The "stumbling stone" - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 8:13-14,

"The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one
you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. He will be a holy
place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people
to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of
Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare."

Here is the Lord's direction to Isaiah, warning him against following
the way of the people of Israel and Judah.

In the midst of looming war he reminds Isaiah that he alone is the one
to fear, to dread. It is not just blessing the Lord can bring into our
lives, he can also bring his terrifying judgment.

This passage is quoted by Paul in Romans 9:33, "See, I lay in Zion a
stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame." Paul uses
this passage in Isaiah to point to God's foretelling of the gospel of
faith. Israel had always felt their path to a righteous standing
before God lay in their covenantal pedigree and their notion of
earning their own righteousness by pursuing the law given Moses. In
Romans Paul points to the reality that Israel did not achieve their
standing of righteousness by law-keeping, but that the Gentiles had
through faith.

Faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and in his finished work on the
cross, as expressed in the gospel, is what brings righteousness... not
our own best efforts. This determination of God is what has become the
stumbling stone for all the do-gooders and law-keepers from Israel's
history, right up to everyone today.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

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Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com