Jacob 4:15-18

And now I, Jacob, am led on by the Spirit unto prophesying; for I perceive by the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that by the stumbling of the Jews they will reject the stone upon which they might build and have safe foundation.

But behold, according to the scriptures, this stone shall become the great, and the last, and the only sure foundation, upon which the Jews can build.

And now, my beloved, how is it possible that these, after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it, that it may become the head of their corner?

Behold, my beloved brethren, I will unfold this mystery unto you; if I do not, by any means, get shaken from my firmness in the Spirit, and stumble because of my over anxiety for you.

Jacob 4:15-18

Jacob tells us Christ is the foundation stone and will be a stumbling block of the Jews.  They will reject Him and lose their safe foundation.

Isaiah prophesied:

Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear [IE Be reverent and humble before God], and let him be your dread.

And he shall be for a sanctuary [IE security for those who trust him, but dismay and suffering for unbelievers]; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

Isaiah 8:13-15

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, telling them, “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;” (1 Corinthians 1:23). 

Nephi described Lehi’s words to Nephi’s brethren, “And it came to pass after my father had spoken these words he spake unto my brethren concerning the gospel which should be preached among the Jews, and also concerning the dwindling of the Jews in unbelief.  And after they had slain the Messiah, who should come, and after he had been slain he should rise from the dead, and should make himself manifest, by the Holy Ghost, unto the Gentiles” (1 Nephi 10:11).

Quoting the scriptures, Jacob tells them the stone will become “the great, and the last, and the only sure foundation upon which the Jews can build.”

One possible scripture to which he referred was Psalms 118:21-22 – “I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner”  Most likely, he was also referring to the words of Isaiah – “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste” (Isaiah 28:16).

Helaman₂ told his sons, Nephi₂ and Lehi₄, “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12).

How is it, Jacob asks, that the Jews, having rejected “the sure foundation” ever “become the head of their corner?”

David Rolph Seely examines that question.

Jacob introduces [the Allegory of the Olive Tree] as an exposition of a mystery: "How is it possible that these [the Jews], after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it, that it may become the head of their corner?" (Jacob 4:17). It is an allegory in that throughout the extended narrative we find many details that lend themselves well to an interpretation involving a one-to-one correspondence with people, places, and events in the history of the scattering and gathering of Israel.[1]

Jacob then answers the question.  “I will unfold this mystery unto you.”  James Faulconer observes:

The mystery [Jacob] then unfolds is the parable of the olive trees, in which it becomes clear that the answer is "because the Lord desires it" (see particularly Jacob 5:49 and 50). Paul takes up the same question, "How can Israel be saved, having rejected the Savior who was offered" (cf. Romans 10:21 and 11:1). And Paul gives the same answer as did Jacob: Israel will be saved by the mystery of God's love and desire for his people, a mystery that the figure of the olive tree helps us understand. Both writers reveal a mystery, something hidden from the world and from natural understanding, and both warn us that it is a mystery. Though we look forward to thriving through repentance and the covenants of God and though we can watch that come about, as illustrated with the olive tree, it is not our place to presume to explain why some thrive and others die. We must trust in the covenant the Lord has made to his people, even when we see no hope of that covenant being fulfilled. The botanical anomaly of the parable that wild branches might bear good fruit might well convey a very important message: with God all things are possible.[2]

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[1] The Allegory of the Olive Tree and the Use of Related Figurative Language in the Ancient Near East and the Old Testament, David Rolph Seely, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 29, 2014.

[2] The Olive Tree and the Work of God: Jacob 5 and Romans 11, James E. Faulconer, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 29, 2014.