Several years ago I ran a Half Marathon in the Outer Banks. It was a well-planned event, and it felt like the whole town came out to cheer runners on. People held up signs and rang cowbells as we trotted past them. But my favorite sign of the entire race was in front of the Kitty Hawk Police Station. It read: “You can run, but you can’t hide. Good luck from the KHPD!”

Our passage from Isaiah reads just like that sign. God warned the sinners and the scoffers who rejected his word that they could run, but they couldn’t hide from him forever. These leaders of Jerusalem and Judah thought they had made friends with death and could live their lives any way they wanted. Losing their dignity and indulging in too much wine gave them a false sense of security in their ability to avoid God’s judgment. They thought that because they did not believe in God’s covenant, God could not punish them. Using their falsehoods and lies like a refuge, they thought they were untouchable.

They thought wrong.

Isaiah 28 (Common English Bible)

¹⁴ Therefore, hear the Lord’s word,
    you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
¹⁵ You said, “We’ve cut a deal with death;
    with the underworld we made a pact.
When the overflowing flood passes through, it won’t reach us;
    for we have made lies our hiding place,
    and in falsehood we take shelter.”

God laid a building stone in Zion that would be sure, tested, tried, and solid. Upon this cornerstone God would build a people who would be straight and righteous. Those attributes would serve as the plumb line for the generations to come.

¹⁶ Therefore, the Lord God says:
Look! I’m laying in Zion a stone,
    a tested stone, a valuable cornerstone,
    a sure foundation:
    the one who trusts won’t tremble.
¹⁷ I will make justice the measuring line
    and righteousness the plumb line.

To the people of Isaiah’s time, this promised Messiah would come and annihilate the wicked who had temporary rule over Zion. Christians understand this to be fulfilled with the coming of Jesus, our sure and tested cornerstone: “You are being made into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Thus it is written in scripture, Look! I am laying a cornerstone in Zion, chosen, valuable. The person who believes in him will never be shamed” (1 Peter 2:5-6).

But hail will sweep away the hiding place of lies,
    and water will overflow the shelter.
¹⁸ Your deal with death will be dissolved,
    and your pact with the grave  won’t stand.
The rushing flood: when it passes through,
    you will be annihilated by it.

God surely detests liars. The scoffers who hide away in their sinful apostasy won’t get away with it for long. This comes as good news to those of us who have been the victim of someone’s lies. We live in a world and in a time when lying has become part of every institution and every system. Scientists speculate that people lie at least once every day.

Jesus came to be the way, the truth, and the life. We who follow him are expected to use that as our plumb line. The call to imitate his righteousness includes a call to truth telling.

Have you told a lie today? Have you heard a lie today? May we strive to build ourselves upon our Cornerstone and model his honesty and openness, with nothing to hide.

Nothing to Hide by Kathy Schumacher