Chapter 3—Jesus and the Pharisees
In building the temple of Solomon the stones were entirely pre-
pared at the quarry, so that when they were brought to the place of
building the workmen had only to place them in position; the hewing,
squaring and polishing had all been done. “And the king commanded,
and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay
the foundation of the house. And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s
builders did hew them, and the stone-squarers. So they prepared tim-
ber and stones to build the house.” “And the house, when it was in
building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither;
so that there was neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of iron heard in
the house, while it was in building.”
Not an instrument was to be used upon the stone when it was
brought to the place of building. One stone of irregular shape was
brought from the quarry to be used in the foundation of the temple.
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But the workmen could find no place for it and would not accept it.
There it lay unused, and the laborers passed around it or stumbled
over it, greatly annoyed by its presence. Long it remained a rejected
stone. But when the builders came to the laying of the corner-stone,
for a long time they searched in vain for a stone of sufficient size and
strength, and of the proper shape, to take that particular place and
bear the great weight which would rest upon it. Should they make an
unwise selection of a stone for this important place, the safety of the
entire building would be endangered; they must find a stone capable of
resisting the influence of the sun, frost and tempest. Several stones had
been chosen at different times; but when subjected to the pressure of
immense weights they had crumbled to pieces. Others would not bear
the test of sudden atmospheric changes, and were therefore pronounced
unfit for the place.
But there lay the stone so long rejected by the builders; it had
endured exposure to the air and to the scorching rays of the sun without
revealing a seam or the slightest crack. Storms had beaten upon it, yet
it remained the same. The attention of the builders was finally attracted
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