Program Note and Future Studies
Your Bibles with me, if you will please, to Isaiah chapter 28. Just a bit of a program note, and if you are interested, I have already covered more of Isaiah than I had originally planned in this series on Messianic prophecy, but it’s hard to know where to stop with Isaiah because it is so pervasive. No matter whether he’s talking of judgment or of deliverance to come or God’s kingdom to come, always it is the Lord Jesus Christ on the horizon, and he makes that plain.
We’ve seen a number of samples of that tonight in Isaiah 28, but then now my plan is next week—these things can always change; there may be some others that I’ll get in between, but Isaiah 35 is one. There’s a couple of others as well I’m still thinking about. But my plan for next week is to begin with Isaiah 42 and a series of studies then on the servant songs of Isaiah—these passages in Isaiah where he speaks of the servant of the Lord, the Lord’s servant who will come. These are marvelous prophecies and they dominate in a way when we come to the New Testament. These passages are referred to often with reference to the Lord Jesus. They understood Jesus in terms of the servant that Isaiah had prophesied. So we’ll spend a number of weeks: Isaiah 42, 49, 51; Isaiah 53 is the climax of that. And we’ll probably spend several weeks just in Isaiah 53, and then I think Isaiah chapter 60 as well, where the servant is in view. Those are just marvelous prophecies. I look forward to those. The plan is to start that next Sunday evening.
This evening, Isaiah chapter 28, Isaiah’s prophecy of the precious cornerstone. I’ll begin reading with verse one:
Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those who overcome with wine. Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong. Like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he cast down to the earth with his hand. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a first ripe fig before the summer. When someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it’s in his hand.
In that day, the Lord of Hosts will be a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of his people, and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink. The priests and the prophet reel with strong drink. They are swallowed by wine. They stagger with strong drink. They reel in vision. They stumble in giving judgment. For all the tables are full of filthy vomit with no space left.
Whom will he teach knowledge, to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from milk, those who are taken from the breast, for it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, for by people of strange lips with a foreign tongue the Lord will speak to this people, to whom he has said, “This is rest, give rest to the weary, and this is repose,” yet they would not hear. The word of the Lord will be to them a precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go and fall backwards and be broken and snared and taken.
Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem, because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement. When the overwhelming whip passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter.” 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 stone of a sure foundation. Whoever believes will not be in haste. I will make justice the line and righteousness the plumb line, and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it passes through, it will take you. For morning by morning, it will pass through, and day by night and by night, and it will be sheer terror to understand the message. The bed is too short to stretch oneself on, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in. The Lord will rise up, as on Mount Perazim, as in the valley of Gibeon. He will be aroused to do his deed. Strange is his deed, and to work his work. Alien is his work. Now therefore do not scoff, lest your bonds be made strong, for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land.
Let’s bow together for prayer. Our Father, we thank you again for this new passage now that we come to where we see that throughout history, when you have come to confront your people and come to confront your enemies, always in view is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be himself the climax of all your purposes and all your promises. Help us to see that again and help us, your people, to be encouraged by it. We pray in his name, amen.
We saw last time Isaiah chapter 24 to 27 is Isaiah’s apocalypse. Apocalypse is the genre of literature looking to the end when God comes in final judgment, the climax of world history, and he will bring his purposes to their climax and to culmination. Particularly emphasized often is judgment, but also the deliverance of God’s people, and we saw that in Isaiah 24 to 27.
Chapter 28 now marks a new section of the prophecy. Remember, we have called Isaiah 1 to 39 a book of woes, but Isaiah 28 through 35 in particular now is called that as well, a book of woes, and they’re aimed particularly at Ephraim at first, that is the northern kingdom, but then also Judah and Jerusalem as well.
Now, you remember the role of the prophet. The prophet was sent by the Lord to come to his people Israel and to announce his purposes. The role of a prophet is not only to foretell the future. The role of the prophet is to call God’s people to faithfulness. They had entered into covenant with God at Mount Sinai, and they had responsibilities. And as those responsibilities are fulfilled, they will enjoy God’s protection. As they flout those promises, God will come in judgment. All of that was laid out in the terms of the covenant. And the prophets are continually having to go to the people to call them back to faithfulness to the people of Israel, to that covenant that God had made with them. They’re often called adulterers because they have left the Lord and chased after other gods, condemned for other kinds of sins, and of course, finally, all of that climaxes in the destruction of the northern kingdom, and then carrying the southern kingdom away into Babylon. And the people of God there, in covenant with God, had forsaken the covenant, and God came with the covenant promises against them.
