Read Jeremiah 18
At the Potter’s House
18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’”
13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Inquire among the nations:
Who has ever heard anything like this?
A most horrible thing has been done
by Virgin Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
ever stop flowing?
15 Yet my people have forgotten me;
they burn incense to worthless idols,
which made them stumble in their ways,
in the ancient paths.
They made them walk in byways,
on roads not built up.
16 Their land will be an object of horror
and of lasting scorn;
all who pass by will be appalled
and will shake their heads.
17 Like a wind from the east,
I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face
in the day of their disaster.”
18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.”
19 Listen to me, Lord;
hear what my accusers are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for me.
Remember that I stood before you
and spoke in their behalf
to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;
hand them over to the power of the sword.
Let their wives be made childless and widows;
let their men be put to death,
their young men slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden snares for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill me.
Do not forgive their crimes
or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
Go Deeper
The Lord tells Jeremiah in this chapter to go to the potter’s house, where He would give the prophet instruction. There Jeremiah saw the potter making a jar, but the jar he was making out of clay became flawed, so he made it into another jar (v. 4). The Lord then declared that He was going to treat Israel like the potter treats the clay. God says, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed” (v. 6-7). Like the flawed jar, the Lord was going to uproot, tear down, and destroy Israel, unless they repent and turn to Him.
God is the potter and Israel is the clay. God is the Creator, and we are His masterpiece. This analogy is repeated in Scripture and occurs again in Isaiah 45. Isaiah says, “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands?” (Isaiah 45:9). This idea is echoed again in Romans 9:20-21 saying, “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” God, the potter, is sovereign and does what He pleases to do.
This passage continues talking about how Israel has broken their covenant with God. God declares, “Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols, which made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths (v. 15). The Mosaic covenant that God made with His people was conditional. If they believe and obey, they will prosper (Deuteronomy 28:1), and if they disobey they will perish (Deuteronomy 28:15). Israel has abandoned God and worshiped false idols. As a result of their disobedience, there would be consequences. God tells them, “Like a wind from the east, I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster” (v. 17).
Jeremiah faithfully speaks the message of repentance that God calls him to, and the people not only don’t listen to him, but they plot against him. The people say, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says” (v. 18). This was a plot to silence Jeremiah, or even kill him.
Throughout the forty years that Jeremiah ministered to the people of Judah, people refused to repent. From the outside that might look like an unsuccessful ministry, but he was committed to walking in obedience to what the Lord called him to do. This is a great reminder to us to be faithful in the work God has called us to do, despite any opposition we might face. Like moldable clay and like Jeremiah, would we be special instruments of God, set apart, and prepared for every good work.
Questions
- When have you contended against God and wanted to go your own way? What does it look like for you to be moldable clay in the hands of the Potter?
- How do you respond to discouragement while being an ambassador of God?
- What lessons can we learn from Jeremiah in regard to what “success” looks like as we minister to the people around us?
Keep Digging
Interested in learning more about the symbolism of the Potter and clay? Check out this article from GotQuestions.org!
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3 thoughts on “Jeremiah 18”
I found such a contrast in today’s chapter and the message at HC yesterday from Ephesians. Our sin and rebellion certainly are deserving of being uprooted, torn down and destroyed as v7 describes. The free will granted us gives us the freedom to choose our path, either one that leads to life or death. Ephesians 2:13 shows, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Now we can experience being “brought in, blended in, and built up” through the perfect sacrifice of Christ. What a Savior who rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into his glorious light! Now we have the privilege to scatter the darkness around us and illuminate the path straight to freedom found only in Jesus. Let us echo the words of this hymn “Have Thine Own Way, Lord” —
Have thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay;
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting yielded and still.
We all have a purpose, here and now for God. When you as a parent or as a person in charge of others, tell them this is what I need you to do ,X,Y,Z but they do X, K, A it does not work well for you or the whole group, team, or family. I believe that is what is happening here in this passage but also now in this world. God is on the move but we as His children need to be moldable to perform or to hold the shape that will make the difference for such a time as this. I know He had to squash me several hundreds of times to the lump, but hopefully now it is just refining the shape, and littler clumps out. Even though I deserve to be tossed out, He continues to shape me on His master wheel. His patience with me is unbelievable. Even when He has shown me that my life needs reshaping again, I have seen His grace. This is the reality of the God I serve. I have a hard time realizing this at times. How moldable are you right now to the Potter?
God thank You for a moldable spirit. Thank You that I allow You to shape me of my own free will. Thank You God for the work You are doing in me, for me and for Your Kingdom. God help me shut my mouth of my words and let You flow through my speech. Help me have listening ears to/for You so that I do what You need from me. God thank You for the minutes of this day that in all I do and say Your light so shines forth in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!
Yes! Thank you! Amen!
12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’”
Yep, I resemble that remark! Following the stubbornness of my evil heart.