Jack Hibbs Weekly Devotional (June 16, 2025) A Living Stone.
1 Peter 2:4 - “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.”
The passage from which this verse comes features the laying of the cornerstone of the Jewish temple—the stone that Isaiah prophesied would be “a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.” But here, Peter reveals an even greater truth: This rock is not hewn by human hands. It is living. It is Jesus Christ!
According to Jewish tradition, the builders of Solomon’s temple received a large, uncut stone from the quarry that didn’t match nor fit the construction activity of the moment. Workers questioned its presence as they maneuvered around it until a supervisor ordered the inconvenient stone pushed into the Kidron Valley. Later, when the chief cornerstone was called for, the quarry manager replied, “We sent it to you when the project first began.” And the supervisor remembered the stone he had rejected because it was in the way.
From quarry to installation, great care was given to a cornerstone because once workers placed that costly foundation stone, the rest of the building was determined. Likewise, all will encounter Jesus along life’s path, and each must decide what to do with Him. Will He be the stone they stumble over and reject in favor of continuing in sin, leading to destruction? Or will they come to the precious Rock and build their lives upon Him unto eternal life?
Our Rock is like none other—steadfast, immovable, the determiner of our days. Christ, our cornerstone, is our strength and stability, now and forevermore.
