In the Hand of the Potter

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Jeremiah 18:1–11 NKJV

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 you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. 11 “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.” ’ ”

CALL TO ACTION- ARISE AND GO! STEP OUT IN OBEDIENCE AND FAITH EVEN WHEN IT MAKES NO SENSE TO US!

We all need to check our life on a daily basis, to discover areas that may be weak, or those areas that we can improve. I say this because at given times we all confront situations in our life that we do not handle appropriately, or better said, that we do not handle they way that God expects us to handle them.

In other words, the objective of all faithful believers must be to act in a fashion that will reveal to the world the love, mercy and grace of God. But the reality of it all is that none of us will ever reach that objective, unless we allow God to take complete control of everything that we are. The reality of it all is that we will never reach this objective if we do not allow God to shape us according to His will. Which often goes against our will and looks very different from our personal desires and preferences.

Therefore, today I am going to speak about placing all that we are in His hands, and allow him to shape us according to His will. Let’s now turn to the Word of God.

BRIEF HISTORY: SPEAKER, AUDIENCE AND CONTEXT

.With this in mind let’s now take a couple of minutes to know this man called Jeremiah, and the circumstances that surrounded his life. Jeremiah was born during very difficult times; they were times when apostasy, IDOLATRY, and the pagan rituals flourished in the people of God, and His patience was growing short.

This is something that is very well reflected in

Jeremiah 17:1–4 NKJV

1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; With the point of a diamond it is engraved On the tablet of their heart, And on the horns of your altars, 2 While their children remember Their altars and their wooden images By the green trees on the high hills. 3 O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, And your high places of sin within all your borders. 4 And you, even yourself, Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you; And I will cause you to serve your enemies In the land which you do not know; For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.”

Jeremiah ministered to the people of God for a period of forty years. How could this servant remain so faithful for so long? The reason was able to endure for so long was because Jeremiah was an obedient servant of the Lord, and was completely dedicated to preaching His truth.

This is something that is very well reflected in the verses that describe his calling as we find in

Jeremiah 1:4–8 NKJV

4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

Why do we need to know these small details? It is necessary to know the conditions and situations that surrounded this man because they reveal to us God’s love, mercy and grace. These small details reveal to us that God does not stop loving his people, even when, His people abandon him. With this in mind, let’s continue now with our topic for today.

Now, before we begin I want to ask a question. How many of you have worked with clay? How many of you have ever taken pottery classes or have created a vase or similar objects from clay? The reality of it all is that the majority of us don’t have the slightest idea of how this is done. The majority of us all, if we decide that we want a planter, or a vase, or any other similar item, we go to the mall, we shop around the stores, and we purchase what we think will look best for our purpose.

We buy this item that we have found pleasing and we think very little, if at all, as to who made it or how it was made. We never take the time to think about the fabrication or distribution, and we definitively, unless it is our hobby, have no clue as to how the potter’s wheel works.

For this reason I want to take just a few seconds and explain how this tool functions. This tool consists of two wheels, one on top of the other, connected by a shaft in the center that separates it approximately of two to three feet, that makes both wheels one single piece. This one piece is the mounted on a type of work bench or legs, where it is set up in a way that is can spin freely. The wheel in the bottom wheel is used by the potter to create the spinning motion with his feet, and the upper wheel is where the clay is placed to be worked on and be molded with the hands. With this in mind let’s continue.

Obedience

The first thing that we can perceive in these verses that we are studying today is another demonstration of this servant’s obedience. We are talking about a total obedience, although what he had just heard might not have made too much sense. I say this because I am pretty sure that when God told him “rise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words,” this must have sounded to him as a bit strange, after all, if God was speaking to him at that moment and at that place where he was, why could he continue his message right there and then?

But regardless of how strange this could have seemed to this man, he did as God instructed, he obeyed God. This is where our message begins today. I say this because lack of obedience has been the most severe problem that humanity has faced. The biggest evidence of this is found in the Garden of Eden, when God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but regardless of what He said, en Genesis 3:6 we find “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

Needless to say is that fact that they were influenced by Satan, but the only reason that he was able to influence them is because what God had told them, perhaps had not made sense in their minds. Think about it, they could eat of every tree, but this one particular one they could not even touch.

The reality of it all is that obeying God on occasions becomes very difficult for some, and there are countless reasons for this. But I would say that the principal reason is because often times many do not understand the reason why things happen. The final result is always the same; the final result is that we fall in a state of disobedience and rebellion, and this stops us from being able to hear God’s voice. As I have said on numerous occasions, God speaks to us continually. Tell the person sitting next to you, God talks to you. God speaks to us through people and events, but the best way that he speaks to us is through the messages that reveals to the leaders of the church. This is something that is very well reflected in 1 Peter 4:10 when we read “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” This is why it is so important that we congregate and attend the church services. Perhaps the necessity of going to church is something that may not make too much sense to many; after all, once we develop a genuine relationship with God, He is always with us. But the fact still remains that just as Jeremiah was told to go to the potter’s house to hear the word of God, God calls us to his house to congregate. This is why in Hebrews 10:25 we are told “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” As I said, God wants to communicate with each and every single one of us, but if we stop congregating, if we stop meeting in His temple t praise and worship Him as it is His will; then, how will we hear what He wants to warn us about? How will we ever understand His will and purpose for our life? I ask, can the potter shape the clay without it first being placed on the wheel? The answer is NO. I am sure that by now many may be thinking that all of this is well and good, but have yet to make the connection between the potter’s wheel and us. For those that have yet to make the connection, allow me to end your intrigue.

