Diseased Feet in 39th Year
2 Chronicles 16:12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.
This is a very curious Scripture. We wonder why God bothers to tell us that king Asa had a disease in his feet? Certainly he had other ailments during his life and reign – why point this out? Also, why does the Lord specifically tell us this disease took place during the 39th year of his reign?
Can we learn the answers to these questions? As a matter of fact, yes we can.
Feet in the Bible Identify with Sharing the Gospel
Romans 10:15 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!
How beautiful are the feet of them that PREACH THE GOSPEL of peace. Feet and preaching the Gospel go hand in hand.
The apostle Paul was commissioned by Christ to preach the Gospel. This is how the Lord moved Paul to describe it:
Acts 26:15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
Stand upon your feet! And go forth (which is what being sent means) to the nations (Gentiles).
Oh, but king Asa cannot stand upon his feet because they became diseased. Diseased feet are not beautiful feet. The picture of diseased feet is, therefore, an illustration of a king/nation of Judah/church that cannot fulfill the task at hand of sharing the gospel.
This is where the year's of Asa's reign becomes significant. He was in the 39th year of his reign. 39 breaks down to: 3 x 13. The #3 indicates God's purpose. And the #13 points to super fullness or the end of the world.
It so happens, that according to the Biblical calendar of history, the year 1988 was the 13,000th year of earth's existence. Furthermore, 1988 was also the end of the age for the New Testament corporate church.
This means that the Gospel sent forth faithfully by the churches from 33 AD to 1988 for a period of 1,955 years. But then, on May 21, 1988, the day before Pentecost, the Spirit of God did not renew the church's commission and thereby ended its mission of bringing forth the Gospel to the nations.
And as a result, immediately, since the church was decommissioned by God Himself, all of their efforts in getting out the Gospel became ruined. Without the blessing of the Spirit of God with them, their efforts became corrupt. Their gospel efforts, once said to be as beautiful feet in their going forth, now became sick as diseased feet. The disease of the feet in the 39th year of the reign of king Asa illustrates this very vividly.