Opening illustration: I read a story of a woman on vacation that was shopping in the finest stores. One day she saw the most beautiful cup she had ever seen. She went in bought the cup and every day she would take the cup out and admire it. She would even talk to the cup and say, ’’I’m glad that I found you. You’re one of the most beautiful possessions I have." On her way back home she tried to keep the cup wrapped up, but it was so beautiful to her that she took the cup out and admired its beauty.
And the story goes soon she drifted to sleep, with the cup held fast in her hand. And while she slept, she dreamed, and in her dream the cup talked back to her. The cup said, "You know, I’m tired of you telling me how beautiful I am. I’m not what I used to be. I once was nothing but clay and dirt until one day a master craftsman came along and took me out of the mire.
I didn’t understand it when he beat me and shaped me. I didn’t understand it when he put me in an oven hotter than you can imagine. I couldn’t imagine why he would paint me and then put me back in the oven.
But you know, I learned to thank that master craftsman because if he had not molded me, I’d be shapeless and without form. If he had not put me in the oven of oppression, I’d have no structure. If he had not put that paint on me, I’d have no color. If he had not put me back in the oven to bake me again, I would fall apart." And so I thank him.
My brothers and sisters you ought to think the master craftsman. Thank God when life to seems to beat you down. Thank him when the heat seems more than you can bear. Thank him when you’re painted in pain. Thank him in the oven of oppression. Thank Him.
Let us turn to Jeremiah 18 in God’s Word and catch up with the Prophet as he goes to the potter’s house.
Introduction: One of the other personalities in Scripture who comes to mind when I think of a difficult road to travel is the prophet Jeremiah. There is a reason that he is known as the weeping prophet. God called Jeremiah to preach to the Israelites, about 600 years before Christ was born. The message that God gave to Jeremiah was not one of comfort and joy. God gave Jeremiah a life of sermons about the devastation that was about to come upon the children of God. The kings of Judah had led the people down a path to idolatry and violation of God’s commandments.
This familiar passage about “The Potter and the Clay” turns the idea of a loving God on its head. It is a vivid reminder that depending on human response, God is capable not only of intending good and evil toward humanity, but also of changing the divine mind about pending doom and blessings. One might read this passage and ask, “Where is the love?”
There are times when tough love is necessary to bring healing and reverse the effects of poor decisions, to reverse the effects of sin and evil in the world. Jeremiah’s prophecies of difficult times ahead and their fulfillment are a form of tough love. His foresight regarding arduous times ahead is a reflection of “the tension between temple theology (a theology in which bad things could not, would not happen to Israel because of the protection of God and the temple) and covenant theology (a theology of rewards for obedience and punishment for disobedience; similar to retribution theology).
How does God mold us?
1. Placed on the Wheel (vs. 1-3)
Jeremiah goes to the potter’s house and watches him work. The pottery wheel spins, the hands of the potter surround the clay; yet the pot in his hand is spoiled. We consider it good news to feel God’s hands upon us. Though we may not always feel God’s presence, hear God’s voice, or see God at work in our lives, we rest assured that God’s hand stays upon us. The Master Potter remains at the wheel, transforming our situations, shaping us for service, and envisioning good plans, a renewed hope, and a bright future. God reworks us into another vessel, as it “seems good.”
Though strongholds may bind and sin mar, God will never wipe His hands off us. Mercifully, the Master Potter desires our repentance and longs to rework us into vessels of honor, useful to God and prepared for good work. (2 Timothy 2:21.)
Jeremiah would have noticed that the potter was very careful to center the clay on the wheel. After kneading the clay for quite some time (in Jeremiah’s day most likely this was done with one’s feet), working out the air bubbles and making it ready for molding, the clay was ready for the wheel. The potter had to make sure that the clay was placed right in the center of his wheel. The consequences seem fairly obvious. The centrifugal force of the wheel will throw the clay off if it is not centered. The lesson was right there for Jeremiah, and for us, from the beginning. It doesn’t matter what the potter is trying to do with the clay; if the clay is not centered on the wheel, it will not be workable.
