Isaiah 28:16, commentary and pictures

God himself lays in Zion a tried and precious cornerstone as a sure foundation, in contrast to every human refuge. The stone is Christ the Savior and Redeemer, severely tried by bearing the world's guilt and grief, by temptation and by the cross, yet proving firm and precious to all who trust him. The church is built on him alone, not on Peter, broad and strong enough for Jews and Gentiles, with all who connect with him becoming living stones in a spiritual house. Whoever believes on him shall not make haste, needing no panicked flight or anxious hurry but finding rest, security and steady trust in God's leading and timing. Lies, self-righteousness and earthly securities will be exposed and swept away by judgment, while those who repent, submit and build character and life on Christ will stand through storm and scourge.

Foundation Laid in Zion

God himself lays in Zion a tried and precious cornerstone as a sure foundation, set against lies, false security, self-reliance and every deceptive human refuge. Whoever believes on it need not rush elsewhere for safety, flee in panic, act in fear, or be driven into anxious haste. Believers who build on it need not depend on human counsel but secure eternal life by building on what God has provided rather than on themselves. The figures in the prophecy represent spiritual things, and the true refuge stands firm when divine judgment and righteousness act as measuring standards to expose false refuges and sweep away lies. Those resting hope on self must flee to this dependable foundation before ruin and tempest break.

At Solomon's temple the stone rejected by the builders had already withstood sun, storm, exposure and severe pressure testing its strength and fitness, and then became the fitting cornerstone in its assigned place. This event symbolized Christ's trials and rejection, for at His first advent He would bear trials and tests as that temple stone had been tested. He bore the guilt of humanity and the burdens of repentant sinners and overcame evil, so all who depend on Him can build on Him as the precious, sure foundation in perfect security and will not be disappointed.

The building raised on that Lord-laid stone depends on the work of redemption, although salvation was planned from the foundation of the earth. People are not saved merely because that plan exists, but only by exercising faith and building on the true foundation. They must allow God to re-create them by His Holy Spirit, and God works through those who choose to cooperate with Him in forming His building.

Fierce conflict with the powers of darkness brings a shaking time when God shakes everything that can be shaken. That shaking makes known who is standing on the sure foundation laid in Zion and who is on the Lord's side.

Christ the Tried Cornerstone

The stone laid in Zion is Christ Himself, the Savior and Redeemer, the tried stone, the precious cornerstone, the sure foundation. Those who rest hope on themselves build on sand toward ruin, but those who flee to Him before destruction comes will not be ashamed, confounded, or made to stumble. No foundation was ever put to so severe a test as He was. The Lord knew what this foundation stone could sustain, that the sins of the whole world could beat against it and be piled upon it, that the chosen could be redeemed, that heaven's gate could be thrown open to all who would believe, and that its untold glories could be given to the overcomer.

He endured every test, including temptation in the wilderness and the burden of Adam's guilt and that of his descendants, and He conquered evil. He has borne the guilt of humanity and the burdens of repentant sinners, and He can bear the world's burdens and griefs without failing. Guilty people who come to Him find relief, and all who depend on Him and make Him their foundation build in perfect security and will not be disappointed. He is tried and proved by believers who bring their trials to His sympathy, their sorrows to His love, their wounds to His healing, their weakness to His strength, and their emptiness to His fullness, and never one soul is disappointed. Moment by moment He lifts above pain, and when the heart is overwhelmed He is the Rock higher than self to be led to, His preciousness known in suffering through His atoning blood and His justifying righteousness.

He is the true and immovable foundation because He was crucified as propitiation and atoning sacrifice for sin. His body was broken and bruised for humanity, and because He gave His life believers should reverence Him and serve Him so that His glory is revealed and salvation shines forth. On this foundation believers are gathered as a church to labor together in unity and strengthen one another in faith. The whole structure of Christianity rests on and is supported by Him as the tried stone and sure foundation. Faith founded on the truth in Him is firm through every storm, holds to eternal unchanging truth, and does not depend on changeable feelings or be shaken by them.

