Cornerstone!
Any builder knows that the most important way to start any building is to select the right cornerstone. The cornerstone will be the piece that the building will rest upon or fall upon. Psalm 118 is a festal hymn the Israelites sung as they went up for festivals at appointed times of the year to being their offerings and sacrifices to God. And they sang, "Give thanks to The Lord for He is good, His love endures forever", reminding themselves that it was only God who could open the gate for the righteous to enter.
Here is some good background information on the cornerstone, "The image comes from the ancient quarries where highly-trained stonemasons carefully chose the stones used in construction. No stone was more important than the cornerstone because the integrity of the whole structure depended on the cornerstone containing exactly the right lines. If the cornerstone was not exactly right, the entire building would be out of line. For that reason, builders inspected many stones, rejecting each one until they found the one they wanted. Rejected stones might be used in other parts of the building, but they would never become the cornerstone or the capstone (the first and last stones put in place).
Www.jesus.org
So what does it mean to say the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone? The builders could represent the Jews as they built the temple and worshipped God there. There were times in Israel's history where they were invaded and the temple was destroyed. These were periods of great distress for the people as they wondered if there God was destroyed as well. It is to this situation that prophets like Jeremiah write to Israel reminding them that God will keep His promise and a Messiah will come to restore the people and bring a new temple. The problem was when Jesus came they didn't recognize him, because they were looking for someone who could rebuild the physical temple. Yet Jesus came to build a spiritual temple, in which He would be the cornerstone. With Jesus as the cornerstone, the building would be built perfectly and be an everlasting one.
This is the sense in which Peter translates this in the New Testament,
"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
This is also the sense in which Paul says, "you are the body of Christ, and each one a part of it." Also when Paul, "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit", meaning we don't just live unto ourselves but we too are being built into the spiritual house God is building and will finish someday.
So a question today for us might be, what are you building your life upon? Are you building your life with Jesus as the cornerstone and being part of the spiritual house that will last forever? Or are you building your life on something else? As many other have rejected Jesus as the cornerstone, we could even in an indirect way by building on another foundation. As you build your life on Christ, you too become a precious stone in the house where we will worship God forever with all God's people and sing, "Give thanks to The Lord for He is good, His love endures forever!"
Psalm 118
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
Jeremiah 33
14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15 “‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it[a] will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
Here is some good background information on the cornerstone, "The image comes from the ancient quarries where highly-trained stonemasons carefully chose the stones used in construction. No stone was more important than the cornerstone because the integrity of the whole structure depended on the cornerstone containing exactly the right lines. If the cornerstone was not exactly right, the entire building would be out of line. For that reason, builders inspected many stones, rejecting each one until they found the one they wanted. Rejected stones might be used in other parts of the building, but they would never become the cornerstone or the capstone (the first and last stones put in place).
Www.jesus.org
So what does it mean to say the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone? The builders could represent the Jews as they built the temple and worshipped God there. There were times in Israel's history where they were invaded and the temple was destroyed. These were periods of great distress for the people as they wondered if there God was destroyed as well. It is to this situation that prophets like Jeremiah write to Israel reminding them that God will keep His promise and a Messiah will come to restore the people and bring a new temple. The problem was when Jesus came they didn't recognize him, because they were looking for someone who could rebuild the physical temple. Yet Jesus came to build a spiritual temple, in which He would be the cornerstone. With Jesus as the cornerstone, the building would be built perfectly and be an everlasting one.
This is the sense in which Peter translates this in the New Testament,
"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
This is also the sense in which Paul says, "you are the body of Christ, and each one a part of it." Also when Paul, "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit", meaning we don't just live unto ourselves but we too are being built into the spiritual house God is building and will finish someday.
So a question today for us might be, what are you building your life upon? Are you building your life with Jesus as the cornerstone and being part of the spiritual house that will last forever? Or are you building your life on something else? As many other have rejected Jesus as the cornerstone, we could even in an indirect way by building on another foundation. As you build your life on Christ, you too become a precious stone in the house where we will worship God forever with all God's people and sing, "Give thanks to The Lord for He is good, His love endures forever!"
Psalm 118
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
Jeremiah 33
14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15 “‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it[a] will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
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