JESUS CHRIST - THE CORNER STONE THAT WAS REJECTED

In reading that story over and over - of how Christ said he was the corner stone that was rejected - I never understood what he meant. Now I do. They threw Him out into the valley Kidron - and then finally (will) figure it out later how he was what they should have put in later. Usually, the first thing you do is put the cornerstone down first and then build upon it. The Jews (of that day - and subsequent generations, following the traditions of their fathers) rejected the Great Cornerstone. One day (soon), they will recognize him and put Him in his rightful place in His Church. Very interesting - though it has not been researched yet by me to fully check out the story:

The Rejected Cornerstone

In next place, I want to discuss that the builders rejected the cornerstone. It seems that the idea of the rejected cornerstone is based upon a legend that was handed down from the building of Solomon’s temple. It is believed that Solomon’s temple was built on the very ground that David purchased from Aruna to offer up a sacrifice to the Lord when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem. Remember when they tried to bring it the first time they did not do it in the right way. They put it on an ox cart, it started to fall off, and a man touched it and the Lord took his life. I used to think that did not sound right. The man was trying to do a good thing, and was trying to keep the Ark from falling off the cart, and the Lord put him to death. I thought about that more, and they were doing it in the wrong way. It was to be put on poles and carried. Your arms are natural shock absorbers. Have you ever tried to move something that was very fragile, and if you put it in a wheelbarrow or cart or something and you hit a rock, and boom you lost it? But, if you get two or four people to carry something, your arms can act like natural shock absorbers. David was angry with the Lord. Finally, he came to his senses. He was King, and he admitted that it was his fault, and he was responsible for doing it the right way. We ought to do things the right way first, and then we don’t have to worry about what will happen. So when they brought the Ark the second time, they went back and studied God’s word. They found out how they were supposed to do it. They brought it to Jerusalem. That is where David bought the ox, and the yoke, and all the wood, and he built an altar there in Jerusalem and offered a sacrifice up to the Lord. The Lord was pleased with what he did on this occasion.

David was a man of blood. He was a mighty warrior; he fought and drove the enemies of God’s people out of Palestine. Later, as he became an old man, he decided he wanted to build a permanent house for the Lord. He said: “Lord here I live in a beautiful, luxurious house of cedar, and you live in a tent, and he wanted to build Him a house.” The Lord said: “No, I will not allow you to build this house because you are a man of blood.” But he said: “Your son who comes after you he will build this house.” So David did everything he could to prepare materials, wood, stone, all of the items that would be needed to build a beautiful house for the Lord, a temple. So Solomon comes along, and he was rich beyond description. He had so much gold flowing in and he had trade with people down in Ethiopia, Africa, and up at Phoenicia and they all paid tribute to him. So he started to build this building. By the way no saw or hammer could be used on this building, and no chisel. All of the materials were pre-cut and measured, and then brought to Jerusalem, like a prefabricated house and put into place and the building was erected. According to the story, a great large stone was sent to Jerusalem by the stone masons out at the quarry. The workers and the builders could not find where the stone was to go. They moved it over to the side, and the workers kept stumbling over it, and had to go around it and finally someone suggested this must be the wrong stone. We cannot find out where it goes. So they moved the stone over to the edge of the mountain, pushed it over the mountain, and it was lost and they forgot about it. Finally, they got the building completed, and the builders sent word to the stone quarry that they were ready for the cornerstone. The masons sent back word that they had already sent the cornerstone to them. Then they remembered the big stone that they did not know where it went, and which they pushed it over the side into the Kidron Valley. So they went down there and they searched and finally found that large stone and recovered it, brought it back and it fit perfectly into place. That is the story that has been handed down to us about the rejected cornerstone.

Have you ever tried to put something together and you are looking at all of the instructions and there is a piece missing. We have had chipmunks at our house for over 30 years, and they drive you crazy. Everywhere you go there is a chipmunk. The other day there was one that ran out into my office. My son Damon has had a lot of trouble with squirrels and raccoons. So Damon bought one of these traps that you put food in and they go in and the door falls down. He brought that up to my house and said: “I just bought this collapsible type trap and you can put it together.” My wife always wants to help me out. She opened up the box and brought it in. I am reading the instructions and trying to figure out where this thing goes and that thing goes. Finally I got it all together and there was a piece missing. The trap door at the back where you let them out so you will not be bitten by them had a rod that was supposed to go through there. I haven’t seen it. Everything that was in the box is there. So finally she came in with a smile and said: “That piece that you were looking for, well it was lying out there on a chair.” So I put it in there and it worked just fine.

A lot of times we will reject something because we cannot figure out how it goes. Then later on we find that if we had just read the plans a little bit more closely we would have noticed that we needed that piece. That is kind of the way they were with the cornerstone. The Bible anticipated the rejection of the cornerstone by those builders, and made application of it to a different kind of a cornerstone. Look at Isaiah 8:13-14: “The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.” He is talking about a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel that would be Judea in the South and the Kingdom of Israel in the north—the Twelve tribes.

By

Shelby G. Floyd

September 1, 2009