So that’s the prophet’s role, then, to call them to faithfulness. Often then, in announcing judgment that would come to the people because of their unfaithfulness—and we’ve seen this over and again; we’ll see it again now this evening—often when he announces the judgment that will come for their disobedience, on the horizon is a greater judgment will come, climaxing in the coming of his servant. This greater son of David will come to bring all of it to pass. He’ll bring deliverance to God’s people, but he’ll also bring judgment to all of his enemies. We’ll see that again this evening.
Ephraim’s Drunkenness
Now, chapter 28, verses 1 to 6, we have Ephraim’s drunkenness. Now, in view here is the northern kingdom, the capital of the northern kingdom, often referred to as Ephraim. The capital is Samaria, so we’ll see that in view as well. And he refers to them in verses 1 and 3 as the drunkards of Ephraim. So we’re going to get this picture of Ephraim reveling in their false security, thinking they’re doing well, living it up, and you get this party scene where they’re a bunch of drunks and vomiting on the table with all of their indulgence. This is Ephraim.
Chapter 28, verses 1 and following, we have a prophecy of their impending doom. “Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those who overcome with wine. Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong. Like a storm of hail and a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, he cast down to the earth with his hand. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a first ripe fig before the summer. When someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it is in his hand.”
All right, verses one and three refer to Ephraim, the northern kingdom, in terms of the “proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim.” So Ephraim is the drunkards. This is what characterizes the sinfulness of the nation to the north. The “proud crown” evidently is referring to Samaria, the capital city. It sits atop a high hill. That’s referred to elsewhere in the Old Testament. And so the proud crown of Ephraim is their capital city, Samaria. And here the city then is pictured as crowning their kingdom.
Now, he adds a second metaphor. Not only is Samaria a crown atop the hill, the proud crown of Ephraim, but in verse 1, Ephraim is referred to, or the city, Samaria, is referred to as a “fading flower.” The fading flower of its glorious beauty. When he speaks of it as a flower, it sounds like it’s glorious, it’s beautiful, but it’s a fading flower. And so that ominously signals a message of judgment that is to come.
And there we have that in verses two and following: the metaphors of judgment. First of all, a storm. Verse two: “a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he cast down to earth with his hand. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot.” So it’ll be a judgment of some great cataclysmic kind where there’ll be no questioning that they’ve been stomped. It’ll be like a great hailstorm, a destroying tempest, or like a tsunami that’s coming in, or like an overflowing army that comes in and treads them underfoot.
Verse 4, he speaks of a man walking by a fig tree with hardly a thought. He reaches out, and the first growth of the season, with hardly a thought, he reaches out, grabs the fig, and eats it. “The fading flower with its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a ripe fig before summer. When someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it’s in his hand.” So as another metaphor, speaking of the swiftness and the ease with which the city will be taken down in judgment.
So we have a picture then of proud Samaria as a happy reveler. They’re drunken in their parties. They’ve got this garland around their neck, as it were, sitting in their security, and suddenly this hailstorm, or this great tempest, or this great tsunami comes sweeping through, and they don’t know that they’re ripe for disaster and ripe for destruction. Living it up just like the people of Noah’s day; God’s judgment is coming, and they’re not even aware of it, although they have been warned.
Verse 2: “Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong, like a storm of hail destroying tempests.” He has one who is mighty and strong. We’re not told who he is. On one hand, he may be speaking of the Assyrian army that’s going to come in and sweep away the northern kingdom. But when he says he has one who is mighty and strong, in the context of Isaiah, almost certainly this must be the promised Davidic son who has been spoken of so many times already. And again, then the historical scene gives way to the eschatological scene, the time of the end when the Messiah will come.
Verses 5 and 6: “In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of his people, and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.” Now notice again, we have the Lord referred to as the Lord of Hosts, Yahweh-Sabaoth. That is the Lord of the hosts of the armies of Israel, of every nation’s armies, the hosts of the angelic armies. He’s the Lord of the hosts, the commander of all the forces. The Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory to Samaria.
So now there’s a real reversal. The city—that is, the crown of these reveling drunkards—will be replaced by a true crown. And the Lord of hosts will be the crown, and as a result, the city will be transformed. So you can see he’s looking further ahead now into history. This is not just the immediate future, the impending judgment of Assyria, but he has one who will come, and now, at that point, the Lord himself will be the crown of these people. Verse 2: the Lord, that is Adonai, the master, has one who is mighty and strong in judgment. That’s the Messianic king. But now verse 5, it’s the Lord of hosts himself who sits in judgment. So here we have the coming of David and the coming of God, those two themes converging. God is coming, David’s son is coming, this one whom the Lord has, who is strong and mighty, he will come, and then it’s the Lord himself who sits in judgment, and those two themes merge again that we’ve seen so many times.