Jeremiah watched a potter at work and saw this analogy to God’s work with humans. Sometimes the pot gets marred on the wheel; and sometimes humans, who are created to do good, go astray and do evil. With clay, you can roll it back into a ball and start again, but with humans, we are more challenging. When I worked briefly with clay it felt like the clay had a mind of its own, and this is the issue with humans - we do have a mind of our own. So while we may be easily shaped, we don’t necessarily stay that way. Think back to the creation story in Genesis 2, where God forms the first human from the dust of the ground, perhaps alluding to the way an expert potter forms the clay, and then breathes into the nostrils of this earthen vessel and makes it-us- alive. Here is where we differ from a clay pot. Pots get fired and then they are set. A beautiful vase will sit there and look marvelous-flower after flower. But we had free will breathed into our nostrils, so we are always be molded and changed.
We need something that pulls us back to the center of the wheel, don’t we? When life starts spinning, the centrifugal force that wants to pull us off center, away from God’s design for us, is pretty strong. The temptations, the misguided decisions, the desire for more, the competition for appearance … these are things that we face every day that increase that centrifugal force. One of the ways to stay in the center of God’s potter’s wheel is an active church life. Regular prayer, constant Bible study, and fellowship with Christian friends … those are ways to stay in the center of the wheel. It doesn’t work to live on the edge of the wheel and then, when life gets difficult, run to the center before it throws us off. People try that all the time. They live on the edge of God’s wheel and raise their children on that periphery but then try to run to the center as soon as a crisis hits. We must start at the center and remain at the center of the potter’s wheel.
The clay, though “spoiled,” remains clay. So it is that God’s people, despite their sin, remain God’s people. Always ready to forgive, God longs to remold and transform us. As Christians we affirm God’s gift of Jesus to mend marred situations and to restore relationship with God. Through Jesus’ salvific work, we now have access to the same Spirit that raised him from the dead. The Holy Spirit can resurrect our lives, transform our hearts, and sanctify us for God’s good service. That same Spirit empowers us to create with God an honorable and just world.
2. Reshaped in His Will (v. 4)
The clay is not discarded. It is reshaped. There is a point of hope in what is portrayed here which was not evident in Jeremiah 1:10. That verse spoke bluntly of ‘plucking up’ and ‘planting’ etc. but the relation between the two was not explored there. One could surmise that since planting followed plucking that deliverance may lie beyond judgment. But the two could still be seen as mutually exclusive. If the clay does not cooperate with the potter, it is either made into an inferior vessel or discarded.
We see here in the action of the potter a more complex dealing with his creation implying a more complex dealing of God with the people. If a particular piece is not going well the potter remakes it into something else. The clay is not lost. So too with the Lord who may seek to pluck up and destroy a nation or kingdom, but if they turn from their evil then the Lord will also turn from the decision to destroy (v. 8). The word ‘to turn’ is the same as that for ‘repent’. The Lord’s plan of evil is not set in stone. There is the possibility of a change of heart if the people turn. On the other hand, if the Lord decides to build and plant only to find that the nation or kingdom does evil, then the Lord can have a change of mind in that regard too and punish the people (v. 10). The Lord’s plan of good is not set in stone either.
Unfortunately we sometimes use our remarkable adaptability and God-given freedom in destructive ways. This issue creates great anguish for Jeremiah. He sees Israel on the wrong track, acting in ways that are evil and unjust, oppressing the poor and forgetting God’s commandments. They act as if they are a marred pot that can’t properly hold or pour water, not like the beautiful vessels God created in Genesis. Can God start again and mold humanity once more? This is an important question, one we all ask, especially on a bad day when we see human evil, stupidity or just flat out apathy. Can we become selfless, turn away from greed, war and prejudice? Can we overcome our addictions, apathy and anxiety? Sometimes our maladaptive misbehavior seems determined and fixed, the human pot is already fired and set beyond all hope of change.
