The Potter's House

Series Re-cap

Before I get into the message thi morning, I thought it might be worth doing a recap of what has happened in the book of Jeremiah up to this point. It has been a few weeks after all so let’s do a quick re-wind.

So, it all started in the year 627 BC. It was the year that saw the shift in the world superpowers move from the mighty nation of Assyria, to the upcoming power of Babylon.

A few generations had passed since the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been sent into exile by Assyria.

The year 627 BC marks a bit of a decision point. You see, Josiah has just been made King of Judah (that is, the Southern Kingdom of Israel), and Josiah has actually implemented some good reforms. Will Judah go down the same path as the Northern Kingdom, or will they reform their ways?

It is in the year 627 BC, therefore, that God takes a young man by the name of Jeremiah and commissions him to speak. In the first chapter, God says to this young man: “See, topday I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant”.

What Jeremiah was to do, was not going to be popular, but despite Jeremiah’s initial hesitations, Jeremiah becomes the person to speak into this situation.

In the second chapter, Jeremiah described Israel as an unfaithful spouse who had wandered from the love she once had.

We then jumped to the seventh chapter, and we found the Israelites trying to rely on their special status of God’s people. They thought they were safe, but God, speaking through Jeremiah said, no, you have turned your back on me and are doing things your own way.

The ninth chapter is where I left things before I went away. It was here we saw why Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He weeped at everything that was happening before him.

And a big part of that distress was based on the deception and lies that abound.

Now today, as we jump all the way to the eighteenth chapter, were skipping over a bit, so let me give you some highlights.

You see, we start to see an increase in the opposition to Jeremiah’s preaching, with Jeremiah at the end of chapter 11 describing the situation being like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.

This lead Jeremiah in chapter 12 to state his complaints to God.

In the thirteenth chapter, the Lord tells Jeremiah to buy a lovely new linen belt, but then he tells him to bury it. When he digs it back up some time later, predictably it is ruined. The message, Israel has trashed the beautiful promise given to them.

The next few chapters then predict some tough times headed their way, including drought and famines.

But this brings us to the eighteenth chapter where we find ourselves today.

So, as we come to this passage, let me pray...

<prayer>

God’s Sovereign will

Well, what if I told you that your life has been completed mapped out for you, including all of the details of what you do every day.

Would you find it comforting? Or a horrifying thought?

You see, it can easily go both ways.

It can be a very comforting thought. Because, if our life has been mapped out by an all-powerful and all-loving God, then it’s kinda comforting to know that things are going to work out. I like the fact that God is in control - much better than if I’m making the choices.

But there’s a flip side to the argument. You see, if everything is mapped out for you, we lose control. We lose the ability to put our own spin on things. What if you end up with something you don’t like? But more than that, we can lose motivation. Who care what you do, after all, if everything has been mapped out for us, it doesn’t matter what you do, what happens is going to happen.

You see, this raises a bit of an age-old debate among Christians - how do we understand the sovereignty of God? This is the pre-destination debate. On one side of the debate, we emphasize the fact that in God’s sovereignty, he has pre-ordained all things. The other side of the debate emphasizes human free will. This side will argue that God did not make us robots, rather he has given us agency.

You see, the problem comes when we try to hold both together. If we have free-will, what if we move outside of the will of God. The mere fact that we could move outside the will of God, would perhaps indicate that it wasn’t pre-ordained in the first place.

Now some of you might have wrestled with this idea. Perhaps you arrived at a conclusion. Perhaps you through your hands up and said - I don’t know!

You see, I don’t want to get caught up this morning in a theoretical debate. Rather, it’s more profitable think of this from the perspective of how we understand God’s involvement in how we approach life.

Now what I want you to do is to imagine a decision in your life. It might be one you’re currently facing or one you’ve had in recent times.

Now, the decision I want you to think about is something that is big enough to have consequences in your life. In other words, I’m not just asking you to think about the decion you made this morning as to whether you have corn flakes or toast for breakfast. Perhaps it was a decision that would affect your career. Perhaps it was about a big purchase - maybe something that might put you in debt for a while. Or maybe it was a decision about how you respond to a relationship in crisis.

