Jerusalem's Covenant with Death Cannot Stand

Scoffing rulers in Jerusalem claim a covenant with death

Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.

The boast is that an alliance, a lie, or a ritual deal will let the flood pass over them. Scoffing policy treats death as a contracted partner. The charge is against Jerusalem's rulers, not a warrant to punish whoever a later party calls scoffers while ignoring its own false refuges.

A tested stone in Zion and a measuring line of justice expose the bed that is too short

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. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

The sure foundation is believing without panicking into lies. Line and plummet are justice and righteousness. A short bed and a narrow blanket are policies that cannot cover the people. The strange work is judgment on Zion's scoffers. Later readings of the stone are reception; they do not cancel this horizon or authorize partisan control.