ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Pulelulu Fepueli 1, 2023

Claimed by Feet  רגל

Faka‘ionga‘i ‘aki ho‘o lakaa

GENESIS 13:17

[THE LORD TOLD ABRAM,] "ARISE, WALK THROUGH THE LENGTH AND BREADTH OF THE LAND. FOR I WILL GIVE IT TO YOU."

Senesi 13:17

Tu‘u, pea foli ‘a e fonua, ‘a hono lōloa mo hono māukupu; he te u ‘atu ia mo‘ou.

God told Abram to use his eyes and feet. First, look "northward and southward and eastward and westward" he said (13:14). Then he told him to get to walking. Later, he told Israel, "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours" (Deut. 11:24). The sole of Israel's regel ("foot") wrote their signature on the soil. This reflects the ancient practice, common in those cultures, of kings and others assuming or reaffirming ownership of land by walking the length and breadth of their property. Similarly, when Boaz redeemed land for Naomi, the other man handed over his sandal, relinquishing any right to the soil (Ruth 4:7-8).

Jesus didn't settle down in one spot when preaching and healing. His was a peripatetic ministry. Like the patriarch, he walked the length and breadth of Israel. God had come down to his people, become a man, and stamped his name on earth's soil with his own regel. But he wasn't just claiming Israel; he was owning "all nations" (Matt. 28:19). Still today, when his ambassadors set their feet in a location and preach the kingdom of God, how beautiful are those feet (Isa. 52:7), for they bring the good news that the Lord of grace reigns supreme.

Lord Jesus, stand in our midst with your nail-scarred feet to claim our lives as your own.