We are CLAY in the HAND of GOD (the Master POTTER)
August 12 Bible Reading: Jeremiah Chapters 16-18
We are CLAY in the HAND of GOD (the Master POTTER)
The word which came to Jeremiah
from the Lord, saying: "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there
I will cause you to hear My words." Then I went down to the potter's
house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 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. Then the word of the
Lord came to me, saying: "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!" (Jer 18:1-6)
In chapter 18, prophet Jeremiah was commanded by God to go to
the potter’s house in order to learn a lesson. What he saw there was that the
potter was sitting at the wheel and spinning the lower stone with his feet
which caused the upper disc to rotate. This enabled both hands of the potter to
be free in order to work the clay into shape. Should the vessel become spoiled
due to any impurity, the potter would not just discard the clay, but simply
remold it into another vessel according to his modified plan.
The lesson for Jeremiah was that God was the potter and Israel
was the vessel being formed into shape (Isaiah 45:9; 64:8). The spoiling of the
vessel was not God’s fault but Israel’s. The potter’s vessel was marred, and thus
not suitable for its intended purpose. The potter’s remolding of the clay into
an acceptable and unblemished work symbolized God’s action in reforming Israel.
The people had become marred (defiled) and had to be reformed into a vessel fit
to be identified with God.
Thus, God taught Jeremiah a profound lesson about His
sovereignty and His right to discipline Israel until she conformed to His plan.
Perhaps a hard lump in the clay ruined the vessel as it spun on the potter’s
wheel. The potter must remove the hard lump to achieve his purpose in reshaping
the vessel. Israel was the chosen vessel to bring God’s blessing to the world,
and Romans 9:1–5 describes what God had put into that vessel. Many times in her
history, when Israel would not yield to God, He made her again. She was marred
but still in His hands, and He made her again. God will do the same for anyone
who yields to His will.
Let us understand that we too are clay in the hand of the Master Potter (God) as we are being shaped everyday by God into vessels fit for His use (Acts 9:15; 2 Cor. 4:7). We should take away all impurities from our lives, and yield to His perfect plan in our lives! This is what God is telling us today: “You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?’ But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?” (Romans 9:19-21)
