Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.”
Isaiah 28:16
The surest way to prove that an Old Testament title is a name of Christ is to see it quoted in the New Testament referring to the Savior. Peter paraphrases this verse calling Christ “a chief cornerstone, elect, precious” (1 Peter 2:6). Now the job is to figure out what it means.
Something precious is of great value such as precious metals or precious jewels. A precious cornerstone would be very costly and certainly would set itself apart from the ordinary stones around it.
When the Washington Monument was completed in 1884 a 3,300 pound marble capstone crowned the top. On top of this was a nine inch apex made of 100 ounces of pure aluminum. At the time, aluminum was worth more than silver and the tiny pyramid cost the government $225.00. That might not sound like an extravagant amount, but a worker on the monument earned $1 a day for ten hours of work. The little ornament was worth almost as much as a working man’s salary for a year.
Before being placed on Washington’s tallest monument, the apex was displayed in the window of Tiffany’s in New York City, as the crown jewel of the nation’s capital. The rare, rust-proof metal that composed it made it architecturally unique; it was a precious cornerstone.
Christ has always had a special and singular position for the redemption of the human race. He fit into God’s plan at the right time and place and was worth more than a hundred galaxies. The Lord, the Precious Cornerstone is the pinnacle of God’s glory and will remain exalted for mankind and angels to praise for all eternity.
August 26
