Are you Workable?

Are you re-workable?

Jeremiah gets the assignment to go down to the Potter’s House to observe the Potter at work. The Potter is the creator. He forms or fashions the vessel. Jeremiah discovers the vessel the potter was making was marred (spoiled). This word spoiled means damaged, flawed marred. nis hat in Hebrew which means to ruin, destroy, behave corruptly, cause trouble.

The

Why would the Lord use a word such as spoiled to show Jeremiah a comparison to Judah. Its clear, Judah had behaved corruptly. They had forsaken The Lord and He describes their response to God’s warning like this:

English Standard Version Chapter 18

12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’

13  “Therefo

English Standard Version Chapter 18

12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’

They literally discounted the Lord’s warning that he was shaping a plan of disaster against them. He ask only they would return from the evil way and amend ( correct) their ways and deeds. Instead of heeding the Lords warning they took it in vain. They saw this warning as useless or weightless. Today society takes the Lords word in vain. The hear it then they take it lightly. It becomes useless to them.

Yet the Word has a purpose. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The Lord wants to show us if we would allow Him to be the Potter and we be the clay he will reshape us. The impeding disaster can be turned back.

Look at verse 7 of this chapter. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.

But we feel the Lord has no say so in our lives. We question his direction. Isaiah said it this way: 16  You turn things upside down!

Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,

that the thing made should say of its maker,

“He did not make me”;

or the thing formed say of him who formed it,

“He has no understanding”?

I am convinced the Lord knows whats best for me!

We must recognize we are the clay. The clay is what clay does. Clay is suppose to be moldable. Its suppose form according to the potters hands.

English Standard Version Chapter 45

Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,

a pot among earthen pots!

Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’

So what happens with clay? Just like clay,” is a compressed expression for “as clay does” or “as happens with clay”; compare “like this potter” in v 6*, which of course means “as this potter does to the clay.”16 The implication here is that the clay deliberately thwarts the purpose of the potter: for the pressure of the clay against the hand of the potter due to centrifugal force.

English Standard Version Chapter 9

20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

What we don’t realize is God is in control! says, What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Before we can become any vessel we must first go through the Kneading process.

Kneading Clay Process

Before using clay for a project, you need to prepare it by kneading it, also known as wedging. Kneading clay properly will make it easier to work with and will eliminate air bubbles. Upper body strength and strong hands are helpful when kneading clay.

# Purchase a quality clay. Find a clay that is soft enough to shape with ease. It should be hard enough that it won't stick to your hands when you draw them away from the clay. The clay should be consistent in color.[[Image

Knead Clay Step 1.

# Select a porous kneading surface. Thick canvas cloth or dry concrete are suitable kneading surfaces. Canvas will keep the clay from sticking to tables and other surfaces. Ensure that the surface is clean, and is at a height that will allow you to be comfortable when pressing down on the clay.

# Press the clay.

#* Throw the clay down forcefully onto the kneading surface.

#* Bear down on the clay using the weight of your upper body. Do not flatten the clay completely. Push the clay down about halfway to the kneading surface.

#* Draw the clay towards you. Pull the clay up into a pile.

#* Push down on the clay until you have flattened it halfway. Ensure that you do not press the clay past the middle section of the lump. Flattening the clay completely may result in air bubbles being trapped in the clay.

#* Continue to draw and press the clay ten times more.

# Cut the clay. Use a clay cutter to slice the lump of clay in half.

Step 4.

# Layer the clay.[[Image:Knead Clay Step 5.jpg|center]]

Layer the clay

Knead Clay Step 5.#*

#* Slap one cut half of clay forcefully on top of the other. Press the top half of clay into the bottom half. Ensure that you do not leave space where air may get caught between the two halves.

Slap one cut half of clay forcefully on top of the other. Press the top half of clay into the bottom half. Ensure that you do not leave space where air may get caught between the two halves.

Arrange the halves so that their cut edges are both facing out to the left or right side when pressed together. Aligning the halves of clay will help free the clay of air bubbles. Cutting the clay and rearranging the layers ensures that all parts of the clay mix together evenly.

Knead Clay Step 6.## Alternate kneading the clay with cutting and layering it until you have kneaded the clay between 50 and 60 times.

Knead Clay Step 7.

# Check the clay's readiness. Cut the clay using a clay cutter. Draw your finger over the surface of the cut edge on one of the halves of clay. The clay should be smooth and should display the same texture and color throughout the ball. If there are any rigid or weak spots or obvious lumps, continue kneading the clay before sculpting it.[[Image:Knead Clay Step 7.jpg|center]]

Check the clay's readiness. Cut the clay using a clay cutter. Draw your finger over the surface of the cut edge on one of the halves of clay. The clay should be smooth and should display the same texture and color throughout the ball. If there are any rigid or weak spots or obvious lumps, continue kneading the clay before sculpting it.

Knead Clay Step 7.

Holladay, W. L. (1986). : a commentary on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, chapters 1–25. (P. D. Hanson, Ed.) (pp. 515–516). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

Holladay, W. L. (1986). : a commentary on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, chapters 1–25. (P. D. Hanson, Ed.) (pp. 515–516). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.