At the potter’s house, the potter took full charge of the clay. He chose which piece of clay to use. He kneaded it as long as was needed. He chose how much water to add to the clay. He made the decision how fast to spin the wheel. He chose how much pressure to place on the piece of clay. He decided how far to go with the final pull, as He pulled the sides of the piece up to form the height of the pottery. He determined how hot to fire the pottery in the kiln. It was all up to the potter. The clay did not make any of its own decisions.
But in our case, God is working with clay that resists His pressure that rejects the water of life that He tries to add, and that collapses under the final pull. We are the clay that talks back and even contends with God thus delaying the process of our transformation. Let us learn to be still and know that God is at work in our lives. If we want to become what the potter has intended, we must accept our place in His hands. He is the potter, and we are the clay. Life does feel like a fast-spinning wheel sometimes, doesn’t it? Allow the lessons at the potter’s house give you hope.
3. Consequence according to Response (vs. 5-11)
The meaning of the "marred" pot is now clearly revealed. "Judah and those living in Jerusalem", face "disaster" - destruction and exile. Therefore, through the prophet the Lord calls on the people to repent, to "turn", to return to the Lord.
Jeremiah was stern and blunt. While he may have been saying things that are hard to hear, he firmly believed in the possibility of repentance and change. His message in chapter 18 is that God is not done with us yet. That can be good news or bad news, depending upon your point of view. If you want to change, that is the most hopeful thing you can hear. If you are comfortable with the way things are, perhaps even benefitting from evil things, then look out ahead. As Dante warned, “Hell is truth seen too late.”
Jeremiah makes it clear that the nation of Israel, and all of us who come afterword, that they are still like clay in God’s hands. He warns of disaster ahead if they do not change, but if the people repent of their ways, God will not bring about the planned destruction of Judah. There is a choice to make. As it is written in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I have set before your life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” Choose whether you are going to be flexible and supple like clay in God’s hands, or if you are already fired in the kiln and set and beyond God’s help.
Jeremiah's prophecy speaks of "a nation or kingdom", either cursed or blessed by the Lord, depending on whether it does "evil" or not. Yet, the prophecy has no direct application to the nations and kingdoms of this world. Jeremiah's words are for God's covenant people Israel; they are not words for secular governments. The prophecy is a word of God for God's people, and as such applies to God's people today.
In the first instance, the prophecy reminds us that we are that "other pot, shaped as seemed best to him." More correctly, Jesus is that other pot, and in him we share the blessings of the Master Potter's new creation. Faithless Israel was destroyed ("marred in his hands"), and from the exiled remnant, the godly line, there arose a new faithful Israel. Jesus is this "righteous" one, and in the hands of the Master Potter became that "other pot." As a gift of God's grace appropriated through faith, we are incorporated into Christ's new covenant community. Our response is but to rejoice at God's wondrous kindness.
Of course, the church, as a visible expression of God's covenant community, must still consider the warnings given to Israel. The gathered community of God's people, within the framework of institutional Christianity, is bound to recognize the transitory nature of religious association. This age is passing away, and when the day dawns, the accumulated debris of denominational organization will be consumed in fire. Only the eternal elements, such as love, will survive. So, as we await the day, we, like Israel, need to heed the warning "turn from your evil ways" otherwise we will find ourselves "uprooted, torn down and destroyed."
Illustration: A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.
But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father’s table. (Aesop Fables)
Application: Where lies the danger for us of "evil ways"? The "ancient path" for the church is the way of faith. As Israel forgot God and burned "incense to worthless idols", v15, so we too can rest on the gods of our own ingenuity. As the potter shapes the bowl, so Christ shapes his kingdom; he builds a people to himself as a sovereign act of grace. We may share in his creative work through faith, or we may forget the power of his shaping hands and look to our own ingenuity, our own capacity to market and manage our Christian fellowship. Let us remember that the security of God's people lies only in the Potter's hand.
