TO CHEW ON: "'You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces .... And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.'" Daniel 2:34,44
The mighty stone in Daniel's vision that crushes earth's kingdoms and becomes an everlasting kingdom of its own (Daniel 2:35) reminds us of other places the Bible refers to this everlasting kingdom—and with stone imagery too.
- Daniel himself talks about this kingdom again, describing its king in words that signal He is Jesus (Daniel 7:13,14).
- In several places Bible prophets refer to a coming cornerstone: Psalm 118:22, Zechariah 10:4; Isaiah 28:16.
- Jesus in explaining the parable of the Landowner (in which we recognize Him as the owner's son, whom the wicked servants put to death - Matthew 21:33-41) connects this cornerstone prophecy to Himself and the Kingdom of God (Matthew 21:42, 43).
- Peter talks about Jesus being the cornerstone in his sermon to the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:11) and again in his epistle (1 Peter 2:6) as does Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 2:20).
What about us? Will we build our lives on Jesus the cornerstone (1 Corinthians 3:11), who saves us (Acts 4:11,12) and let ourselves be fit together with other "living stones" in a magnificent "holy temple" (Ephesians 2:20-22)? Or will we reject Him and find Him a stone that stumbles, offends and crushes us (1 Peter 2:7,8)?
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for being the stone that fulfills Daniel's prophecy. We look forward to the day Your kingdom will "become a great mountain and fill the whole earth." Amen.
MORE: "Living Stones" by Michael Card (link goes to Grooveshark Radio)
No comments:
Post a Comment