Cornerstone: The Quest: Day 36.0

In this morning’s verses, Peter introduces to his readers the metaphor of the cornerstone. I say introduces to his readers because this was not a novel metaphor, it had already been established. In fact, it had already been used by Peter in defense of the Christian faith, and as an accusation against the Jewish leaders (Acts 4). But, in the verses we read this morning, Peter builds out the metaphor into something quite profound. Let’s take a journey through scripture, taking in a few sites from ancient architecture, and explore this marvelous metaphor of the cornerstone.

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵ 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. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
    a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

⁷ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and

“A stone of stumbling,
    and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

1 Peter 2:4-8

The cornerstone

I hope you are comfortable resting in these verses. I am almost certain we will be here a while! Before we get into you and I, dear reader, the precious stones chosen by God, we should start with the foundation. The cornerstone. So, what is a cornerstone? The cornerstone was the first stone laid in the construction of a building made (you guessed it!) of stones. The cornerstone was the vital component of the building project, for it determined the squareness of the foundation, and thus the soundness of the entire structure. If the cornerstone were not square, the four walls of the building would be out of line. You can imagine the result.

The gravity of the cornerstone

So, it was vital the cornerstone be true. What’s more, in the building of ancient temples the cornerstone was usually laid with ceremony. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, in ancient Mesopotamia, it was often accompanied by ritual sacrifice. The square angles of cornerstone were often aligned with certain astronomical features meant to orient the people toward certain deities. The cornerstone was laid down on specific days, determined by auguries to be auspicious to the endurance of the structure being built and to the rites the ancients meant to practice therein. In other words, the laying of a cornerstone, especially of a sacred structure, was a major occasion. It required planning, exactitude, and was an occasion of sacrifice and celebration.

In the Old Testament we see glimpses of the gravity and celebration that accompanied the restoring of the temple foundation.

¹⁰ And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. ¹¹ And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,

“For he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”

And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. ¹² But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, ¹³ so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.

Ezra 3:10-13

God laid the cornerstone of the earth

The Hebrew word, פִנָּה (pinnah), translated cornerstone can also be translated chief stone. It is the key stone to any foundation. In Job, we see it referred to as the foundation moment of creation.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
    Tell me, if you have understanding.
⁵ Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
    Or who stretched the line upon it?
⁶ On what were its bases sunk,
    or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷ when the morning stars sang together
    and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Job 38:4-7

It’s interesting to see the architectural metaphors in this passage of Job. We are not only dealing with the notion of a foundation, but with order, measurement, careful planning, precision, and forethought. You don’t sink bases for a foundation if you are only throwing up a shack. There is revelation of thoughtful and calculated design in these verses. The chief stone on which the rest of the cosmos rests, and by which it remains in true orientation is the cornerstone God laid down at the dawn of creation.

Christ, the cornerstone of our faith

Peter compares Christ to the cornerstone of a temple wherein true worship is offered to God. Christ was the first stone laid in the edifice of the Christian faith. This stone was laid by God’s design, on bases sunk before creation. The laying of the chief stone was accompanied by sacrifice. This sacrifice, and indeed the laying of our cornerstone, is celebrated every Lord’s day throughout the world with worship and commemorated in the participation in the Lord’s supper. The angles of this stone are true, ensuring the sound structure of the temple of the Christian faith. The orientation of the cornerstone is not merely astronomical, but cosmological. In Christ our cornerstone, are joined the Old and New Covenants, and mankind is oriented rightly toward God.

This, I think, is a firm foundation on which we can build out our study of our part as believers in these verses. I hope to cover these verses in full over the next two days. But, if you have been with me for any time at all, you will not rest your hopes on my timing!