Simply put, the potter’s wheel is a representation of the church, we are the clay, and God is the divine potter. Look at how this is very well reflected in Isaiah 64:8 when we read “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”

Continuing with our study we find that the Word tells us “as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.” One true fact is that all faithful servants can be used by God to accomplish great things. This is something that is very well reflected in 2 Timothy 2:19-21 when we read “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 20But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” But before we can be used by God, we must first allow Him to shape us according to His will.

God uses it all

In the verses that we are using today we see a very impacting message. We read “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.” I say that this is an impacting message because as we see here, the vessel was spoiled, but the potter did not throw away the clay. The potter rebuilt the vessel. This is exactly what many people within the church need. We need God to rebuild who we are. We need God to break us completely and make us anew. We need God to break us from the way we are and to rebuild us according to His will. God can rebuild us, God can act in our life, and we can be new creatures according to His will. Look carefully at what we find in Ezekiel 34:16 when we read “I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.” But before we can be guided, first we have to allow our hearts to be of the clay that God can mold. Let’s think about this for a moment. As I said in the beginning, I do not know how many have worked with clay before, but in order to be able to work with clay, the clay has to have two qualities.

Clay cannot be dry

The first quality is that the clay can’t be dry; the clay has to be wet and soft. As I said in the beginning, disobedience is something that completely separates us from God’s will and presence. Disobedience causes our spiritual life to dry up, and once this happens the final result is always the same. Once this happens our physical life becomes just dry dirt. I say this because this is all that clay is; clay without water is nothing but dry dirt. This is why we must all always seek more of God; this is why we must all seek to hear His word. When we stop seeking His face and seeking His voice, our life will begin to dry up. When our life dries up our hearts will become hardened and nothing will penetrate. It could very well be that we may continue to attend church; it could very well be that we keep listening to the messages, but nothing will touch us because we have permitted our spiritual life to dry up. In other words we have returned to the place from where God rescued us, and once this happens all things will be much worse. This is something that is very well reflected in 2 Peter 2:20-21 when we read “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” It may very well be that some of you may be in this condition today. We may be all dried up, but I have good news for you today, God is here to rescue you from that place. God is here to transform you from something dirty and dry, into something beautiful and clean. But it may very well be that you may not like the way that He will do things. We may not like the way He will do things, but the reality of it all is that in order to save us, He must break us. God must break us and rebuild us. God must break our pride, God must break our greed, God must break our lust, and God must break our appetite for the things of this world. The only way to rescue us is to break us. Break us from all of those things that destroy rather than edify.

The clay must be free of air pockets

The second quality that the clay has to possess is that the clay can’t have any hidden pockets of air. Before the potter can begin shaping the clay, he first has to mix it thoroughly and then he has to pound it very well. This is a process that is normally done by using a small wooden mallet. The potter has to process the clay in this manner to ensure that no hidden pockets of air remain in the clay that he will be using. The clay can not contain hidden pockets of air because if it does, once it is placed in the oven, the heat from the oven will cause the pockets or air to explode. On occasions we all have to go through difficult times, bad times that appear to pound us from heaven, but when we trust God and we place our life in His hands, then we know that there is a purpose and that when we meet his purpose everything will serve us for the best. It is as we find in Romans 8:28 when we read “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” On occasions we all feel like the clay in the hands of the potter being pounded by heavy blows, but know that these blows are with the purpose of eliminating from us all of those small hidden pockets of air that may be present in our life. What are the small pockets of hidden air that may be present in out life? These small pockets if the hidden sin that still remains in the life of many believers. But just because they may be hidden from man’s sight, this does not mean that they are hidden from God. Let’s never forget that nothing is hidden from God. Let’s always remember what we find in Psalms 69:5 when we read “O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.” And also in Psalms 139:7-10 when we read “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” There is no place that God’s sight can not reach, He sees everything and sees us all. Look carefully at how this is clearly stated in Proverbs 15:3 when we read “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Tell the person sitting next to you, God sees it all. We all have the capability to deceive many, but we will never be able to deceive God. On occasions it appears as if the blows are raining down from heaven, but never forget that these are only meant to eliminate from our life those small hidden pockets of air, that way when those moments of tests arrive, o better said, when we are placed in that heated oven that is temptation, these pockets of air explode and ruin what God had created in us.

Conclusion

In conclusion. The Lord tells us “Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.” God wishes to shape us in His hands; He wishes to rebuild us into something new and beautiful. He wishes to bless every person in this world, were it not so; He never would have sent Christ to save us. Look carefully at what we find in Luke 19:10 when we read “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” He wants to make a beautiful creation out of all of us; He wants to shape us so that we can be instruments that He can use at all times. But for this to happen, we must first submit to His will. We must be obedient at all times. God spoke to the people of Israel through Jeremiah; He warned them that if they did not convert from their evil deeds they would receive His wrath. But regardless of the warnings, they continued their disobedience and the nation of Israel ceased to exist. Don’t allow this to happen in your life, rather place your life today in His hands. God wishes to make you into a beautiful masterpiece that will manifest His grace, mercy, love, and power. Now only one question remains, will you let Him mold you?