“So the Lord will spell out his message for them again, one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there, so that they will stumble and fall. They will be injured, trapped, and captured. Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord, you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem. You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.” Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.”
Isaiah 28:13-16 NLT
Isaiah repeats again the words of a previous verse that made a parody of his attempts to proclaim the Lord’s message, speaking as if he were teaching simple ideas to children. But God would use the Assyrians to teach the childish Israelites a hard lesson. A time was coming when they would be “injured, trapped, and captured”, the surviving people being carried off into exile. Isaiah now turns his attention to “the scoffing rulers of Jerusalem”, the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The warnings were much the same. Judah may have been pleased to hear what Isaiah had to say about the Israelites, but their complacency ended quickly when Isaiah called them “scoffers”. As we saw a few days ago, “A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise” (Proverbs 15:12). Later in the book of Proverbs, there is a helpful definition of who a “scoffer” is. Proverbs 21:24, ““Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride“. That was how Isaiah addressed the “rulers in Jerusalem”, and they wouldn’t have been pleased. As we will find in a later chapter in Isaiah, Judah had made a pact with Egypt: ““What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins. For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade”” (Isaiah 30:1-2). The people in Judah thought that they were safe from attack, but Isaiah called out the error of their ways. They had put their trust in a foreign power rather than in the Lord.
This is something that has happened throughout history, so the Judeans were not doing anything unusual. Except, of course, these were God’s people. The Psalmist wrote, “Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God” (Psalm 146:3-5). Then we have Psalm 20:7, “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God”. The promises of protection from the Lord are scattered throughout Scripture, such as in Isaiah 41:10-11, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. See, all your angry enemies lie there, confused and humiliated. Anyone who opposes you will die and come to nothing“.
I suppose there is a question about God’s protection today. Would He protect, for example, the UK if the people living here turned to Him for help? In some ways this question is academic, because the UK is becoming increasingly secular, but I believe that if the entire nation turned to Him, He would. God will never reject a contrite and repentant person – just look at the thief on the cross – and I’m sure that would extend to a nation. But instead there is an alliance of Western countries who rely instead on their “chariots and horses”. The question for the Judeans was: “Do you think your pact with the Egyptians will save you?” Unfortunately, they would find out the hard way that the Egyptians had no intention of helping them out.
Isaiah continued in the next verse in today’s reading by saying that God alone is the trustworthy footing on which Judah should rest all its confidence. In an often-quoted statement, the Lord says He has established a “foundation in Zion,” meaning Jerusalem. In several places we can read that God confirmed that Jerusalem would be His home. Psalm 132:13-14 is just one. “For the Lord has chosen Jerusalem; he has desired it for his home. “This is my resting place forever,” he said. “I will live here, for this is the home I desired“”. Zion was a fortress, as we read in 2 Samuel 5:7, “But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David”. Ancient buildings relied on large, sturdy corners to keep a building upright. These “cornerstones” were essential, and one was always the most important. References to “the” cornerstone imply something on which the entire structure depends. God has verified this “stone”. It will bear the needed weight as the keystone for the entire building. The Lord says that anyone who believes in this stone won’t “be in haste” in the sense of being panicked or alarmed. Instead, they will experience security and confidence. They “need never be shaken“.
It is no exaggeration to call Jesus the Cornerstone of our faith. Without Him upholding His followers, the whole structure would come tumbling down, and as we know, Christianity is alive and well in this world. Peter wrote, “You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honour. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honour, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced”” (1 Peter 2:4-6). There will one day be a new Jerusalem, which we can read about in Revelation 21, where God Himself will live, along with His people. There will be no shaking there in the lives of believers, because “nothing evil will be allowed to enter … but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27).
That is the future and the hope that we pilgrims have faith for. All those who believe in Jesus will be gifted eternal life with Him. But are we ready? Will Jesus find us doing His will in the life we have now? A sobering thought, and we must take it seriously. Of course, He is gracious enough to forgive our sins, and we come into His presence this morning, reaching out to Him again with our prayers and supplications.
Dear Father God. Thank You for Jesus. We love You, Lord. You are indeed our refuge and strength, as we depend on none other than You. As we face the day ahead, we pray that You go before us, straighten our paths, and show us the way through the minefields of life. In. Your precious name, we pray. Amen.
