The Strand Study Bible

JEREMIAH 18:1

JEREMIAH 18:8

1172

Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the 1 palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. Jeremiah 18 The sign of the potter’s house (A symbol of God’s sovereignty) (Note - This portion of Jeremiah’s prophecy took place in the 6th year of King Jehoiakim’s reign) Date Written - c. 603 BC/AM 3397 1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD , saying, 2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6 O house of Israel, 2 cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 7 At what instant I shall speak concern- ing a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to de- stroy it; 8 3 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

1. II Ki 25:8-10 2. Rom 9:20-21 3. Ezk 18:21 & Jonah 3:1-10

18:2 Jeremiah is sent to observe a potter at work in his workshop ( Arise, and go down to the potter’s house ). When the vessel the potter is making is flawed ( marred – vs 4), the potter squeezes the clay into a lump and begins again ( so he made it again – vs 4). NOTE – Seeing that the potter represents God ( O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD – vs 6) and the clay represents the people of Israel (mankind – Gen 2:7), there are several lessons that we can learn from this story; for the physical is often a reflection of the spiritual ( Jere 14:1 ): Lesson #1 – God is totally SOVEREIGN ( Eph 1:11 , Isa 45:4 & 46:10 and Mt 27:32 ) The potter is absolute. God has incontestable authority. He has power to carry through his will and he answers to no one. He has no board of directors or voters to whom he must respond. The clay in his hand can neither stop the potter nor question his right, for clay cannot talk or complain (unless of course that clay is human). Paul said in Romans 9:17-21: For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will ? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? Nowhere will you find such a graphic picture of the sovereignty of God ( For who hath resisted his will ) than in this. God alone is in charge. Paul concludes in Romans 9:16: So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. God does what He pleases with whomever He pleases, unless of course, that person discovers the mercy of God. Get God to show you His mercy and you’ll change the way God looks at you. Discover the God of mercy (Gen 4:4-7) and you’ll discover the mercy of God ( Gen 19:16 ). However, in order to find the mercy of God, you must first find the grace of God ( Gen 6:8 ). Lesson #2 – God WANTS to work with us ( Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand – vs 6) God didn’t make us out of steel; He made us out of clay –He WANTS to work with us. More important than our purpose is His purpose. When He turns us on the wheel of circumstances, He means to accomplish something. Thus He has a purpose ( cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD ), and His purpose is not to hurt the clay, but to help the clay become useful. Lesson #3 – We CAN resist ( And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter – vs 4) How does something get “ marred ”? It resists! Human beings, unlike clay, CAN cooperate with the Potter. They don’t have to resist. It is simply a matter of yielding to the pressure of the Potter’s hand as He guides us along the wheel of circumstances. Lesson #4 – God wants TO CONTINUE to work with us (… so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it – vs 4) Just because we resist doesn’t mean He still doesn’t want to work with us (Jonah 1-4). Unlike people, God doesn’t write people off ( Gen 4 :1- 7 ). People write people off; therefore it is people who write them selves off. God is not through with us when we make a mess of our lives. In fact, our failures simply give God an opportunity to offer us more grace ( Rom 5:20 ); and grace is all about accepting His solutions to our failures ( Gen 6:8 and Eph 2:8a ). Lesson #5 – God will continue to work with us UNTIL we destroy ourselves ( And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart – vs 12) God has no choice but to let go of that which destroys itself. According to Romans 9:22 , men “fit themselves” for destruction. There are those who forever resist the pressure of their Maker’s hand, only to destroy themselves in the end. God’s wish is to work with the clay, that is, until the clay resists to the point that it cannot be worked with anymore.