God the Potter

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God the Potter

Jeremiah 18:1-2 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” (NIV)

                       The Bible tells the story of a man who found favor with God. He longed to have children, but he and his wife did not have any. So one day, God informed Abram, whose name He later changed to Abraham, that He would end his barren state. God promised Abraham that he would be blessed to be the father of many nations. Genesis 12:2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” (NIV) Through Abraham’s line came Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel, and thus, his descendants became known as the Israelites; also, known as the Children of Israel.

            God promised to bless the Children of Israel due to the covenant that He made with Abraham. Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be bless through you. (NIV) God’s only desire was for them to remain faithful to Him as a people, so that they could receive the bountiful blessings that He had in store for them in keeping with His promise. Exodus 19:5-6 “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation….” (NIV) Unfortunately, Israel did not remain faithful and was repeatedly punished by God due to their rebellion. Nevertheless, God sought to restore them back to Himself because of the love He had for them.

            Throughout Israel’s history, God sent prophet after prophet to warn them of their idolatrous ways. King Solomon, David’s son, became the ruler of Israel after his father had died, but wandered after the idols of his wives and therefore, brought punishment upon the land of Israel. After Solomon’s death, as prophesied, the nation was divided into two with 10 tribes remaining as Israel and 2 being that of Judah. The divided nations served foreign gods rather than the God of their fathers and once again, God sent a prophet to warn them of their evil ways.

            Jeremiah was that prophet whom God had chosen to warn the nation of their rebellion against Him. He warned that if they continued down the path of unrighteousness that judgment would overtake them. However, God promised that He would be merciful to them if they would repent and turn from their wicked ways. Jeremiah 4:1-2 “If you will return,” O Israel, return to me,” declares the Lord, “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory.” (NIV)

 God did not desire to punish them, but to have them be restored back to Him as a faithful wife unto her husband. Yet, there were lessons that God attempted to teach them to help them understand the nature of who He was and what His expectations were of them. Therefore, God later sent Jeremiah to the potter’s house in order to impart to them a lesson that HE was the Potter, they were the clay and that He could form them into whatever vessel that He so chose. Jeremiah 18:5-6 “O Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.” (NIV)

            God is still the Potter in our lives and we are His clay. The potter’s job is to mold the clay into the vessel that he desires. From the very beginning, when God created Adam, He formed man from the dust of the ground into the image that He desired. Genesis 2:7 The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (NIV) Therefore, as with clay, it doesn’t take shape until the potter molds it into a work of art, so are we without shape until God sculpts us into being.