When I read these familiar words again in Isaiah 52:7 I was thinking once again that the verse encouraged the believers to evangelize - to tell the good news of Jesus to the unsaved world, because it is a beautiful thing to do. I was thinking (somewhat erroneously) of the verse the apostle Paul quoted in Romans 10:15 which was:
"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"
There is a subtle difference of course. The verse in Romans is missing "on the mountains" from the verse in Isaiah. Did Paul misquote the verse in Isaiah? So I decided to dig a little deeper.
Biblehub.com has a number of commentaries on Isaiah 52:7. I like Barnes' notes the best:
"The idea in the mind of the prophet is not, that the messenger is so near that the sordid appearance of his feet could be seen. The beholder is supposed to be standing amidst the ruins of the desolated city, and the messenger is seen running on the distant hills. The long anticipated herald announcing that these ruins are to rise, at length appears. Seen on the distant hills, running rapidly, he is a beautiful object. It is his feet, his running, his haste, that attracts attention; an indication that he bears a message of joy, and that the nation is about to be restored. Nahum, who is supposed to have lived after Isaiah, has evidently copied from him this beautiful image:
Behold, on the mountains
The feet of him who brings good tidings,
Who proclaims peace!
O Judah, keep your appointed feasts,
Perform your vows.
For the wicked one shall no more pass through you;
He is utterly cut off. (Nahum 1:15)"
So the apostle Paul correctly interpreted the original verse from Isaiah and applied it to his time. He spoke of the feet as in the gospel messenger running in haste, thus showing his feet. The mountain - most certainly alluded to Mount Zion, which is a symbol of God's reign and protection of Jerusalem, is not as important to his listeners in Rome. The verse is about the urgency and the beauty of being a bearer of the good news of salvation.
Unlike the Jews sitting among the ruins of Jerusalem waiting for liberation from the Babylonian oppressors, our world facing the many difficulties - poverty and wars, Ebola outbreak, global warming etc, are waiting for protection and solutions from the impending disasters. Now the good news is that Jesus has provided salvation for the real problem of mankind - our sinful nature. Jesus Christ has the power to correct all the problems of this world:
"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:15-17)
But he chooses to do it through us. Those who are believers are renewed to take up the work of renewing the world.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We are to be His agent to work towards bringing solutions to the world's problems. We may not be able to do it alone or within our life time but through the universal church of Christ and God's zealousness it will be done!
"Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this." (Isaiah 9:7)
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