“The Prophet and the Potter”
Jeremiah 18:1-6
Jeremiah 18:6 O house of Israel, 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.
The spiritual history of the nation of Israel is cyclic in nature. By that I mean that there would be a time of struggle and conflict and deliverance by God leading into a time of peace and prosperity followed by a period of backsliding and decline. Jeremiah was ministering during one of those times of backsliding and decline, as a matter of fact God had sent a large portion of the population into captivity. In our text the Lord directs the prophet to go to the house of a potter to personally see an “object lesson” illustrating what God wanted to do for His people. God asks the question, “…cannot I do with you as this potter?” The answer is obvious. So today let’s observe what the potter does:
First: The work of the potter.
I. The Potter’s Design
A. He separates the clay
The first thing that the potter does is to separate the clay from the common lump. Now that might seem unimportant but it is absolutely necessary. God sees each of us as individuals and deals with each of us personally and the amazing thing is He does this simultaneously!!! That truth suggests that God places a value of each of us, you and I are important to Him. You may feel that no one knows who you are or what you are going through or what your burdens are but let me assure that God cares and as the Scripture says, “…He never slumbers or sleeps!”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts (plans) that I think toward you, saith the LORD… ”
B. He sets the clay on the wheel
Without the potter’s wheel there can be no vessel. To me the wheel represents the place, circumstances and situation that he has put us in. In Jeremiah’s case “the wheel” was imprisonment and hardship. For the nation of Israel it was their deportation to a foreign country as slaves. For Moses it was a boat in the bulrushes, a penthouse in the palace and ultimately an unmarked grave on Mt. Nebo. For the Lord’s disciples it was a violent death for all with the exception of John and even he suffered exile on a rocky island in the Mediterranean. For Cory Ten Boom it was a German concentration camp; for Fanny Crosby it was a lifetime of darkness; for Joni Erickson it is a life spent in a body that does not feel or sense or move. God has a wheel for all of us. The potter determines the speed of the wheel and how long the clay stays on the wheel. Now some of you might say that you don’t like the wheel that God has you on and that you are not happy with what He is doing. You even question what He is doing.
Isaiah 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
C. He selects the form
There are more containers and vessels than we can number and more uses for those vessels too. The potter might decide to make a pot to carry water, or a bowl to put food in, or a vase to put flowers in. The design of the vessel would depend in large part on its use. Its form is determined by its function! At any rate this potter “…wrought a work on the wheel…” and the potter determines what he wants to make based on what he chooses to do. It can be of simple design or it can be very intricate. It could be something for use in the home of a poor man or prince. You say to me that you don’t like your hair or eyes or your nose or some other part of your anatomy. Of maybe your 5 ft. 9 and you wanted to be 6 ft. 4. Or you wanted to be a musician but you can’t carry a tune in a tow sack! Listen to what Paul has to say:
Romans 9:20 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?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, (finer use) and another unto dishonor (common use)?
Second: What happens next?
II. The Potter’s Discernment
A. The defect in the vessel
Jeremiah says that “…the vessel that he made of clay was marred…” There was something about the “green” vessel that was spinning on the potter’s wheel that was not right. The word marred is “spoiled” in Hebrew and it means that there was a pebble or rock or something that was in the clay.
B. The discrimination of the potter
This vessel was formed by the application of pressure from the potter’s hands and it was while the potter was molding the vessel that he felt this flaw. The pressure reveals the problem. That is often what happens in our lives as well. When God applies the pressure as He seeks to mold and shape us into something useful, He determines that there is an area, either in our character or personality that is flawed and that for him to continue would result in a vessel that could not be used for its intended purpose. For many of us stress or conflict in our lives reveals negative character and personality traits. Anger and bitterness are often the result. We all know folks that seem just fine as long as you don’t put them under any kind of pressure but the minute you do, “watch out” because you are liable to see or hear something that you don’t want to see or hear! The Bible says “…that out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing…” and that happens when people are placed under pressure. Now the question becomes; “what if the potter goes ahead and places the clay vessel with its flaw in the kiln to “fire” it? The finished product will be a vessel that cannot be used for its intended purpose. How many of us have a bowl or vase or container of some kind in our homes that has a chip or a crack and now it has become just a place where we put odds and ends and it no longer is used for its purpose?
Third: What does the potter do?
III. The Potter’s Decision
The potter feels the flaw so he “…made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it…” The potter doesn’t repair the vessel, he remakes it! He folds and kneads the clay and then starts over until he succeeds in producing a new vessel. Same clay but something new! Because of this “object lesson” that God was using to teach his prophet we can know several things: First and foremost we learn that God is the God of the “Second Chance!” So many of us have made decisions in life that have led to wreck and ruin but God because of His grace and mercy offers us a chance to remake ourselves so that we can take a different path. He wants to remake us so that He can correct the character and personality traits that have been the source of our troubles. For some this means salvation. You need to ask Christ to come into your heart to be both Savior and Lord and until you do you will continue to make the same mistakes that have led you to where you are today. For those who are Christians, you need to stay on the “wheel” so that God can make you into the image of His Son through sanctification. Still others need to make a commitment to serve Him in some way. Because He is the God of the second chance:
A. There is hope for the hopeless
Jon Earls writes: “When everyone else says that you are worthless, God says you are worth everything. He wants to take the broken pieces of your life and remake them into something new. He can take the worst of homes, and make them peaceful. He can take the worst of addicts, clean. He can take a wrecked marriage and put it back together again. What makes you think he can’t remake your life?”
B. There is help for the helpless
Encarta Dictionary says that to be helpless is to be “…unable to manage without help…”
Most people need help at some time or another but we look for that help in all the wrong places. David said:
Psalms 60:11 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
ILL - There is a story about a Russian officer who, having become hopelessly involved in debt sat down in desperation and wrote out a list of his indebtedness. Summing up the whole, he wrote in despair at the bottom, "Who can pay such a debt as this?" That night the emperor passed through the barracks in disguise and seeing the paper beside the sleeping man, read it, and wrote at the end of the question the one word Nicholas! In the morning the officer wondered who had done it, but all doubts vanished when at ten o’clock the emperor sent the cash necessary for the heavy payment.
C. There is happiness for the hapless
Hapless is defined as unfortunate. Has your life been one long serious of unfortunate events and you feel that you “…just can’t win for losing…?” Maybe you feel like someone has painted a big red “L” on your forehead.
ILL - A psychiatrist who visited a rescue mission listened intently to the testimonies of many converts. The superintendent asked him if he would like to say a word. This is what he said: "Tonight I have been given an opportunity to observe something I did not know existed anywhere. It has been my privilege to listen to the testimony of men who were glad to witness to what Christ had done for them. I know nothing about that, but I confess I cannot otherwise explain what has taken place in their lives. A few of these men I recognize. As drunkards, even as dope addicts, some of them have come under my observation at the hospital. But here they are, alive, well-dressed, delivered, and in their right minds. I do not know how the miracle has been wrought, but of one thing I am confident--nothing in science can account for this change in them. That kind of gospel is worth preaching to anyone, anywhere."
ILL - A king who wished to express his affection for a private soldier of his army gave him a richly jeweled cup, his own cup. The soldier, stepping forth to receive the gift, exclaimed shamefacedly, "This is too great a gift for me to receive." "It is not too great for me to give," the king replied.
