Nougat 14

When we consider Today’s Holy Nougat, what does it evoke in us? How do we respond to Jesus?

‭Psalms 110:1 NIV‬

[1] The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

Enemy as Footstools 2

Growing up in Jamaica as a child, I think everyone had an ottoman. It seemed that the hassock (ottoman) was essential for homemaking. In a family comprising girls, it wasn’t only decorative, it was utilitarian. For a hassock was perhaps a footstool in most other spaces, but for us it was a lower seat that facilitated beautiful ‘hair-dos’. This worked for braids (cane-rows) our even regular pairs after a good shampooing had taken place.

It was, some households, the seat for children when watching the television, no crumbs in the fancy living room set! And in the rare occasion it might have doubled as a tray table, provided it wasn’t extra low. I can scarcely recall a hassock being used as a footstool. What about you?

In David’s time however, I imagine a footstool was an essential item, especially for nobility in battle. It would have been built differently from a hassock, as I believe it was used primarily for mounting and dismounting. It was this symbolic of humiliation, degradation and most definitely, subjugation. Easton’s Bible Dictionary says it was connected with a throne, and the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says it was a ‘sort of step or support for the feet placed before the throne of any pretentious seat.’ (contributed by Leonard W Doolan).

What David thus described in that Divine conversation was YHWH’s assurance to Jesus that he was the fulfilment of the Genesis 3 edict. In verse 15, God told the serpent (which represented the accuser of the saints, satan) that the offspring of the woman would strike its head, even as the serpent would bruise the offspring’s heel. Although one never actually placed one foot on another’s head – even in battle – it was considered a sign of a vanquished enemy.

And that’s what happened in that crucifixion week. Satan literally bruised Jesus’ heel by piercing his feet, and figuratively so in ensuring His death at Calvary. What satan failed to realize however, was that it happened to Satan’s own detriment. For three days later Death was swallowed up in victory by Jesus’ Resurrection. The matter was settled once and for all. Death became Jesus’ footstool. Paul described Death as the final (earthly) enemy in 1 Corinthians 15.

Moreover, in ascending to the ‘right hand of the father’, Satan became Jesus’s footstool – its a foregone, but unacknowledged conclusion. You see siblings, that Jesus sits at God’s right side (Hebrews 1:3), indicates that He defeated Death and has successfully returned to Heaven. If He’s there and preparing that place for us, so we can be with Him in eternity, Satan has lost the battle. Its no longer ours to be fought. We, in choosing to be subject to Jesus, are in the Winner’s side. And Jesus is our main cheerleader and intercessor, securing our victory over sin.

That’s why this Nougat is crucial. It’s about Jesus’ sovereignty, and by extension, our salvation. Yes indeedy. We’re in this Nougat. For Jesus has fulfilled Genesis 3.15. With Satan being Jesus’ footstool, there’s no permanent power resting with the accuser. It’s all a sham. We may be bruised by the adversary, but not broken.

Our faith response – thankful praise, and full obedience. Can we do that?

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May all we seek be found in Christ