Thursday October 3, 2024

Today is Thursday, October 4, and we are learning what the Bible says about Cornerstone.

May the cornerstone of my life, and our life together, be Christ and Christ alone.

Loving and Holy Father, your love and protection have seen me through another night. As I face this day, I ask that you use me as your instrument to feed your sheep and shelter your lambs. You are my Cornerstone, my All in All. Guide me to live my life so that others can see your love working in my life. Amen.

My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders, for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his proud war horse. Out of them shall come the cornerstone, out of them the tent peg, out of them the battle bow, out of them every commander. Together they shall be like warriors in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight, for the LORD is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God, and I will answer them. Then the people of Ephraim shall become like warriors, and their hearts shall be glad as with wine. Their children shall see it and rejoice; their hearts shall exult in the LORD. Zechariah 10:3-7

Today’s passage once again depicts the power and love of the Lord of hosts for his chosen people, his flock (Judah). Even though God’s people have chased after foreign gods and have worshipped idols (mentioned in previous verses in this chapter), the Lord is promising to bring them out of the current servitude to foreign nations and will make them his people, worshipping him only, again. The language of this passage in Zechariah is that of military conquest by God’s people, specifically when the passage reads: “Together they shall be like warriors in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight, for the LORD is with them.” The Lord promises to strengthen the house of Judah, and, as well, to save the house of Joseph; in these passages, he is referencing both divided kingdoms, north and south. Because of the Lord’s great compassion, he promises that the future of his people will be “as if I had not rejected them.” Once the people realize what God has done for them, they will “rejoice, and their hearts will exult in the Lord.”

When referencing that “the cornerstone” will come out of the house of Judah, the Lord speaks not only of his own power and might, but he speaks of the Messiah to come, the “cornerstone,” who is Jesus Christ. Jesus speaks of Himself in the New Testament as “the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone [cornerstone]” (Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17).

Even today, we, as the people of God, frequently reject the love, care, and provision that is offered to us in Jesus Christ and we are attracted to false hopes and dreams. We have the tendency to look in a “different direction” and go after the ways of the world. This is our way of openly rejecting the “cornerstone,” who has promised us His peace and security. The world and its ways can never provide peace, safety, and the promise of Christ’s continual Presence as we face the fears and uncertainties of life. It is only through faith in the true “cornerstone” that we find joy, happiness, and contentment in our lives. Thanks be to God for the blessing of our cornerstone, Jesus!

Ask: In what ways has Christ, the Cornerstone, shown His compassion in my life recently? How can I be His witness to others in ways that encourage them to come to know Him as Lord and Savior?

Pause and Pray

Jesus, our Cornerstone, even though we stray away from you and wander in our beliefs, please call us back as you did your people of old. Keep us mindful of your love and promise of protection. Help us, O Lord, to rely on your steadfast promise of love and protection. Today our enemies do not come as warring rulers, but as more subtle and insidious threats against our security, our futures, and our religious beliefs. Please forgive our sinful natures and hold us securely in the palm of your mighty hand and within your sheltering wings. Amen.

Adapted from “Echoes at Eventide,” by Dorothy Davis Steele

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