Judah’s Corruption
So, verses one to four, we have Ephraim, very happy in their drunken revelry, suddenly brought to nothing in judgment. Now we come to verses 5 and 6, and we have a new scene that emerges. We have a new king in charge, a king who is sent by God, and yet is God himself, the Lord of hosts, sitting in judgment, and his rule will be marked by justice and strength, and securing the safety of his people.
Now we come to verse 7, and we have a turning point. In verses 1 to 6, Ephraim is in view, the northern kingdom. Now verse 7, “these also.” Now who’s that? “These also reel with wine and stagger.” Here he turns his attention away from the northern kingdom to the southern kingdom. And what he’s going to say is the good guys look a whole lot like the bad guys.
So verse 7: “these also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink. The priests and the prophet reel with strong drink. They are swallowed by wine. They stagger with strong drink. They reel in vision. They stumble in giving judgment. For all tables are full of filthy vomit with no space left.” So he turns his condemning eye now to the southern kingdom. The good guys are like the bad guys. Their leaders, just like the leaders in the north, the leaders in the south, reel with wine, stagger with strong drink. And verse 8, they are so drunk that their tables are full of filthy vomit. You get this picture, it’s a banquet scene. Extreme revelry, extreme gluttony, indulgence of all kinds. And he’s condemning them for what they have become. And as a result of this condition that they have, verse 8, they stumble in giving judgment. That is, their judgments have been perverted and twisted, and it’s unreliable. And they give unjust decisions. And so Judah now, just like Ephraim, Judah has become corrupt.
Verses 9 and following condemn Judah for a terrible crime that they are guilty of: the leaders of Judah, he’s going to point out, have become calloused to the Word of God. They disregard and even mock God’s Word that has been given to them through his prophets, and they will be held accountable for that. Verse nine: “To whom”—and we have quotation marks; someone is saying this—”To whom will he teach knowledge? To whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those who have taken from the breast, for it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”
The idea there is that the leaders of Judah have heard the prophets: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ve heard that, line upon line, yeah, we’ve heard that, we’ve heard that. You’re like you’re talking to a kid.” They’re too sophisticated to be worried about this message that this prophet comes and brings. And they mock it as though he’s—what are we, children? Does that prophet really think that his word is relevant to us? It’s amazing how these passages sound so contemporary, don’t they? This is the American political system. You can sound off about God’s judgment to come and the warnings of Scripture. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s yours. You really think that’s relevant to us?”
Well, we have God’s response then in verse 11. All right, you won’t listen to my prophet? You mock that? You’re too sophisticated to hear it? It’s too elementary for you? All right, verse 11: “by people of a strange lip, with foreign tongue the Lord will speak to this people, to whom he has said, ‘This is rest, give rest to the weary, and this is repose,’ yet they would not hear? And the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go and fall backward and be broken and snared and taken.”
That is to say, verse 11, they will not listen to God’s spokesman, the prophet, when he comes. And so, because they won’t listen to him—they think they’re too sophisticated to listen to this prophet, this word from God, and they won’t listen, it’s just childish stuff, we don’t need that, we’re above all of that—God says, “Okay, I’ll speak to you in the language of another people.” Meaning, “I’ll bring a foreign invading country in, and they’ll stomp on you, and you’re going to be hearing what sounds like babble, and you’ll know it’s me talking to you in judgment. You won’t hear my prophets. I’ll speak a language you can’t miss, and judgment itself will come, and you’ll understand.” So you can reject God’s Word, and you can mock God’s warnings of judgment, but you cannot escape it. You’re not as sophisticated as you think.
The Precious Cornerstone
So we come to verses 14 and following. Verse 14: “Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.” He addresses the wicked rulers now in Jerusalem who mock God’s Word that has come. Verse 15, putting words in their mouth, characterizing their actions: “You’ve said, ‘We’ve made a covenant with death. With Sheol we’ve had an agreement. When the overwhelming whip passes through, it will not come to us.'”
