Who is the cornerstone?

[Shiwiii]

Who is the cornerstone in Isaiah 28:16 and Psalm 118:22?

What does it mean to be the cornerstone? 

 

 

[Shiwiii]

So in Isaiah 28, God said that He would lay a stone in Zion, a precious stone, a cornerstone and whoever believes in this "stone" will not panic/be disturbed/disappointed. I get this and would draw the conclusion that it is Jesus, based on some other scriptures, like Psalm 118:22. In Psalm 118, this same stone is rejected by some and has become a stumbling block to those who reject Him. Again, this is echoed in scripture (Matthew 21:42-46) as Jesus was rejected as being the Messiah of the Jews, and rather put to death because of it. 

There are many other scriptures that clarify this "stone" as being Jesus. For instance, Acts 4:10-12, tells us directly that this stone is Jesus and that Peter and John were speaking to Jewish rulers. Ephesians 2:19&20 again speaks directly that this is Jesus, "Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone". 1 Peter 2 says that they will stumble over this cornerstone, they that reject Him (Jesus), and it is by this very stone that those who believe will become a spiritual house for holy priesthood. 

 

To be a cornerstone is to be the foundation, the base, the direct starting point in which to build. 

[Shiwiii]

I think up to this point we are on the same page, please correct me if I am wrong. Here is where I think we may differ, does the Bible say that this cornerstone is anyone other than Jesus? 

[Shiwiii]

Doesn't Isaiah 8:11-15 identify this rock that the Israelite's would stumble over, Jehovah? I mean verse 11 tells us clearly that Jehovah is the one speaking and declaring these things. 

 

11 With his strong hand on me, this is what Jehovah said to me to warn me away from following the course of this people: 12 “You should not call a conspiracy what this people calls a conspiracy!
Do not fear what they fear; Do not tremble at it.
13 Jehovah of armies—he is the One you should regard as holy, He is the One you should fear, And he is the One who
should cause you to tremble.”
14 He will become as a sanctuary, But as a stone to strike against And as a rock to stumble over To both houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare To the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 Many of them will stumble and fall and be broken; They will be ensnared and caught.
 

The cross references in these verses point to verses like Matt 21:42-44, 1 Cor 1:23 and 1 Peter 2:6-8 Which I presented above. 

 

[Witness]

9 hours ago, Shiwiii said:

Doesn't Isaiah 8:11-15 identify this rock that the Israelite's would stumble over, Jehovah? I mean verse 11 tells us clearly that Jehovah is the one speaking and declaring these things. 

 

11 With his strong hand on me, this is what Jehovah said to me to warn me away from following the course of this people: 12 “You should not call a conspiracy what this people calls a conspiracy!
Do not fear what they fear; Do not tremble at it.
13 Jehovah of armies—he is the One you should regard as holy, He is the One you should fear, And he is the One who
should cause you to tremble.”
14 He will become as a sanctuary, But as a stone to strike against And as a rock to stumble over To both houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare To the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 Many of them will stumble and fall and be broken; They will be ensnared and caught.
 

The cross references in these verses point to verses like Matt 21:42-44, 1 Cor 1:23 and 1 Peter 2:6-8 Which I presented above. 

 

 

Hi Shiwii,

Personally, when I read Isa 8:11-15, it initially speaks of God, but verse 14 just says “He” – “He will become a sanctuary”, referring to a temple.  

“Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.”  John 2:19-21

Jesus did become a sanctuary, and also as the cornerstone of this Temple, built on the completed foundation of the apostles, prophets, and then all faithful Chosen anointed ones down through the ages.    

After verse 14, Yahweh is then referenced again.  I think many times in the Hebrew scriptures there are references to Christ that one must discern.  This is my opinion. 

Of course, the Israelites did stumble over Christ, but Yahweh had always been acknowledged as God.  Their trap and snare was their own sinful haughtiness, hypocrisy, and lack of faith, by rejecting God’s Son as the fulfillment of the law and salvation to all men.  1 Pet 2:8

"What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith;  but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.   Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law.   For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written:

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,
And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”  Rom 9:30-33

A thought also, God and Christ are both the Temple, according to Rev 21:22-24

Yet also are those “living stones”, who are built on the cornerstone.  1 Pet 2:4,5; Rev 3:12; Eph 2:19-22

“And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one” John 17:22

Are the Temple, or In the Temple?

 

[Shiwiii]

Good Day Witness and thank you for your thoughts. 

I agree with you to an extent. Yes Jesus did become the sanctuary, also  Ezekiel 11:16 speaks of YHWH being a sanctuary for His people. So I agree with you that both are the sanctuary. You mention a kind of distinction between verses 13,14 and 15 as if the message changes characters. While I agree that in the OT there are many references to Jesus and certainly we must look carefully, however we are talking about the cornerstone. In this portion of Isaiah I see no shift in character. It is YHWH speaking to Isaiah and telling him about what will happen to Israel. One would have to divide sentence by sentence and apply each to either YHWH or Jesus and that just doesn't make sense. The Hebrews at the time applied these scriptures fully to God. It is only after Jesus came did they look back and attribute scriptures like these to Jesus. My point being is that this cornerstone is spoken of YHWH in Isaiah 8, it may also apply to Jesus, but it still is attributed to YHWH. We see many of these character stamps of YHWH throughout the OT that are also spoken of Jesus in the NT. I find it very hard to separate verse 14 of Isiah 8 from the rest of the scriptures and not have it be spoken of YHWH.