The Potter's House

God has the unilateral right to do with His creation as He sees fit. In Jeremiah 18 we are introduced to a vivid illustration of that truth. 

Jeremiah 18:1–4 (ESV) The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.

First, let's discuss something important. God uses illustrations to speak to us. "Go down to the potter's house and THERE I will let you hear my words". What truth! I sometimes hear Pastors criticized for using illustrations or props in their sermons. As if the teaching should be a theoretical lecture only. God can profoundly reveal His truth through all of creation. 

When Jeremiah shows up he sees a spoiled vessel. The word for "spoiled" could be "ruined" in the Hebrew. But notice where the ruined vessel is? In the potter's hand. That's you. You may feel ruined but you're not rejected. Notice the rest of verse 4. The vessel is being reworked. 

Now this is important. Jeremiah is declaring disaster for the nation. They will be defeated by their enemies and handed off to exile. We are not talking about a few tweaks to their existence. We are talking about a total and complete renovation of their entire reality. But hear this: God was STILL working in and through it. 

God warned and they did not listen. 
Jeremiah 18:11 (ESV) Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’

Jeremiah 18:12 (ESV) “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’

Their evil had determined God's course of action.
Jeremiah 18:15–17 (ESV) But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods; they made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient roads, and to walk into side roads, not the highway, 16 making their land a horror, a thing to be hissed at forever. Everyone who passes by it is horrified and shakes his head. 17 Like the east wind I will scatter them before the enemy. I will show them my back, not my face, in the day of their calamity.”

The clay would be smashed and restarted. 

I wonder if this post could save someone a world of hurt. Instead of being smashed, surrender. Instead of being handed over to destructive realities to bring you to repentance, change, and turn to the Lord. Save yourself years and even decades of misery. Are you feeling the firm press of God's hand? Are you sensing His pressure on an area that needs renovation? Let Him in. 

Because... no matter how you feel about it. You are His creation and He is not yours. He has the unilateral right to do with you as you please. That process can be as painful as you want. But in the end, the purpose is wonderful. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God’s View of You

Sometimes I think we imagine that God is mostly disappointed with us. That He puts up with us and bears with us because He has to (after all He is love), but most of the time our glaring weaknesses weary Him and make His day miserable. Of course, this is the devil’s doing in our minds. The truth of scripture bears out that the world has to get staunch-raving evil before God is totally weary of us. And the stories in the Old Testament remind us with each passing character that God is patient, loving and kind to His very flawed inconsistent servants. Saul is a case study of this. His lineage will not hold the kingdom, that has already been stated from the mishap of offering the sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel to arrive in 1 Samuel 13. His next great gaff will happen in the chapter to come in 1 Samuel 15 where his own kingship will be taken from him and the anointing placed on one soon to come. Yes, God will regret making Saul king and we’ll talk about that next. But for now...
Read more

The Stain of Slavery

One of the greatest pains in my heart over the history of the church is the fact that many "Bible-believing" Christians used the Bible to promote, continue, and enable slavery in America's past. It may have happened elsewhere, but I'm an American, and I know it happened here. Then, some repeatedly make the claim because of a tiny amount of verses where God informs Israel on how to take slaves, it means the Bible is a pro-slavery document. How absurd. The overarching narrative of the Bible is that God sets the slaves free. The second book testifies to this part of God's character.  Getting to Jeremiah's day, one of the reasons Israel's nation was handed over to exile was because they enslaved each other. This attitude was so engrained into the culture of Israel that they had a hard time giving up slavery even in the face of national catastrophe.  In Jeremiah 34, the king is promised that he will die in Babylon, but he will die in peace. Jeremiah 34:3–5 (ESV...
Read more

Leaders Who Later Fail

Remember Johanan from Jeremiah 41? The man who saved many others from the threats of the murderous coup? He seemed like a noble leader. But time reveals a lot.  Jeremiah 42:5–6 (ESV)  Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to us. 6 Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.” These are the words of the presumptive leaders of Israel in the land while the nation is in exile. The previous chapter saw a hero arise to protect a few remaining survivors. His name was Johanan. On the surface, he seems like a good man, seeking the will of the Lord in his leadership position. Jeremiah returns with directives from the Lord: Jeremiah 42:10 (ESV) If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant y...
Read more