So the covenant that he’s speaking of here is the agreement, the covenant agreement they’ve made with Egypt to secure them against the Assyrian army who’s come in. They’ve made this alliance with Egypt; “We’re safe now. We don’t need to listen to God’s warnings because we’re safe. We’ve got Egypt on our side.” And they’ve made this covenant with Egypt and he calls it here a “covenant with death,” an “agreement with Sheol.” Verse 15: “we have made lies our refuge.” That is, they’ve made an alliance, they think this is safe, and they’re taking refuge in it, but it’s actually a lie. It’s unreliable trust. “We’ve made lies our refuge. In falsehood, we have taken shelter.” That is, your alliance won’t deliver the security that you think it will. You’re just signing your own death warrant. And he uses a figure again: “God’s overwhelming whip will scourge you just the same.” It’s actually a mixed metaphor. “Overwhelming” speaks more of a flood that’s coming. “Whip” speaks of a scourging. “Overwhelming whip” means a real beating is coming. In other words, they’re saying, “Well, Assyria is no threat to us now.” And Isaiah says, “You won’t escape God’s promised judgment.”
Now, follow carefully verses 14 through 16. Notice actually the beginning word of each of these verses. “Therefore,” verse 15, “because,” and then verse 16, “therefore.” Therefore, because, therefore. There you can follow the reasoning that he’s given. And the idea is that because you have rejected the word of the Lord, because you’ve put your trust in the wrong place, I have an announcement to make. And here, verses 16 through 22, is that announcement. Verse 16: “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.”
Now, suddenly we have something that sounds more positive. “I’ve laid a stone. You trust in this stone that is very trustworthy in contrast to the alliances that you’ve made. I’ve laid in Zion this stone. Trust in him, you’ll be safe.” Now the question is, who or what is this stone? Well, the stone theme has already been introduced in Isaiah. If you’d like to look back quickly, you’ll see it in Isaiah chapter 8, verses 13 and following. The context here, he’s warning of the judgment that will come on the northern kingdom, and it will come to the south as well, although Jerusalem will be spared. That was that context we saw back when we looked at Isaiah 7, focusing on verse 14 in the virgin birth prophecy.
But Isaiah 8:13: “But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy, let him be your fear, let him be your dread, and he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense, and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it, they shall fall and be broken, they shall be snared and taken.” So, in Isaiah 8, the Lord God is a stone of trust. You can trust in Him and be safe. He’s a rock; He’s a solid refuge. Or you can ignore this stone and that stone becomes a stone of judgment that will crush you.
Now we have not only this theme of the stone or the rock in Isaiah chapter 8, but probably Isaiah is picking up this theme from Psalm 118. In Psalm 118 verse 22, there we have a prophecy or a psalm there by King David about the Davidic kingship that has been rejected but established. And we have that famous line: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” So they’ve rejected this stone. The builders are building this building of their kingdom, and they come across this stone, and they’re, “Nah, this isn’t worth using,” and they toss it aside. And that stone that they’ve tossed aside as worthless has become the cornerstone of the whole building that God is erecting. The Davidic kingship in that case, Psalm 118, has been rejected, but it will be established. The point of all of that is that God’s people may—or we should say they must—put their trust in the Lord God. Verse 16: “He is a tested stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation.” He’s sure, He’s tried, He’s trustworthy. When He tells you to trust Him, you must trust Him and you can be sure that you will be saved. And verse 16, at the end, “whoever believes in him will not be in haste.” The idea there is that he won’t be—the idea of hurrying but not getting anywhere; one commentator paraphrases it, whoever believes will not, he says, “will not be in a flap.” The idea of hurrying but not getting anywhere. And I think the NIV translates it here in a way that captures the idea very well: “Whoever believes will not be stricken with panic.” That’s the idea. You trust in this stone and you’ll never be ashamed. The Lord God is always trustworthy. He will prove to be trustworthy, never leaving you unsafe, never leaving you in a panic. Trusting in his word always renders you secure.
Final Appeal
All right, we’ll come back to that in a moment. Verses 17 through 19 then continue the prophet’s announcement to Jerusalem. Verse 17: “and I will make justice the line and righteousness the plumbline, and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter. Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it passes through, it will take you. For morning by morning, it will pass through. And by night, it will be sheer terror to understand the message.”
So God will come in judgment. He’ll sweep away all of the false props. He’ll overwhelm the shelter that they have. Verse 17, he pictures a line, a measuring line, and a plumb line. These are the standards of measure on the horizontal plane and on the vertical plane—a measuring line and a plumb line he speaks of—and these are representative here in this figure of God’s perfect justice in judgment. It’ll be like a measuring line that has come up, fitted them exactly for the judgment they need, or a plumb line showing exactly what is needed in judgment. God’s perfect justice in judgment. When the Lord brings judgment, it may seem like chaos, it may seem random, but God will be bringing exactly what is needed and what he has said he would do. His acts of justice will not be applied indiscriminately; they will be exactly in keeping with perfect righteousness.