Okay, so how do you go about making this decision?

Maybe you make a list of pros and cons. Maybe you make a list of all the options and think through tthe consequences or opportunities of each. Some of you will be happy to just make a decision and get on with it. Other, however, possibly even just me now asking you to think about it is raising your anxiety levels.

Well, doing the whole pros and cons thing can be good, but there is another level to all of this for the believer. What does God think about all of this?

But actually, there’s an even deeper level - How does my decision interact with the sovereign will of God?

You see, this is where the debate I was describing earlier comes in to play with the decisions that we make.

Now, if we do take the view that God pre-destines all things, this can still lead to one of two responses. Either a care-free approach, because after all, God is sovereign anyway, so whatever I decide, well, that must have been part of God’s sovereign will.

Or, it can be very anxiety provoking. If there is a will of God, I’ve got to make sure I’m making the decision that is part of his will, or this could be very bad.

Well, let’s have a look at Jeremiah 18 to see if there is anything we can learn about this situation.

Going to the Potter’s

The eighteenth chapter starts with God telling Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house.

This was probably in the Valley of Hinnom which was a short walk downhill from Jerusalem. We assume that based on this is where a ready supply of clay would have been found.

Pottery wheels back then would have been spun with their feet, and would have spun a lot slower than the wheels we have today.

It was most likely this kind of wheel that Jeremiah encountered wheen he visited the local potter’s house.

The potter would have had great skill as he molded a pot. His feet spinning the wheel. His hands guiding the clay into the right form.

Skilled craftsmen are a joy to watch. He would have wet hands, and you can imagine little flecks of clay flying around. I’m imagining the craftsman wearing a dirty apron.

But while Jeremiah is watching, something happens. The pot that the potter is working on fails. It has become marred.

Was it because it was a bad bit of clay? Perhaps an impurity in the clay? We’re not really told, and maybe it doesn’t matter. What we are told is that the potter changes tack. He decides to change the shape. In verse 4 it tells us that he shapped it as seemed best to him.

Jeremiah watches. Intrigued by the sudden shift. Intrigued that when one shape seemed to be forming, things quickly moved to a very different shape.

So what do we make of this little demonstration of pottery that Jeremiah just witnessed?

God’s will

Well, God makes the link for Jeremiah.

The clay represents the nation of Israel.

God is moulding Israel like clay. As he is moulding it, he can tear it down. But he can also build it up. God being the potter, has the choice to do with it as he pleases.

This is a picture of God’s sovereignty. It’s his perogative to do as he pleases.

But… as the Lord speaks to Jeremiah, he adds a new dimension to this. What the clay does impacts what happens.

Let’s just look in verse 7. He describes a scenario where God as the potter has determined to tear down Israel.

But then he says, but let suppose that the nation repents, in this case, God as the potter will alter his plan as the potter.

But the Lord keeps on going and flips the scenario around. This time he describes a plan to build up Israel - after all, if this is what the potter wants to do, then so be it.

But, he supposes, what if the clay doesn’t do what it’s meant to do - that is, it does evil and not obey God. Well, the pottter will change the plan.

Now this is interesting because it adds a different dimension to our understanding of God’s sovereignty.

But now, in verse 11, as the Lord speaks to Jeremiah, he shifts from describing hypothetical scenarios, to say what his current plan is.

And… well… it’s not good news for Israel. His plan is for disaster.

This is why he gave his scenarios before - it doesn’t have to be this way. If they turn from their evil ways… if they reform their ways and their action… then… well… the potter just well may choose to do something different with this clay.

But we then get verse 12 - the response is going to be predictable. They won’t change because they are too stubborn.

Do they have a choice? I’d suggest they do, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy one. There’s another way in which we say they can’t change unless someone helps them change. I guess that brings us back to the original debate.

The Israelite response

Let’s keep following the account in Jeremiah 18.

Verses 13-17 give us this interesting little insight. It effectively conveys the message that this nation of Israel are not doing what they should naturally be doing, which is to honour God. They have forgotten their God, and things are now going to go bad.

This message of disaster does not sit well with the Israelites, and in verse 18, they do make a decision - a decision to attack Jeremiah.

