“For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day” (Zechariah 3:9 ESV).
Zechariah spoke to a returned, but discouraged, remnant in Judah, assuring them that God Himself would lay a stone before Joshua the high priest as the secure foundation for His restored people. This stone anticipated a divinely appointed, messianic cornerstone who would be personally engraved by God and, in one decisive day, would remove the iniquity of the land.
In the wider sweep of Scripture, this stone corresponds to the “precious cornerstone” laid in Zion in Isaiah 28:16 and the rejected-but-exalted stone of Psalm 118:22, later applied to Christ by the apostles (cf. 1 Pet. 2:6-8). The engraving hints at the suffering of the Servant, fulfilled when Jesus Christ, the Lamb with seven eyes (the fullness of the Spirit), was pierced for our sins and, by His once‑for‑all sacrifice, took away sin in a single, finished work.
As we consider this engraved Stone, we remember that our standing before God rests not on our performance but on a once‑laid, unshakable foundation. We may feel like the returned exiles—weak, compromised, and aware of many failures—yet God points us, not to ourselves, but to His chosen Cornerstone who has already borne our iniquity.
So we can respond in faith, refusing to build our lives on the shifting sands of self‑effort, but instead on the solid rock of Christ’s finished work on the cross. For He is our precious Cornerstone and upon Him we are joined together with all the saints, growing into God’s holy temple (cf. Eph. 2:19-21).
PRAYER: Dear Father, we praise You for setting before us the true Stone, Your beloved Son, engraved for our iniquity. Help us live as those whose sin has been removed in that one day, resting in His finished work and building everything on Him. Anchor our church, our homes, and our hearts to this unshakable cornerstone, that Your glory might be seen in us. In Jesus’ name, amen.