Church Built on Christ

The church is built on Christ himself, not on Peter, for the rock in the words upon this rock I will build my church means Christ as the foundation of the church. Isaiah's tried, precious cornerstone and sure foundation laid in Zion is that same stone elsewhere described as rejected and made head of the corner, proving that Christ and not Peter is the rock on which the church is built. His body was broken and bruised for humanity, and the church built on him cannot be overcome by the powers of evil.

The name Peter signifies a rolling stone, a loose stone, distinct from the foundation rock. The stone rejected by the Jewish authorities and by the builders of the church became the head of the corner. They should have recognized His worth and value, yet the church authorities rejected Him who became its chief cornerstone.

Christ is the only true foundation on which people can securely build, broad enough for all and strong enough to sustain the weight and burden of the whole world. Jews and Gentiles alike may build on Him, for He is broad enough to include all and strong enough to bear the whole world's burden. Believers are gathered on this crucified propitiation and atoning sacrifice as a church to labor together in unity and to strengthen one another in faith. Service and talent have true value and become living service to God only when built on and connected with Him.

All who build upon Christ become living stones by connection with Him as the chief cornerstone. Believers who come to Him are built upon Him as living stones into God's spiritual house, into a spiritual house and holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. To fall upon this stone and be broken means to give up self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of transgressions and believing in His forgiving love. Those who hew and polish and beautify themselves by their own endeavors without connection to Christ never become living stones, and human effort alone cannot make anyone a living stone or save them.

To believers He is precious, and those who believe in Him and build on Him will not be confounded, ashamed, or made to stumble. The soul which trusts fully and entirely in God will not be confounded, but confidence in weak and faulty self must be broken so that one relies on God. To those who disobey and reject Him and stumble at the word He is a stone of stumbling. So it was with Judas, who despite abundant opportunities to receive the bread of life and to receive life could have formed a firm, Christlike character, yet stumbled through disobedience and rejection.

Faith That Does Not Hasten

He who believes will not make haste, which means not rushing to find safety elsewhere, not fleeing in panic, not acting in fear, and not being driven into anxious hurry, but finding relief, rest and perfect security on the tried, precious cornerstone laid in Zion as a sure foundation. Set against rulers and builders trusting in lies and false refuges that judgment exposes and sweeps away, believing means fleeing to that dependable foundation before the tempest breaks, while it is not yet too late to escape impending ruin. Those resting hope on self and building on sand must make that flight, and those who build on the foundation secure eternal life instead of depending on human counsel.

Not making haste is perfect trust in God as Counselor and Leader, being safe and sure in counsel, led and guided by the Holy Spirit, going to the fountain of wisdom for help and heeding His voice. God works in His own way and in His own time and is never in a hurry, so trusting fully in Him keeps a person from getting in haste. Turning instead to other sources of counsel is distrust of God and risks leading into false paths.

There is no safety in placing confidence in human wisdom or strength, and those seeking eternal life must depend on the sure foundation rather than on finite human beings. That means refusing to depend on men who do not love and obey God, refusing to inquire at strange altars, refusing to mingle the sacred and the common and to cast aside God's counsel for the counsels of men whose wisdom God pronounces foolishness. It means refusing to give perplexity or prosperity to the enemy and refusing to follow false guides who mislead, entangle and ruin and lay snares for the feet.

In practical decisions such as where to locate a school, this belief requires acknowledging God in all counsels, asking Him and believing the things asked are received, and going to the fountain of wisdom rather than hurrying to human advice. In the matter of a sanitarium's location it required patient prayer, careful consideration and shared counsel before a major decision, where waiting could itself be faithful service. After departing from truth to follow human devising, those who see and confess and repent and are pardoned must repair the hurt and bridge the gulf steadily and carefully, advancing slowly and surely and not taking on many lines of work at once until the load becomes wearisome and breaks strength, lest the standard-bearers fail and none remain to take their place.

Standing on the foundation means helpless sinners without delay separate from every false dependence and cast the helpless soul wholly on Christ's mercy for pardon, hiding in Him as the Rock of Ages cleft for them. All who so cast themselves on Him and take their stand truly and humbly before God are looked upon with pity and are received and pardoned. Those who do so will no more compromise with any evil work. The heart that trusts in the Redeemer is subdued and broken upon Him, and this faith kindles love for the One who died to bring people to God. When the overflowing scourge passes through the earth and God purges His floor, those who trust in the Lord as the sure foundation remain steadfast, and their faith is not daunted by suffering or tribulation.

