Psalms 118:22-23 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
These verses capture one of the most profound Messianic truths in all of Scripture. What man cast aside, God exalted. What the builders saw as flawed and unfit, God chose as the foundation of His eternal plan. Yeshua (Jesus), the rejected One, is the very cornerstone upon which salvation, identity, and destiny are built. This is more than a theological concept — it’s a divine reversal that reveals the heart of redemption. Rejection by man does not disqualify–it often qualifies you for God’s greatest purposes.
Throughout history, humanity has consistently misjudged what matters most. The religious leaders of Yeshua’s day, the “builders,” were entrusted with God’s house, yet failed to recognize the cornerstone when He stood before them. But the plans of men never override the purposes of God. The same Yeshua who was crucified outside the city became the foundation stone of a heavenly kingdom that will never be shaken. And this wasn’t a last-minute adjustment — it was “the LORD’s doing”, and it is still marvelous in our eyes.
The Hebrew word for “stone” is אֶבֶן (evan) — a compound of אב (av) meaning father and בן (ben) meaning son. Hidden within this one word is the mystery of the Gospel: the Father and the Son, united in purpose and identity. The cross was not an accident; it was the place where the Father gave the Son to become the foundation of our faith, our lives, and the coming Kingdom. The cornerstone is not just about structural strength — it’s about divine relationship.
This truth demands a response. If Yeshua is the cornerstone, then every part of our lives must align with Him. He is not an add-on or a side pillar — He is the first stone laid, the standard by which all other stones are set. Your identity, your calling, your future — everything must be built on Him. If you’ve experienced rejection, know this: your value is not determined by the builders of this world, but by the One who makes all things marvelous in His time.
It’s time to rebuild — on the Rock. Stop trying to fit into structures God never called you to belong to. You may have been rejected, overlooked, or cast aside — but that doesn’t disqualify you. In fact, it places you in perfect alignment with the One who was rejected before you. Let Yeshua be your cornerstone — not just in word, but in foundation. Tear down what was built on sand. Lay Him down as the first and final authority in your life. Align your identity to the Father through the Son. What man rejected, God is ready to use. What the enemy tried to discard, God is setting in place. The cornerstone is secure — now build.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Some of the wealthiest individuals in the United States are real estate developers. They make their money by buying a piece of property that is terribly run down, seemingly useless, without any value to the naked eye and reforming it completely, making it look brand new! These businessmen are not as much interested in what is on the property as they are interested in the land it’s on!
A sailor who was shipwrecked on a desert island was captured by some of the natives of that island. They carried him off on their shoulders to their village, where he was sure he would end up being the main course. But instead, they put a crown on his head and made him king. He was enjoying all the attention he was receiving but was growing a little suspicious. He started making inquiries and discovered that their custom was to crown a stranger king for a year and at the end of that year the crowned king would be sent to a deserted island where he was allowed to starve to death.
With war drums beating even more intensely in Iran and Syria, we’ve received numerous phone calls and emails expressing their concerns — and understandably so! Nevertheless, even in this climate of anxiety, we are preparing to enter into Shabbat (the Hebrew word for Sabbath) this afternoon. And as we do, we are remembering again, the deep lesson of God’s entering into His rest following the six creation days.
This is one of my favorite promises in the Bible — that God turns mourning into dancing! He takes away the anguish of being clothed in sadness and replaces it with gladness. However, notice what God doesn’t do — simply stop your mourning and make it disappear. No, He transforms it…into joy!
As we discussed last week, the word for “sign” in ancient Hebrew is “oht”. It was used in Genesis to designate God’s covenant sign with Noah, (the rainbow). And we see now the same word again, in Exodus, identified with the deliverance of the Jewish people from the tenth plague, when the angel of death passed through all Egypt to strike the firstborn. Anyone under the “sign” of the blood was spared.
Yesterday we wrote about one of the greatest moves of God … the Moravian Revival. When the community was in complete disarray, Count Zinzendorf focused on how they could live together in love despite their differences. He called all the men together for an intense study of the Scriptures to focus on how Christian life in community was portrayed. These studies combined with intense prayer convinced many of the believers that they were called to live together in love and that their disunity and conflict were contrary to the clear calling of Scripture.
In the late 1800s, an awakening in South Africa led by Andrew Murray was a powerful move of God. Studying that revival yields essential insights concerning the events occurring now throughout the United States. As the spirit of God began to move in Cape Town, Murray compared the SA revival with past experiences of revivals in Europe. He decided that the intense “emotionalism” was a false experience of God and charged in to break up the meeting. Stepping out of the church, he encountered his father standing and weeping. His father rebuked Andrew, “How dare you stop something that I have prayed to happen for 30 years!”