THE ROCK THAT WILL NOT ROLL

 

An old country preacher was challenged by an atheist. The atheist said, “why do you Christians have faith in an invisible God? What makes you think He will help you?” The old preacher replied: “Well, son, it says in the beginning of my Bible that God was in charge when time started up. Then I flip over to the end of my Bible and reads that God will be in charge when time runs down. So I figure that between the beginning and the end there’s nobody big enough to whoop ‘em.”

Isaiah 28 is an amazing chapter that emphasizes the necessity of building our lives on a solid foundation and the folly of making a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place. We read “woe to the proud crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim, And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; as a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction,

Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand. The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is trampled underfoot. And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to the summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it..” (Isa. 28:1-4, NASB).

Ephraim represents the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It was known for its strength and influence but also for its eventual downfall due to idolatry and moral decay. The Majestic crown refers to the pride and self-glorification of Ephraim; their splendid crown will be trampled underfoot. The fading flower represents the transient beauty and glory of Ephraim; What once bloomed is now withering.  Their glorious beauty is likened to the first-ripe fig that never gets to be stored.

This is a sobering reminder of the transient nature of human glory and achievements; they are temporary and can quickly fade away. We should focus on eternal values and treasures in heaven rather than temporary earthly achievements. Jesus said “do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt.6:19-21). What you care about most shows where your true focus lies.

Samaria the capital of the Northern Kingdom was situated on a hill overlooking a fertile region. It stood high in a natural fortress. Ephraim’s geographical location was strategic and prosperous, contributing to the pride of its inhabitants. However, their physical elevation and prosperity could not protect them from divine judgment.  God told the proud nation of Edom who felt safe in their high mountain home, “though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” (Obadiah 1:4).

Ephraim’s lofty “crown” will wither because its people have traded sober reliance on the Lord for self-indulgence. God said them “very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose” but they would not listen. So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there, so that as they go they will fall backward; they will be injured and snared and captured” (Isa.28:11-12).

God offered his people a place of rest and peace, but they mocked His simple instructions and refused to listen. Because they refused to listen to his clear and simple message, God would turn to speak to them through the harsh, unintelligible language of invading foreigner. The foreign lips and strange tongues that God spoke to Ephraim through were Assyrians (2 Kings 17:6).  The Assyrians gave Ephraim instructions as they led them to captivity. Pride led to a false sense of security and eventual downfall.

God used the powerful and strong Assyrian army as his mighty instrument to sweep away Ephraim’s proud security with the unstoppable force of hail, storm, and flood. The glorious crown was forcefully thrown to the ground and trampled underfoot. The fertile farmland was left behind. No advantage can protect the proud from the Lord’s reach. No heights is beyond reach, regardless of how secure one may feel. The Northern Kingdom’s outward beauty, strategic position, and material prosperity could not survive God’s judgment.

After warning the Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom the prophet now turns to the Southern Kingdom. The scoffers who ruled Jerusalem the capital boasted ‘“we have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.” So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic”’ (Isa.28:14-15, NIV).

The rulers of Jerusalem proudly believed the overflowing scourge of God’s judgment would not come against them. They had no fear of death; they thought they had made peace with death and the grave. A lie and falsehood was their security; but Lies are a sad and useless refuge. Zion (Jerusalem) stood at the centre of Israel’s worship and national life. God Himself laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation. He established what would endure when the nation’s leaders and human securities fail.

But Jerusalem did not accept God’s sure foundation.  So he said to them “I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through” (Isa. 28:17-19).

Later Jeremiah was sent to them just before the final collapse and the Babylonian exile. This was the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message: “‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”

 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors forever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known,

and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! Declares the Lord…While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in… I will thrust you from my presence (Jer.7:1-15).

Shiloh was a city in the land of Ephraim. At the time God was speaking to Judah through Jeremiah, Ephraim had already gone to captivity. The people of Jerusalem thought they were indestructible. Jerusalem was the home of God’s holy temple. Surely God could not destroy his own temple. But God referred to this security as “a lie and falsehood”. Trusting such security is like building a house on shifting sand. You have a foundation that cannot withstand storms and destruction is certain. So, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom.

In contrast to the weak foundation of the wicked, God has a solid foundation for those who trust in Him. In contrast with the insecure refuge and false ground of confidence whereon the nobles relied, God puts forward the one sure "Rock" on which complete dependence may be placed. God installed Jesus as the proven, priceless cornerstone for the Church, providing an unbreakable foundation for all who place simple faith in Him. The Apostle Peter quotes the same promise (1 Peter 2:4-8).

Those in Christ have a hope that does not disappoint. If you trust in God you “will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting” (Isa.45:17). Scripture’s sure promise is that anyone who believes in him will stand unashamed now and forever because the reliability of God’s Word and the sufficiency of Christ guarantee it. On the last day, believers will stand vindicated, welcomed, and honored; no accusation will stick, no regret will haunt.

Building on any other foundation apart from Jesus is tragic.  You may be a faithful follower of any other religion apart from Christianity but this will not help you on the judgment day. Only Jehovah gives eternal life and this life is in His Son” (1 John 5:11). Jesus said “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life (John 5:24). Jesus also said “not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down... and it fell with a great crash”( Matt 7:21-27).

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever (Ps. 125:1). “Never be shaken” does not mean absence of trials; it guarantees permanence amid them. Christ is the solid rock that does not crack or move under pressure. Those who trust in him will remain stable in the midst of uncertainty. There are many things we can’t control but we can be peaceful knowing with confidence that God is in control.

Trusting in the Lord transfers us from instability to unshakable security. If your life is built on God's word you are on a foundation that is more durable than the planet itself! God invites you to try Him. See if He isn't all that He says He is! As long as we can go back in time God has always been faithful to those who trusted Him. He will not fail you! What confidence we can have about the future and our status with God! We stand on the unshakable promises of God.