Every now and then in Scripture we get a beautiful picture of God the Father in relationship to us. In the Proverbs He is a strong tower that we run into for protection, and in the Psalms, He is likened to a mother hen with her chicks tucked safely under her wings. (Proverbs 18:10; Psalms 91:4) The Gospels show Christ as the Shepherd and us as the sheep or Jesus as the vine, we are the branches and God the gardener. (John 10; 15) And here in Jeremiah, God is the potter, and we are the clay. Today’s lesson and encouragement comes from Jeremiah 18:1-6:
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so, the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
Romans 9:21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?
Allegories can only be taken so far when drawing parallels. They are not written to be an ‘all inclusive’ picture of God. However, there are some clear principles that we can draw.
- It is the potter and not the clay who is in total control. It is the potter who is determining what the clay will become. We are told, “the potter shaped it [clay] into another pot, as seemed BEST to HIM.”
- The potter has a plan. He knows what he desires to make, and he keeps shaping and reshaping until the clay represents what he wants it to be. “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” He can change His intention with the clay (Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?…if, then I will relent…if, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.)
- The potter does not have the same plans in mind for all of the clay. Some pieces will be pieces of beauty and great use. Others will be necessary but not very glamorous. However, it is the potter who decides and the potter who will declare the purpose.
Let’s bring this down to our lives. We are the clay. God the Father is the potter. He is in total control. He has a plan. That plan is not the same for each of us. Firstly, He made the clay. Secondly, He knows what He wants to do with the clay and will mould it and remould it, squish it, squash it and start all over again patiently working the clay until it softens and yields under His touch and becomes exactly what He wants it to be. As a spiritual lesson, God can have one plan for us, but if we repent, He has the freedom to change the outcome. Likewise, if we don’t listen and follow Him, He has the right to not send the blessings He has promised. Thirdly, it is not a random piece of abstract art. God has a purpose in mind, and that clay will fulfill His purpose. When He starts to work the clay, the Potter has in mind what it is to become. Fourthly, the Potter will not make a single piece in replica with all the clay. Perhaps the vessel will be formed and cracked and allow the light inside to shine out. Maybe it will be worked paper thin and allow the light within to glow through. Maybe it will be a vessel to hold the best wine or refreshing, cool water for a thirsty king. Maybe it will be a chamber pot. Each one will be unique in style and purpose. Fifthly, it will be a vessel of honour when it fulfills its purpose. A jug to hold water will do just that. A chamber pot will be just that. A lamp will hold oil and give off light. A plate will serve to hold the Passover lamb. And just as a lamp is successful burning oil, it is equally unsuccessful as a chamber pot. And just as a chamber pot is a welcome addition in a prison or under a bed, a plate would not receive the same welcome.
He is the Potter. We are the clay. Jeremiah was a vessel chosen and planned and ordained before he even came to be. His purpose was to preach repentance and restoration to a stubborn and bull-headed people. I was a vessel chosen and planned and ordained to be involved in evangelism and discipleship. And as a vessel, I was successful to the degree that I fulfilled that purpose. And you? God chose and planned and ordained you to be who you are, right where you are, doing what He called you to do as you follow Him and bring Him glory. As clay, we don’t make the rules. As clay, we can’t compare one to the other. As Potter, He shapes us and molds us and sometimes has to start all over again re-centring us in the middle of His wheel, but He will because He is intimately involved in shaping our lives to His Glory. As a vessel for God, we are successful not when we match someone else’s purpose, but when we fulfill the purpose of our vessel as made by the Potter.
He is the potter. We are the clay. May we be vessels to shine for Him by fulfilling His purpose for our shape whatever that may be.