Jeremiah 18:1-11
Remembering Who is in Charge
We got interested in the potter’s wheel when our son became an apprentice to a potter for six months. What a fabulous art form! And beautiful to watch, as the wheel spins.
The great prophet Jeremiah observed a potter at work and heard God speak through it. God spoke of bringing entire nations success when they followed him and bringing down entire nations when they disobeyed him. The point was clear to the ancient Israelites gathered around Jeremiah: return to God’s ways and he will allow you to prosper again, as he did with Nineveh after Jonah preached repentance, and the people repented. But defy God and pay the consequences.
We know that when Jesus came, he called individual people to repentance. He grieved over Israel as a nation, as it refused to receive its Messiah. Yet, he also spoke of individual heart change. He spoke of God’s kingdom advancing through each changed life. And he called people to repentance.
Think about some of the lessons then from the potter’s wheel. Maybe the lessons for ancient Israel still speak to us today. First lesson,
1. Believe in a Master who can rebuild (v. 4)
Did you know we serve a God of second chances? That’s called grace. That’s called mercy. Verse 4 says,
"But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot..."
It was marred; it was ruined. The problem didn’t lie with the potter. No, he knew his skill well enough. The problem lie with the clay. Yet, the spoiled design didn’t deter him. The potter kept working with the clay until it produced another more beautiful design.
We have a God who keeps working with us. He is the potter and we are the clay. Yes, we have flaws. Yes, we have sin. Yes, we each have our own ways we have rebelled against God. I so often feel like Paul in Romans 7: I don’t do what I should do, and I do what I shouldn’t do. Yet, hear this: God is not done with us yet! As long as you have breath, God is working on your life, to make you more Christ-like.
Believe in a Master who can rebuild. And then,
2. Accept the Master’s design for you (v. 4b)
Notice the end of verse 4. The master was...
"...shaping it as seemed best to him."
You are a one-of-a-kind original. Your DNA is unique. God has made you, you. One time one of our grandchildren was upset because she didn’t feel as brave as her sister in jumping into the cold swimming pool. She said, “I want to be more like my sister!” Her wise father looked her in the eyes and said, “If you’re not you, then who is going to be you?”
God has designed you with certain talents and certain gifts and certain proclivities and personality types. And he has designed you that way for a reason. Don’t resist who you are. Celebrate who you are! Because God made you that way. Learn how to honor God with your unique shape. Saddleback Church developed a class for members to learn how to serve God in their own unique way. And the class used the acronym S-H-A-P-E, standing for spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. God uses all of these to equip you for unique ways to serve, to be a blessing to others. Max Lucado gets at it with this question, “What have you always done well and loved to do?” That’s what God can use for his glory.
Have you ever questioned God about how he has shaped you? The Apostle Paul addressed this idea, borrowing from today’s passage, along with those in Isaiah (Isaiah 29:16 and 45:9), to write this, in Romans 9:20-21:
“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? Romans 9:20-21
Maybe you’re looking at your life and comparing it to someone else’s. And you wonder, “Why can’t I make people laugh like that? Why can’t I organize events like she does? Why can’t I shoot pool as well as him? Why aren’t I more outgoing? Why aren’t I smarter? Why aren’t I more attractive? Why aren’t I more of a leader?” And what you’re doing is what Paul says not to do. You the clay are demanding something of the potter. You walk into any studio on this planet, and you will never find a piece of clay complaining to the potter about what it wants to be! Clay doesn’t have an opinion. It just is.
We need to accept our own unique design, and then use it to honor God. If you’re a good organizer, organize away for the glory of God. If you’re a good leader, then lead for God’s glory. Maybe you are a quiet encourager. Then come alongside people who need it and encourage them. Use your unique shape to honor the one who shaped you!
Believe in a Master who can rebuild. Accept the Master’s design for you. And by all means...
3. Stay in the Master’s hand (v. 6)
The Master operates the wheel and fashions the clay as he sees fit. Please, please, please ... stay in the Master’s hand! Listen to verse 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.'"
And so we too today are in God’s hand. The Bible says we are grafted into God’s family. If you want your life to matter, ensure you stay in the Master’s hand. Abide with God. Spend time with Jesus. Read scripture. Take time to pray. God is sovereign. So you stay pliable. Stay moldable. Don’t drift away from the Master and just be some ugly piece of half-formed pottery that’s all dried out. Stay in the Master’s hand! Henry Blackaby once talked about what worth is a cup that has come off the wheel apart from the hand that uses it, to drink, to pour, to store? It is worthless apart from the Master’s hand.
When it comes to God’s work in our lives, Charles Stanley reminds us, “The process is not quick, nor does it always feel pleasant, but we can trust the hand of the Potter to finish what He has started” (The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible). This is called discipleship, learning to follow Jesus. It’s called sanctification, as God makes us more and more into the image of his Son Jesus (Romans 8:29), all while keeping our own unique shape.
When you stay in the Master’s hand, for his good use, beautiful things can happen. I love that old poem, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand,” by Myra Brooks Welch. Have you heard it? It’s been turned into a beautiful gospel song, too. But I won’t sing it, thank God! The Touch of the Master’s Hand:
‘Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.
“What am I bid, good people”, he cried,
“Who starts the bidding for me?”
“One dollar, one dollar, do I hear two?”
“Two dollars, who makes it three?”
“Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,”
But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.
The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said “What now am I bid for this old violin?”
As he held it aloft with its bow.
“One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?”
“Two thousand, Who makes it three?”
“Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone,” said he.
The audience cheered, but some of them cried,
“We just don’t understand.”
“What changed its worth?” Swift came the reply.
“The touch of the Master’s hand.”
“And many a man with life out of tune
All battered and bruised with hardship
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.
But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Master’s Hand.
Let us pray: Father, God, or should we say, “Master,” “Potter,” we are your piece of clay. Forgive us when we have been arrogant to believe we are the potter. No, that role is already taken, and you are a lot better at it than we would ever be. As pieces of clay, our perspective is limited. Help us to trust that your design is best. Help us when we feel overwhelmed by our flaws to know that you can bring about a do-over in our lives. Help us, no matter what, to remain in your hand. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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For welcome time:
A middle aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. While on the operating table, she had a near death experience.
Seeing God, she asked, "Is my time up?" God said, "No, you have another 43 years to live." Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction and tummy tuck. Since she had so much more time to live, she figured she might as well look even nicer.
After her last operation, she was released from the hospital. While crossing the street on her way home, she was hit and killed by an ambulance. Arriving in front of God, she demanded, "I thought you said I had another 40 plus years? Why didn't you pull me out of the path of the ambulance!?"
God replied, "My child, I am so sorry, I didn't even recognize you!"
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Jeremiah 18:1-11
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.’
