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Take Off Your Shoes
By ONE FOR ISRAEL (Messianic Jews In Israel)
Moses
and Joshua had to take off their shoes because the ground was holy, an exchange
of footwear sealed the deal in Ruth, and the Psalms talk of tossing sandals
at Edom… What is it with the Middle East and shoes?
As I
struggled to board the crowded train to Tel Aviv airport with my heavy
suitcases, I watched with horror as one of my shoes was wrenched off and
tumbled between the train and the platform.
/
Stunned, I gazed down at it, lying there helplessly on the track, and I suddenly grasped something about the importance and significance of having something to wear on our feet.
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Stunned, I gazed down at it, lying there helplessly on the track, and I suddenly grasped something about the importance and significance of having something to wear on our feet.
I
simply could not go on without it. I had to make a decision – do I go on,
hopping along on one foot and find alternative footwear somehow at the
airport?
Or miss
the vital train to make it to check in on time?
The
shoe recovery operation won out in the end, and although I made it (just) to my
flight, I had a lot to ponder on as I continued my journey.
Shoes Off
Old
Testament covenants are often sealed with some kind of footwear deal, and there
is good reason for this.
Without
shoes, we are powerless. We are humbled. We are weak and incapable. We cannot
go on.
A
soldier cannot fight without his boots, a farmer cannot plough his field, a
traveler will not get very far… I once knew of someone who was robbed penniless
and forced to travel through the baking desert barefoot because they also took
his shoes – the anguish he must have gone through is unthinkable.
God
reminds the Israelites that their clothes – and their sandals – never wore out
as they wandered for those 40 years in the desert, and this is a most
remarkable and important provision.
By removing a shoe in the
ancient Middle East, a person can be seen to be offering vulnerability –
putting themselves at the mercy of the recipient. It is a statement of trust
and submission.
In
Isaiah 9:1-7, the announcement is made (about a millennium before the event)
that unto us a Son is born… right before that is a message of triumphant
victory:
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
“on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has
dawned…
“For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the
yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
“Every warrior’s boot used in battle and
every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born…”
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born…”
Taking
a warrior’s boots and burning them is pretty much a coup d’état.
It’s pretty hard to come back from that.
It’s a
resounding victory for the boot-burner and a crushing defeat for the barefooted
enemy.
This
rich also passage speaks to us of Yeshua’s complete triumph and the contrasting
powerlessness of the enemy.
Shoes On
Later
in the Bible, in the New Testament, we see more references to footwear, but
this time the significance is in putting it on.
Again,
in a military context, Paul urges the Ephesians (6:13-15):
“Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
comes,
“you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand.
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your
waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
“and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes
from the gospel of peace.”
To be
shod with shoes is symbolic of being ready for action, and able to fight.
But this
passage speaks of standing, defending, and peace.
I love
that he chose footwear to represent our readiness based on the gospel – a lack of shoes is
incapacitating, but if we have our shoes on, we are ready for action.
Also,
in Acts 12:7-8 we see the daily routine of waking up and getting dressed taking
on a new twist when Peter is in jail:
"Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and
a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up.
“’Quick, get up!’ he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s
wrists. Then the angel said to him,
“’Put on your clothes and sandals.’ And Peter did so.
“’Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,’ the angel told him.”
God
does the miraculous chain dissolving trick, but Peter still has to get up and
put his shoes on.
God
could, theoretically, have made him ready miraculously too, but it was part of
the deal – Peter had to do what he could do, and the impossible business was
taken care of by God’s power.
Peter had to act and be ready. He had to
put his shoes on, and follow the angel to freedom.
Do it
all for the glory of God.
So next
time you take your shoes off, consider in that moment your barefooted
inability, your weakness, your incapacity, and turn your thoughts to your
dependence on God.
You
could let that moment be an act of submission and surrender to him – casting
yourself on his mercy, and recognising his holy presence with you.
And
when you put your shoes on, consider Peter, dazed and confused, getting ready
to take his next steps into freedom and the adventures God had for him.
Consider
Paul’s encouragement to fit your feet with the readiness that comes from the
gospel of peace.
Equip
yourself mentally and spiritually for the day and be ready for the tasks God
has for you, whatever they might be.
We
are an Israeli ministry composed of Jewish & Arab followers of Yeshua
(Jesus) who are all about blessing Israel through sharing the gospel online,
educating the new generation of born-again believers through our one and only
Hebrew-speaking Bible College in Israel, and helping holocaust survivors by
supplying humanitarian aid.
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