“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”
My Notes
What Does Isaiah 28:16 Mean?
God announces the foundation of his redemptive plan: behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
I lay in Zion — God himself is the one who places this stone. It is not human engineering. The foundation is divinely chosen and divinely positioned. Zion — Jerusalem — is the location, connecting the stone to the covenant city and the temple.
A tried stone — tested, proven, examined and found reliable. The stone has been through the testing process and emerged validated. A precious corner stone — the corner stone (pinnah) is the stone that determines the alignment of the entire structure. Everything else is built in reference to it. It is precious (yiqrah) — costly, valuable, honored.
A sure foundation — the word sure (musad) means founded, established. The foundation is not experimental. It is settled, reliable, immovable. The entire structure depends on it, and it will not shift.
He that believeth shall not make haste — the person who trusts in this stone will not panic, will not rush anxiously, will not act out of fear. The LXX translates this 'shall not be put to shame' (quoted in Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:6). The one who believes in the foundation stone has no reason for frantic urgency — the foundation is sure.
The New Testament identifies this stone as Christ. Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:4-8 both quote Isaiah 28:16 and apply it to Jesus — the cornerstone rejected by builders but chosen by God. The entire church is built on this stone.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does it mean that God himself lays the foundation — and that it is not a human choice?
- 2.How does 'tried, precious, sure' describe the reliability of Christ as your cornerstone?
- 3.What does 'shall not make haste' look like practically — and where are you currently making haste?
- 4.How does trusting the foundation stone produce the calm that striving and self-effort cannot?
Devotional
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone. God is building something. And before the walls go up, before the structure takes shape, he lays the foundation — a single stone. Not chosen by committee. Not selected by human preference. Laid by God himself. In Zion. On purpose.
A tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation. Tried — tested and proven. Not untested promises or theoretical hope. This stone has been through the fire and emerged reliable. Precious — valuable beyond calculation. Sure — established, immovable, certain. Everything built on this stone will stand because the stone itself cannot be shaken.
He that believeth shall not make haste. The person who trusts this foundation does not panic. Does not rush from crisis to crisis. Does not live in frantic anxiety about whether the ground will hold. Believing in the cornerstone produces a settled calm that the world cannot manufacture and circumstances cannot destroy.
The cornerstone is Christ. Peter says it explicitly (1 Peter 2:6). Paul says it (Romans 9:33). The stone God laid in Zion — tried, precious, sure — is Jesus. And everything in your life is either built on him or built on something that will eventually move.
Are you making haste? Rushing, panicking, scrambling to hold things together? The antidote is not trying harder. It is trusting the foundation. The stone is sure. The corner is set. The structure holds. He that believeth — trusts, rests, depends on the cornerstone — shall not make haste. Shall not. The calm comes from the confidence. And the confidence comes from the stone.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Judgment also will I lay to the line,.... A metaphor taken from builders, who in building use the line and plummet to…
Therefore thus saith the Lord - God. This verse is introductory to the solemn threatening which follows. Its design…
The prophet, having reproved those that made a jest of the word of God, here goes on to reprove those that made a jest…
There is but one true ground of confidence Jehovah's revealed purpose with regard to Zion.
Behold, I lay Strictly:…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture