Christ in the Old Testament

Zechariah 10:4

From Judah will come the cornerstone,
    from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
    from him every ruler. (NIV)

Today’s Reading: Zechariah 10:1-5

God gives Zechariah another prophecy about the coming Messiah. God gives him another series of pictures about Jesus who would come from the tribe of Judah. He will be the cornerstone, tent peg and battle bow.

We have discussed Jesus being the cornerstone, so we will simply reinforce the idea here again. This is third time God has given a prophecy about the Messiah being the cornerstone. The other two times were to King David and to Isaiah:

“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 28:16).

“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Ps 118:22-23).

Jesus confirmed he was the Messiah by calling himself the cornerstone and quoting Psalm 118 to the chief priests and Pharisees in reference to himself at that moment:

“Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Matt 21:42).

“Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected,
    which has become the cornerstone’” (Acts 4:11).

The cornerstone was the first block laid at the corner of two walls. It is the stone on which every other stone rests. If you get the cornerstone square and level, the rest of the house will follow. The word picture the Lord is painting in this prophecy is that Jesus is the cornerstone of life and His people are the stones that are built on him:

“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 2:4-5).

Along those same lines, Jesus is also the tent peg. If you’ve ever set up a tent, you know that the tent pegs are the most important part especially if a storm brews up overnight. If the pegs are secure, the tent won’t blow away. God also has used this word picture for the Messiah before in a prophecy to Isaiah:

“In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father. All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars (Isa 22:20-24).

Jesus’s place is secure as the Stone. He has been installed as the King of Kings and his seat of honor is firmly established. He will have it for all eternity. A time is coming when he will bring the battle bow and rule over every ruler:

“He will rule them with an iron scepter” (Rev 19:15).

So Jesus, the Messiah from Judah, is the Stone. This stone is precious to those who believe in him. We can put our trust in him because he is firmly seated on his throne:

“For in Scripture it says:

‘See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame’” (1 Pet 2:6-7).

Today’s Prayer: Lord, thank you for the precious stone we have in Jesus. Help me today to trust in him a little more than yesterday. My salvation is secure and I will never be put to shame because Jesus is the worthy Stone.