  But perhaps the question is, ‘Where is He in your heart?  Is He #1 in your heart?”  Do you love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind?

Have you ever thought about what you will do when you meet Jesus in Heaven.  Remember, He is the express image of the Godhead in bodily form.  I’ve thought about that a lot, and I think I will probably do what the women at the empty tomb did when they saw the resurrected and glorified Lord Jesus…. “They came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.”  

God’s Feet Remind Us of His PLACE

1 Chronicles 28:2.  King David said… “ I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it.”  

King David was bothered that he lived in a nice palace with a permanent foundation and sturdy walls paneled with cedar, when the Ark of God was placed in a tent of curtains (2 Sam. 7:2).  So he had it in his heart to build a magnificent temple so the Ark of God could rest in splendor, and God, as it were, could come to the Holy of Holies and dwell with His people in the opulence and majesty that was fitting for the King of Kings.  In David’s mind, this magnificent temple would be a comparable to a divine footstool  for his sovereign Creator and Lord.  David referred to worshipping God at His ‘footstool’ in other Psalms (Psalm 99:5, Psalm 132:7).

Though it was David’s dream to build the Temple, it was God’s plan to have David’s son, King Solomon, be the architect and builder.  David prepared for it by setting aside massive amounts of gold, silver, brass, etc.  Solomon used those materials to build a truly magnificent Temple that was unparalleled in beauty and grandeur.  It was eventually destroyed, rebuilt on a smaller scale, then enhanced by Herod in the time of Christ.  Then it was destroyed again in 70 A.D.  by the Roman Empire.  

A New Way

Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law and said He would institute a new covenant and way to worship.  Jesus said, 

“I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18).  

The followers of Christ are called ‘Christians’, and are all part of this invisible Church that Jesus is building all over the world, one soul at a time.  Christians meet, worship and serve in local churches.  Jesus not only promised to build His Church (invisible, universal), but He also promised to be personally present when His followers meet in His name in the local church (Mt. 18:20).  Both Old and New Testament believers have been given a special place to worship and serve.  So it is still proper to think of the feet of God, and how our Sovereign and Lovely Lord can find a place of rest and fellowship at His footstool.  Today that leads me to think of the local church, which is a special place to meet with Jesus and His followers, our brothers and sisters.

God’s Feet Remind Us of His PROVISION

After the death of Christ, the disciples were hiding in the upper room.  On the 3^rd day, Jesus rose from the grave and appeared to the startled men who could not believe their eyes.  Jesus calmed their fears by saying,… 

Luke 24:39  “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet”.  Why did Jesus do this?  

This is explained by the statement of “doubting Thomas” in John 20:25… “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails (in His hands and feet), and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”  Jesus knew His beloved followers would have doubts, so though He was now in His resurrected and glorified body, Jesus chose to allow the scars to remain in His hands, feet and side, as a vivid and eternal reminder of the high cost of our salvation. 

Why do I say that the Son of God’s hands and feet will be an eternal  reminder?  Because of what the Bible says in Revelation 5:6.  The apostle John is writing of a future scene in Heaven and says these amazing words about Jesus… “I looked and behold, in the midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain…”   This is telling us that our precious Savior will forever bear the scars of His crucifixion as an everlasting reminder of His unspeakable love for us.  Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Fanny Crosby

Fanny Crosby was a blind hymn-writer that authored many of our beloved hymns, including, My Savior First of All.  She naturally looked forward to the after-life and getting her sight back in her new, glorified body.  But she had even greater anticipation that the first thing she would see with her new eyesight would be her blessed Savior!  She wrote… 

“When my life work is ended and I cross the swelling tide,
when the bright and glorious morning I shall see;
I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side,
and His smile will be the first to welcome me.  

I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
and redeemed by His side I shall stand;
I shall know Him, I shall know Him,
by the print of the nails in His hand [and feet].”

God’s Feet Remind Us of His PROMISE

Zechariah 14:1-4… “Behold the Day of the Lord is coming…for I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem…half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.  Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.  In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which faces Jerusalem on the east…”  

In this riveting prophecy, Zechariah describes the 2^nd Advent of Jesus Christ, which will be an awesome, glorious event!  According to a companion passage in Rev. 1:7,… “every eye will see Him…”  Wow, you talk about a grand entrance!  Just as the Scriptures promised the 1^st coming of the Messiah, the Bible also assures that He will come the second time.  

Jesus came the first time as the Lamb of God who would be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.  But Jesus will come the second time as the Lion of Judah.  He will defeat the armies of the world gathered against Him and His chosen nation of Israel.  Then He will descend to Jerusalem, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, and He will walk through the Eastern (Golden) Gate and take up his rightful place on the throne where He will rule and reign as the sovereign King of Kings that He is!  The Bible tells us in Matthew 25 that Jesus will judge all the nations, separating the sheep (believers) from the goats (unbelievers).  Then He will send the unrighteous to everlasting punishment, and the righteous will enter into eternal life (Mt. 25:31-46).

When You Meet Jesus

The Bible very clearly describes in multiple passages that every individual will stand before God in final judgment.  Yes, you will meet Jesus!!  The question is, will you meet Him as your blessed Savior or your condemning Judge?   There is no more important question. 

If there is any doubt, find a place of prayer right now.  Repent of your sins, ask the Lord to cleanse and forgive you, and save your soul, and trust Him to do it.  You will be eternally grateful, and you will be able to spend eternity with the Lamb of God who will forever bear the scars of His Love for us!  Click here: How to Be Saved and Born Again?

Read More 

What is Anthropomorphism?
Will We See the Face of God in Heaven? What Will He Look Like?
Seeing Jesus
Close Your Eyes and SEE Jesus!

The Anthropomorphic Expressions of God
How Should We Understand…
The Mind of God?
The Face of God?
The Eyes of God?
The Ears of God?
The Nose of God?
The Voice of God?
The Shoulder of God?
The Back of God?
The Arms of God?
The Hands of God?
The Fingers of God?
The Feet of God?
The Heart of God?