“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. I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness. Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away. I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death, and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave. When the terrible enemy sweeps through, you will be trampled into the ground.”
Isaiah 28:16-18 NLT
We revisit Isaiah 28:16 because the Cornerstone on which our faith depends is Jesus Himself. There is no other Person or thing available in Heaven or on earth who can ever claim to be such a foundation. Isaiah was speaking to a people who were looking for security in the wrong places. Judah had been placing its confidence in political alliances, human wisdom and its own ability to manage the threats around it. God, however, points them away from themselves and towards something—or rather Someone—who can be trusted completely. The striking phrase is “a firm and tested stone.” God does not offer His people a foundation that is merely theoretical. His faithfulness has been tested throughout history. He has proved Himself trustworthy in the lives of Abraham, Moses, David and countless others. This verse in Isaiah does not make the connection with Jesus the Christ, but Peter does in 1 Peter 2:6-8, “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.” Yes, you who trust him recognize the honour God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them”. Paul did as well in 1 Corinthians 3:11, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ“. Another verse to refer to is in Romans 9:33.
I suppose the question for us pilgrims has to be, “What foundation are we building on?” It is easy to say that Christ is our Foundation, but instead we quietly build our lives on temporal things such as our money, our family, our jobs, our health, reputation or relationships. The list of alternatives to Christ, our Rock, seems endless. But all of these can be impacted when the storms of life roll against us, stripping them away, one by one, until all that is left is the one and only foundation that really matters – Christ Himself. Look at Job. Read the first chapter. He lost his flocks and herds, his camels, shepherds and servants, and finally his children. All gone. His response? Job 1:21-22, “He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God“. Job knew the One foundation that mattered.
Every one of our worldly and human foundations can shift, but Christ is different. He does not shift when circumstances come against us. The storms of life do not prove that our foundation has failed. Rather, they reveal what our foundation actually is. Jesus expressed the same truth in His parable of the wise and foolish builders. The wise man built his house upon the rock. When the rain came, the floods rose and the winds beat against the house, it remained standing because it had been founded on the Rock (Matthew 7:24–25).
There is also something wonderfully personal in Isaiah’s statement. God does not merely say that the cornerstone exists. He says that the person who trusts in it “need never be shaken“. Faith does not mean that the believer will never experience difficulty, disappointment or fear. It means that beneath all those things there is something that cannot be moved. Psalm 46:1-2, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea”. The confidence of us pilgrims ultimately rests not in the strength of our own faith, but in the faithfulness of the One in whom we have placed our faith.
“Dear Lord Jesus , forgive us for the times when we have looked for security in things that cannot ultimately sustain us. Help us to build our lives upon Christ—the tested, precious and dependable Cornerstone. When circumstances are uncertain, remind us that our foundations are not. When we are afraid of what tomorrow may bring, help us to rest in the One who does not change, the One who holds tomorrow in the palm of His hand. May our confidence be found not in what we can control, but in Christ, whom we can completely trust. Amen.”
