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A casual reader of the Bible cannot help but notice God’s use of imaginary in imparting valuable lessons to His people. The book of Jeremiah is ripe with these and chapter Jeremiah 18:1-10 is an example of the use of such visual aids. Jeremiah was instructed to go the potter’s house and wait there for a word from the Lord. As he watched the potter at work, he noticed three simple things, realizing that a lesson was in what was being demonstrated.
Jeremiah noticed the clay and it did not take him long to realize that that was a picture of himself, of every person and of every nation. He watched with great interest as the clay was shaped into a vessel. He saw that the clay had some flaws, and he thought that those flaws would render it useless. Instead of throwing it away, however, the potter crumbled the clay and began anew to shape it into the vessel that he wanted.
Indeed, we are clay, all of us. As clay, our faults and flaws are many — Each of us has weaknesses. For some people, weakness could be a fixation with money and material possession. For others, weakness could be the judging of others; valuing people by their appearance instead of by who they are. Some of us may be flawed in the way we deal with one another, the inability to resist gossip, an unforgiving spirit or being unjust in our transactions. It does not matter who we are for we do have flaws. Isaiah gave a graphic description when he stated, “…we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags…” (Isaiah 64:60).
Jeremiah also took notice of the wheel, which was in a constant motion and under the control of the potter’s foot. As God moulds our life, turning circumstances form part of that experience. God uses ordinary things and experiences in life to help to mould and shape our character and our conduct. Those experiences bring us repeatedly under the pressure of the moulding fingers of the Potter so that we can be shaped according to His will. Those experiences may not be pleasant but the results can be awesome. God achieves the most profound changes in us by, sometimes, using the simple things of life.
Jeremiah saw the potter, and he knew that God was the Great Potter. As he watched, he learned that an individual or a nation is like clay in God’s hands. He realized that God has the sovereign right, skill and design to make that clay into what He wants it to be. Here, then, is the lesson for the nation of Israel, and for each of us: Though imperfection mars us, spoiling God’s work and design, all is not lost. There is hope. The Great Potter simply takes the lump and begins anew (v. 10).
Many persons have given up on themselves, on others or on the nation because of the flaws and imperfections that are present in them. Some persons believe that their situation is hopeless and so resolve to let things be as they are and, yet, believing that only a miracle could make a difference. Well, Jeremiah reminds us that God continues to work miracles in our life every day. The Word reminds us that God never gives up on us and that He patiently takes us with our flaws and sinful nature, seeking to re-create us in what He wants us to be. Part of that re-shaping might involve the hard circumstances of life, used to bring us against the pressure of the Potter’s hand. If we do not resist by murmuring, grumbling, complaining, or by being resentful and bitter and, instead, accept the working of the Potter, we can take shape as He desires.
We must not overlook the sovereign power of God that is conveyed in all of this. God’s hand and the potter’s hand have symmetrical capabilities. Both can destroy their own creation at will. Just as a potter can break a faulty vessel and re-mould it into something beautiful, so God can re-make nations and people into worthwhile individuals. The passage, therefore, is about judgement and renewal after judgement. As a potter re-moulds a spoilt vessel on his wheel, so God would re-mould the people who have been spoilt through sin; God would destroy what are and reconstitute them to conform to the original purpose that He had intended for them.
We are called to yield to the guiding hand of the Lord. We are to allow Him to fashion us according to His desire and purpose. We are not to resist His work of art in our life but, instead, surrender our will and way to Him. The Great Potter knows best, He knows what He wants us to be. It does not matter how flawed we think we are, there is hope — God can make us anew.
By Rev. Oral Campbell (Baptist Reporter – January 2010
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New Life by the Potter’s Hand