Bible Geek Word Nerd - Say #8: Good News

Say #8 - Good News for All

September 11, 2022 

We have been at this “to say” series since the Summer…although we did take off a couple of months. Still, it has lingered for longer than we expected…like a stutter, perhaps. But we are winding down. There are three more words to present. We had been intending to discuss two of them in one post because they are the most common, but the slight differences between them might be worth two posts. We shall see.

 

Today we are going to talk about the news and how sharing the news gives us a fascinating word with Messianic implications.

 

St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, in Chapter 10 says: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”

 

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”

If your Bible has footnotes – or if you’ve studied the Hebrew Bible – you know that Paul is citing a passage from the prophet Isaiah. We mentioned this passage in our post on our foot obsession. Let’s have the whole poetic prophesy in its context:

 

“Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendour, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive. For this is what the LORD says: ‘You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.’ For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them. ‘And now what do I have here?’ declares the LORD. ‘For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,’declares the LORD. ‘And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.’ HOW BEAUTIFUL ON THE MOUNTAINS ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS, WHO PROCLAIM PEACE, WHO BRING GOOD TIDINGS, WHO PROCLAIM SALVATION, WHO SAY TO ZION, ‘YOUR GOD REIGNS!’ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

 

Who brings Good News… 

 

Imagine the city in tension, their army, led by the King perhaps, in the field against a hostile foe, perhaps one with superior numbers. They wait, in the Gate, on the Walls, for news of the battle’s outcome. That news comes by way of a runner, who carries the information with him. If his news is bad, that’s awful. If his tidings are good? Well, how blessed are his feet!

The Hebrew word that lies behind this phrase “who brings good news” is BASAR (בָּשַׂר).

 

We find BASAR in 1 Samuel 4, when the news was not good. “The man who BROUGHT THE NEWS replied, ‘Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of G od has been captured.’” And overweight Eli keeled over and died from a broken neck. Another occurrence involving the bearing of tidings is the death of Saul at the hands of the Phiistines: “ They cut off his head and stripped off his armour, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to PROCLAIM THE NEWS in the temple of their idols and among their people.” David, upon learning of Sau’'s death, composed a poem (because of course, he would): ‘Tell it not in Gath, PROCLAIM it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.” 

 

But let us return to the verse which begain this exploration of BASAR. We have cited Isaiah. It is a gloriously hopeful reference point (and perhaps you can understand why we have a foot obsession: we WAIT (QAVAH) for the Kingdom to be revealed in this Dark Time.

 

The so-called minor prophet Nahum echoes Isaiah (maybe Paul was thining of Nahum?): “Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah, and fulfil your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.”

 

How often are you telling “bad news”? Salacious stories that grab attention and distract people from the main Message? We LOVE (AHEV) bad news – gossip that grabs attention and makes us more important – that elevates us at the expense of the story.

 

Do you remember the rest of the story about Saul’s death? It might be time to re-read 1 Samuel 31 and 2 Samuel 1. Gossip mongerers do not enjoy a reward.