The Israelites are interacting with a sovereign God. They’re choosing to do what they perceive is in their best interest while ignoring the one who is offering to help them.

Jeremiah’s complaint

From verse 19, Jeremiah interacts with the situation that he finds himself in.

That is, being the brunt of attack of the disobedient Israelites. If you look in verse 18, it would appear at this point in time, the attack is limited to a verbal attack, something that will change in time, but a verbal attack is still difficult to endure.

And this is not the first time, so Jeremiah again brings his complaint before the Lord.

In fact, Jeremiah does more than just complain… he requests some pretty harsh things for his tormentors. He asks for their children to be given over to famine, for his tormentors to be handed over to the sword, and their wives to be made childless and widows.

So what do we make of all of that? Is this just an example of Jeremiah going a bit off the rails, and while it might be understandable, in reality it is wrong for him to ask for it?

Or is it justified for him to make such a requets given the circumstances?

There are certinaly many commentators who would argue that Jeremiah is wrong to make such requests.

But I think what we need to recognise is that this is something Jeremiah is saying to God, not a plan that he is making himself.

His giving it over to the potter who he knows will make mould things how he sees best.

There’s an interesting question however, in whether it is right for us to make such requests of God. I’d suggest the answer to that is complicated.

First, being open and honest before God about your feelings is a good thing. When people do come against God, allowing God to deal with it is a good plan - that is to say, not dealing with them in your own strenght.

But, as New Testament believers, knowing the grace of God and that salvation has now come to all people, I’d suggest rather than praying that God smites them, where in a much better position to pray that God transforms them.

Application

Right, well let’s bring this back to where I started - trying to figure out how our decisions interact with God’s sovereignty?

This chapter shows that there is a very interesting interaction that happens between our decisions and God making things happen the way he wants them to.

God is the potter and he shapes things the way he wants to, but like a potter he works with the clay and allows an interaction with the clay to help determine what the final shape will be.

Earlier I suggested that one of the responses that we can make to having a sovereign God who ordains all things is to throw our hands in the air and not care what we choose because God’s going to do what God’s going to do.

I believe that Jeremiah 18 says this is unacceptable. If what you chooses dishonours God, things are not going to go well.

Your choices do matter. You can honour God with your career choices, or you can make it about yourself. What you choose matters.

But I suggested an alternative was to be anxious about our choices, worrying about whether we’re always making the right choice or not.

So what does Jeremiah 18 have to say about that?

Well, it says - let God be the potter, not you. You have been given a great gift. The potter is there to shape you how he sees best.

What your concern should be, is living an obedient life that honours God.

In one sense, I’d suggest whether you take one career or another, actually becomes a secondary issue behind whether you are being Christ like in your attitude and concerns.

I believe this is what we find in Jeremiah 18. When we live Christ-honouring obedient lives, we will find God shaping us into something beautiful.

And here’s something that we have that the Israelites of Jeremiah’s time didn’t… we live after the time of Jesus death and resurrection, and after the time that the Holy Spirit has been poured out for us. In other words, we have what we need to transform our lives.

We can become the pliable clay that works beautifully in the hands of the potter. Where things will lead - well, time will be the answer to that, we just submit to God’s design for us.

Look, I know it can be frustrating when we face big decisions. We want to do the right thing that honours God. There’s actually a lot that could be discussed, but I want the main message today to be the message given to the Israelites in verse 11 - turn from your evil ways, and reform your ways and your actions.

I tend to find when we do this, the answers to our decisions start to fall to us. Not always as quickly as we may like, but they do come.

Conclusion

God is our potter and the works of his hands are incredible.

For all who submit to God and allow him to mould us, you are incredible.

The Israelites at the time of Jeremiah hated this message. They hated it because it meant they lost control. They wanted to be the master of their destiny. But believe me, being the master of your own destiny is not what it’s cracked up to be - we’re actually not very good masters in this regard. But God is. He is the master potter. The Israelites would have done well to repent and reform their ways.

You have the Holy Spirit, and so you can work hard at being Christ-like in your actions. And as you do, just allow God to mould you into something amazing.

Let me pray...