Verse 17 at the end, all the way through verse 19, he emphasizes this judgment will be just overwhelming. All false hopes will be swept away because he will not allow false trust to stand. Those who don’t trust in the Lord God will be beaten down, he says, in sheer terror. So that’s the fate of those who trust in any refuge but the Lord God.
Verses 20 and 21, he illustrates again in metaphor: “For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on, the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in. For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim, and in the valley of Gibeon he will be roused to do his deed. Strange is his deed. And to do his work. Alien is his work.” Remember back in verse 12, God had offered rest to his people. It had been refused. They would not rest. They would prefer to rest in an alliance with Egypt rather than trusting God. Now, verse 20, they have made their bed. They want their rest. They have made their bed. And to use our expression, they’ve made their bed, and now they’re going to be made to sleep in it. But what they’re going to find is they can’t sleep in it because the bed’s too short to stretch yourself out on. Or to speak of the blankets, they’re too narrow. You can’t wrap yourself in them. You can’t get warm. False trust will never come through. That’s the idea.
And so, verse 21, he makes reference here to the days of David, Mount Perazim, the valley of Gibeon. The great power that God displayed to his people in bringing deliverance now will be turned against his people. It’s a strange thing. It’s an alien work, the work that God has done in judgment of God’s enemies, the enemies of Israel. Now he turns on Israel itself, and they will be judged.
So verses 22 and 23, we have the final appeal. This prophecy is one of warning, coupled with an offer of escape. God alone is worthy of trust. You trust him and you can rest in him, but you must know that all other hopes will fail. The only way to escape divine judgment is to flee to the Lord God himself.
All right, there’s a quick overview of the passage. All of this has to do with the judgment that is soon coming on Israel and the nation of Judah. But as we’ve seen so many times before in the prophets and the Psalms, prophecies of historical judgments regularly are prospective of end-time judgments to come as well. We find that when we come to the New Testament. I don’t think I’ll take time to turn to it, have you turn to it, but you’d like to jot down Romans chapter nine.
The Apostle Paul takes up this prophecy as well. He’s dealing in Romans nine with the question of Israel. God has promised great things to Israel. Israel—the Messiah has come. Israel has failed. Israel is not receiving the blessings that were promised to her. And the big question then is why not? Has God’s word failed? And Paul is taking up that question, and now at the end of Romans 9 and into Romans 10, he answers the question very pointedly. Why have they not received the blessing? And his answer was, Romans 9 verse 32: “Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith. But as it were, based on works, they have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, ‘Behold, I am laying…'” Here’s Isaiah 28. “‘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.'” So here he’s saying that Isaiah 28 points us ahead to the Lord Jesus as the only safe object of trust. He is that stone that if you trust in him, you’ll never be ashamed, you’ll never be in a panic, but if you fail to trust in him, you’ll be crushed by the stone.
We have the same with Paul in Romans 10 verse 11. There he’s dealing with the universal proclamation of the gospel message, which must go to all, and he cites Isaiah 28 verse 16 as support, where the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
And then we have 1 Peter 2, verses 1 to 8, and here the apostle Peter connects the entire thread of Old Testament stone prophecies to the Lord Jesus. “So put away all malice and deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good, 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.” And now he cites Scripture in support. “For it stands in Scripture,” and here he cites Isaiah 28, verse 16, “‘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,” and here he cites Psalm 118 verse 22, “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,'” and—and here he cites Isaiah 8:14—”‘a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.'”
So all of this warning from Isaiah to Hezekiah about the coming of Assyria and judgment, all of this is prospective of a greater judgment. God has warned against sin. He’s warned of judgment coming for it. God is just. Judgment will come. Hell is real. And the only escape is to flee to the Lord God himself. The apostles tell us then what is required then is to flee for refuge to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is that stone of offense, or who is that cornerstone that’s precious and true and tried.
So this prophecy does not focus on the dominion of the coming king, as so many of the others that we have seen, but it does present a prophecy of the Messiah as a refuge from judgment that is coming. Verse 16 again: “God has laid as a foundation in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation, and whoever believes will not be in haste.” Trust in the Lord God. Place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and there will never come a time, even in times of divine judgment when it comes, never be a time when you’re left in a panic. Trusting in this tested stone, we’ll always be safe.
All right, next time then we’ll look, I think, at Isaiah chapter 42. If you’d like to look ahead at that.