“But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”
Isaiah 64:8
Oftentimes in the Bible, God uses objects to teach lessons. Sometimes the picture is very clear, and sometimes one must dwell on the lesson to understand it. The prophets were often taught things in this manner. Jeremiah was taught by many object lessons that the Lord showed him. One such instance is recorded in Jeremiah chapter eighteen. However, what Jeremiah saw and understood has been recorded in God’s Word to teach us even today.
“1. The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2. Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words” (Jeremiah 18:1-2). God had something important for Jeremiah to see. There was a message Jeremiah needed to understand. Jeremiah obeyed God and went to the potter’s house. “3. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.” (Jeremiah 18:3). If you have ever watched a potter work with clay, you may have a picture in your mind. The potter takes the lump of clay, places it on the center of the wheel, and begins to spin it. The potter then uses water on his hands to keep the clay soft and pliable as he shapes that lump of clay into a beautiful vessel. Jeremiah watched the potter work. “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.” (Jeremiah 18:4).
- Potter means “to form, to fashion, to devise, to frame; to produce, to create; to be formed or fashioned… The word implies initiation as well as structuring… squeezing or molding…”
- Wrought means “to work, labor, toil; to make, create, construct… deals with refinement; the emphasis was on fashioning the created objects.”
- Marred means “to decay; to mar; to destroy, devastate.”
- Good means “The Hebrew idiom ‘to be right in the eyes of (someone)’ means to have that person’s approval. Examples: Judges 14:3;1 Samuel 18:26; 2 Chronicles 30:4… Jeremiah 18:4.”
As Jeremiah watched the potter work, the clay was marred. It was destroyed. The potter had to begin anew to make a piece of pottery from that clay. As he worked that clay, the potter made another vessel that pleased him, meeting his approval. While watching the Potter with the clay, Jeremiah recognized the Spiritual significance of what he was seeing. Jeremiah understood the “sermon” in the marred vessel.
I wonder if what Isaiah had taught came to Jeremiah’s mind as he watched this process. “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand” (Isaiah 64:8). Remembering that God is the Potter, and we are the clay might have brought another thought into Jeremiah’s heart and mind. “4. Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5. Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:4-5). God had told Jeremiah that He had formed Jeremiah in his mother’s womb before he was born. The word here for formed is the same Hebrew word for Potter. Not only had God formed Jeremiah, but He had a plan and purpose for Jeremiah’s life.
God explained what Jeremiah was seeing, so he would have a message to deliver to God’s people. “5. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6. O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel” (Jeremiah 18:5-6). Although these verses in Jeremiah eighteen deal with Israel, we can understand that God is the Potter, and people are the clay. God gave a parable to Jeremiah about God and Israel. Yet in that parable is a great lesson for each of us to learn. God wants to make and mold us into a vessel that can be used by and for Him.
For Christians today, it would be good to remember that God not only created each of us, but He has a plan and a purpose for each life. “8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). We did nothing to earn that salvation from God, however, He does have a plan and purpose for our lives that He expects us to walk in. Much like Jeremiah.
Have you recognized the plan and purpose God has for you life, and are you walking it it?
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