False Refuges Swept Away

The tested, precious, dependable stone laid in Zion is the true refuge set against lies, false security, self-reliance and every deceptive shelter, and trust in it stands firm when judgment sweeps falsehood away. Those resting hope on self and building on sand are called to flee to this foundation before ruin comes and before the tempest breaks, for it is not yet too late to escape impending ruin. Whoever believes in it will not be driven into haste or panic or fear, but finds safety in truth rather than in false shelter.

The next verse shows judgment and righteousness as God's measuring standards that expose false refuges and sweep away lies. Rulers who trust in lies and false refuges are set against this dependable foundation, which alone stands when those refuges are destroyed. Christ as the crucified propitiation and atoning sacrifice is the true and immovable foundation on which believers are gathered, while building on human ideas, invented religious forms, or works apart from grace is like building on shifting sand.

Self-deception and self-righteousness as a false refuge cannot protect anyone from searching judgment, and must be exposed and removed so people see their true condition before God. No one can escape wrath by hiding behind a lie for the covering of sin, for God will strip the refuge of lies from the soul. That false covering must be torn away now by patient work with firm, faithful, loving rebuke of sin, lest deluded souls sleep on to everlasting ruin. Exalting Jesus as the Lamb who takes away sin sweeps away lies, and only those sanctified through the truth in the love of God, hidden with Christ in God, are kept with Him through the desolation when punishment falls without respite.

The overflowing scourge will very soon pass over as destruction coming like a mighty whirlwind and will sweep away earthly possessions. Those who profess present truth yet sorrowfully hold on to property instead of distributing it to speed messengers with saving truth to hungry, dying sheep will have their goods swept away. After the scourge has passed it will be too late to sacrifice earthly goods and lay up treasure in heaven, so the time to give for God's work is before that destruction comes.

The scourge will not pass by those in the church whose religion is worthless, who are not spiritually minded and not converted in tongue, appetite, heart and conduct. It will overtake those who are dormant and attached to property, who hear the truth but indulge appetite and then speak idle, critical, unbelieving words that confuse minds, cause doubt about the Lord's ambassadors, injure His workers, and reproduce evil in others. Those who criticize God's messengers and spread doubt through evil or idle words bring accountability in the day of judgment, though God loves their souls. Before the scourge comes upon all dwellers on earth, those who serve God are called to gather their children into their own houses, out of the cities and away from voices speaking Satan's words and disobeying God's commandments, to establish church schools and give them the Word of God as the foundation of all education.

Building a Life That Stands

To believe and to build on the tried cornerstone is to submit, to fall upon the stone and be broken, to give up self-righteousness and come with the humility of a child, repenting of transgressions and trusting forgiving love. Confidence in weak and faulty self must be broken so that trust rests fully and entirely on God, and it is faith and obedience that build on Christ.

Eternal safety and strength to withstand temptation depend on building on him rather than on sand, on untested foundations, on human ideas, on invented religious forms, or on works apart from his grace. Those not riveted to the eternal Rock, the chief cornerstone, will fall in ruin when the rain falls and the tempest rages and the floods come.

Character itself must be built on the eternal Rock, each deed like a stone that must be laid rightly, because a single flaw can weaken the whole structure. A life built on this foundation can endure the test of storm and trial, and building on him makes a person safe. His Word, when practiced, forms harmonious character in those who believe and shape their lives according to his character.

Those investigating religious truth need help to build on that sure foundation through diligent study of God's word. Safety comes from planting the feet on the sure foundation stone of what is written, and beliefs and past teachings must not replace that foundation or limit further understanding. Those who have strayed set their feet on the true foundation when they receive and cherish the light given, while refusing instruction leaves them out of the straight path, further light then meets greater resistance, and they will not see clearly unless they accept what they have repeatedly rejected.

Those who depend on this foundation rather than on finite human beings secure eternal life. Guilty people who come to him find relief from guilt and rest in perfect security, and never are disappointed. Whoever believes in him need not rush to find safety elsewhere but can build in perfect security.