September 2, 2025
Introduction
• I’m Brent, and this is The Bible Unplugged. I’m breaking with the usual format for this episode. Why? It’s Episode 52. That means we have been together for a year.
• I am so thankful to you for listening. When God impressed on me the idea for The Bible Unplugged, I had no idea where this would lead. A year later, these episodes have been streamed, read, and downloaded over 10,000 times in 55 countries around the world. I am thrilled and humbled by that.
• In this next year of weekly episodes we will introduce some new elements. The first one is the opportunity for you to leave comments and suggestions for future topics. Just click or tap the “comments” button at the bottom of the show notes.
• To commemorate this milestone, I want to do something different. I thought about focusing on something spectacular, like how God meets His people on majestic mountain tops, or how God’s faithful worshipped Him at altars. We will get to those topics in the next few episodes. What we’re talking about today is something much less spectacular: sandals. Yes, sandals. As in footwear.
• You can find the show notes for this episode are at PowerLoveandMiracles.com
Background
• In the ancient world, sandals weren’t just footwear fashion statements. They were also symbols of identity, humility, devotion, and covenant.
• Removing your sandals, like Moses did at the burning bush, was a display of reverence and honor.
• Giving your sandal to someone was the same as signing a contract. Boaz redeemed Ruth this way.
• Removing someone else’s sandals and washing their feet, the way Jesus did for his disciples, was a sign of humility and love.
The Gospel in a Shoe Box
• When we take a close look at the role of sandals in the Bible, we find the entire gospel… in a shoebox.
• Moses and Joshua
• In Exodus chapter 3, Moses encountered a burning bush. As he approached, God told him, “Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”
• There is a lesser-known passage about sandals in the Book of Joshua chapter 5. As Joshua, the leader of the nation of Israel at the time, approached Jericho, he saw a man with a sword who told him, “I have come now as commander of Yahweh’s army... Take off your sandals, for the place on which you stand is holy.”
• Both Moses and Joshua removed their sandals to honor the boundary where God’s holy ground started. Standing barefoot in God’s presence was a sign of humility and reverence. This symbolically and literally left nothing between these men and God.
• The first step in accepting the Gospel message is to recognize our limitations, remove what comes between us and God, so that nothing, not even our footwear, comes between us.
• Boaz and Ruth
• In the Book of Ruth chapter 4, Boaz negotiated the right to buy land that belonged to Naomi’s deceased husband Elimelech. Along with the purchase came the responsibility to marry Ruth to continue the line of inheritance. This also gave Naomi a source of security as well.
• Boaz negotiated with the relative who had first rights to the land. In our time we usually seal agreements by signing a document. Not so then. Boaz gave his sandal to the relative as a sign that they had reached an agreement.
• The next step in God’s redemption of His people is to buy us back from the consequences of sin and death. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and His victory over sin and death in the resurrection, is the means God designed to buy us back the way Boaz did for Ruth.
• Sandals in the New Testament
• In the New Testament, sandals represent several aspects of spirituality.
• John the Baptist said that he wasn’t worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals as a sign of abject humility.
• In the Book of Mark chapter 6 Jesus tells his disciples to travel with their sandals on when they preached the gospel as a sign of readiness and willingness to go where God led them.
• In Luke chapter 15, the father of the prodigal son instructs the servants to put sandals on his son’s feet showing that the son came home with nothing, not even shoes, and as a sign of restoration to the family.
• Most importantly, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. This indicates a few things:
• The disciples were barefoot. The custom of that time was to remove sandals before entering a home out of respect for the homeowner, but it is also an allusion to removing sandals when on holy ground.
• Priests would remove their sandals and wash their feet in preparation for service in the Temple. By washing the disciples’ feet Jesus prepared the disciples to be the priests who would be a part of the ultimate Passover sacrifice: the death of Jesus on the Cross. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus died at the same moment the ceremonial Passover lamb was sacrificed in the Temple by the priests.
• Jesus, the Messiah, took on the role of a lowly servant to demonstrate that real love doesn’t seek to climb higher—it kneels lower.
What Do We Learn from This?
• Removing sandals in God’s presence was a sign of humility and reverence and indicated that ownership of that land was God’s alone. We should live that same reverence wherever God leads us. If we are praying at home, worshipping in church, or caring for a neighbor in need, symbolically remove your sandals and recognize your place in God’s kingdom.
• In ancient times, covenants were sealed by exchanging sandals. When we commit to do something for God, we don’t have to give up our footwear, but we do give something of ourselves for God’s service.
• Whenever you do something to benefit someone else, take on the role of a lowly servant knowing that we serve God by serving others.
What Do We Do with This?
• Rituals are important in helping us develop good habits. Your footwear can actually be useful in developing a prayer habit.
• When you put on your shoes say a quick prayer asking God to send you to someone who needs to know God’s love and commit yourself to serving them.
• When you take your shoes off, also say a quick prayer of humility and thankfulness for all that God did for you and for others that day.
• God may not lead you to wash someone else’s feet, but He does lead us to serve and support others especially in times of crisis. When you sense a need, be willing to respond even if it’s messy or inconvenient. Humbling yourself to serve lifts others closer to God.
The conclusion
• Yes, we have reached the end of this episode, but I’ll be back.
• I hope this has been helpful. If so, take a minute to give this podcast a high rating and share it with someone you know.
• In the next episode, we will continue our Bible theme series with a look at significance of altars in Scripture. God does some amazing things in those places.
• My prayer for you is that you will have the inner strength and fierce faith to serve others with humility and the discipline to walk toward God’s calling for you
• Have a blessed week.
The disclaimers
• Just to let you know
• All opinions are my own. If you agree, keep listening. If you don’t… keep listening. I think if you listen long enough you will agree with me.
• All Bible quotations come from the World English Bible which is a public domain work.
• Our show theme song is “Awesome Call” by Kevin MacLeod and is available under a Creative Commons license.
• The content of this podcast is copyrighted 2025 by J. Brent Eaton
• This has been a Power Love and Miracles production.
