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I'm compiling some stuff I learned in the Coptic Church, that I have wrote about here and there in one place for the fun of it, for ease of access and because some folks like this sort of thing. Mostly going to copy and paste some old posts here and Blog and Facebook write ups. But will probably do a few new entry's on things I have just linked to in the past. Below is an example.
The Stone the Builders Rejected" refers to a event that actually happened.
Psalm 118:22-23 “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Matthew 21:42 “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’[a]?
I heard a great story from a pastor (presbyter, aka Orthodox priest) of a church I attended years ago. It footnoted an event regarding the building of the second temple. In a nutshell, there was a literal event that happened where the builders off the temple found a stone that they believed to be defective. So, they through the rock away but they found when they got to the end of building the temple they could not finish it. And they eventually had to look at this other stone they threw away to find the capstone. I had trouble finding a confirmation of this story until I got a little smarter on my internet searches and found this complimentary tale that seems to confirm it.
“…There is an old rabbinic parable used to explain Psalm 118:22, which I think sheds some light on this parable of Jesus’:
When Solomon’s temple was being built, it was forbidden for the sound of hammers to be heard at the job site because it was a holy place of worship. You can’t have worship with construction going on in the background! So it had to be quiet. What this meant for the construction was that each and every 20 ton stone had to have a ‘shop drawing’ and was made several miles away in the quarry. Several miles away each stone was carefully cut for its exact spot in the temple. From the very start, there was a plan for each stone. The very first stone to be delivered was the capstone, but that’s the last stone needed in construction. So the builders said, “What is this? This doesn’t look like any of the first stones we need. Put it over there for now.” Well, years went by and the grass grew over the capstone and everyone generally forgot about it. Finally the construction was done and the builders said “send us the capstone” and the word came back from the quarry “we already did”. They were confused. Then someone remembered what they had done with the very first stone sent to them. It was taken from its lowly position among the overgrown weeds where it had been forgotten, and it was honored in the final ceremony to complete the temple. Thus, the scripture says, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.” [1] “
Taken from
https://thinkhebrew.wordpress.com/…/the-stone-the-builders…/
The reference to this rejected headstone recalls an ancient tradition woven into the structure of Psalm 118-the climax of the great national Hallel (Psalm 113 through 118). We are told that when Solomon built his famous temple, all the masonry was performed at a distance so that there were neither hammers, axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the structure during its building. One day, in the earlier operations, a huge stone was delivered from the quarry that bore evidence, in its unusual shape, that considerable care had been given to it, but no one could suggest the precise place in the structure it was intended to fill. It was put aside as a misfit and lay on the site unrecognized and useless. The winds blew over it scornfully, the birds chirped and perched on it irreverently, and most people forgot it. But when the building began to emerge above ground and a corner or headstone was needed of a particular shape, in the builders' dilemma someone remembered the rejected stone, which, when it was placed in the gap, answered the need with perfect exactitude. The memory of this incident was, therefore, enshrined in the words: "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner" ~ Psalm 118:22.
[From "The Life of Peter", F.B. Meyer]
The Stone the Builders Rejected" refers to a event that actually happened.
Psalm 118:22-23 “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Matthew 21:42 “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’[a]?
I heard a great story from a pastor (presbyter, aka Orthodox priest) of a church I attended years ago. It footnoted an event regarding the building of the second temple. In a nutshell, there was a literal event that happened where the builders off the temple found a stone that they believed to be defective. So, they through the rock away but they found when they got to the end of building the temple they could not finish it. And they eventually had to look at this other stone they threw away to find the capstone. I had trouble finding a confirmation of this story until I got a little smarter on my internet searches and found this complimentary tale that seems to confirm it.
“…There is an old rabbinic parable used to explain Psalm 118:22, which I think sheds some light on this parable of Jesus’:
When Solomon’s temple was being built, it was forbidden for the sound of hammers to be heard at the job site because it was a holy place of worship. You can’t have worship with construction going on in the background! So it had to be quiet. What this meant for the construction was that each and every 20 ton stone had to have a ‘shop drawing’ and was made several miles away in the quarry. Several miles away each stone was carefully cut for its exact spot in the temple. From the very start, there was a plan for each stone. The very first stone to be delivered was the capstone, but that’s the last stone needed in construction. So the builders said, “What is this? This doesn’t look like any of the first stones we need. Put it over there for now.” Well, years went by and the grass grew over the capstone and everyone generally forgot about it. Finally the construction was done and the builders said “send us the capstone” and the word came back from the quarry “we already did”. They were confused. Then someone remembered what they had done with the very first stone sent to them. It was taken from its lowly position among the overgrown weeds where it had been forgotten, and it was honored in the final ceremony to complete the temple. Thus, the scripture says, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.” [1] “
Taken from
https://thinkhebrew.wordpress.com/…/the-stone-the-builders…/
The reference to this rejected headstone recalls an ancient tradition woven into the structure of Psalm 118-the climax of the great national Hallel (Psalm 113 through 118). We are told that when Solomon built his famous temple, all the masonry was performed at a distance so that there were neither hammers, axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the structure during its building. One day, in the earlier operations, a huge stone was delivered from the quarry that bore evidence, in its unusual shape, that considerable care had been given to it, but no one could suggest the precise place in the structure it was intended to fill. It was put aside as a misfit and lay on the site unrecognized and useless. The winds blew over it scornfully, the birds chirped and perched on it irreverently, and most people forgot it. But when the building began to emerge above ground and a corner or headstone was needed of a particular shape, in the builders' dilemma someone remembered the rejected stone, which, when it was placed in the gap, answered the need with perfect exactitude. The memory of this incident was, therefore, enshrined in the words: "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner" ~ Psalm 118:22.
[From "The Life of Peter", F.B. Meyer]
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