Recently, I was teaching our college group from Isaiah 28.
Verse 16 of Isaiah 28 says this:
“therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’””
God, speaking through his prophet Isaiah there, is assuring his people of stability, safety and certainty in the midst of their unstable, unsafe and uncertain times. The key though is that God’s stone & foundation is not in a deed or even a system. It is in a man. Salvation is not something we do. Salvation is someone we believe in! The preciousness of life and the foundation of life is in trusting in Jesus Christ for forgiveness.
That is what this passage in Isaiah 28 is about.
But if that is not clear enough for you, then check this out. Look at all these other passages in God’s Word that point to what Isaiah was talking about.
Psalm 118:22 “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
Acts 4:11-12 “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
1 Peter 2:4-7 “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture ‘Behold I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’ “
Matthew 21:42 “Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.’“
Romans 9:32b-33 “They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’“
I wish you could have been there that night to see that room full of young adults as they saw the beauty, power and continuity of the Word of God in our Bible study. The Word was coming alive to them!
Certainly the Bible was written by many different men, but it truly has God as its author! Just from this short study we see that Isaiah, Luke, Peter, David, Matthew, Paul and Jesus all affirm and believe that when Isaiah talked about the stone and sure foundation, he was referring to the Lord Jesus. That is remarkable!