The Biblical Path of Life

Tag: Potter

  • Have Thine own way, Lord!

    “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.”

    2 Timothy 2:20

    God had sent Jeremiah to watch a potter work a piece of clay, making it into a vessel (see Jeremiah 18:1-4). Jeremiah recognized that God is the Potter and we are the clay. The Potter took the clay and fashioned it into a vessel to be used. We understand this to be a picture of God dealing with individual people. Our choice: to receive or reject God’s work.

    God deals with patience and mercy with all vessels. Notice that He deals with them – not as lifeless clay, but as creatures with a free will. Why? “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). God has unlimited power over the clay. Yet, He allows freedom; God will yield to our choice. He gives ample opportunity to reveal any inclination one might have of obeying God. We gain some insight into this in Romans. “20. Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21. Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” (Romans 9:20-21). Honor means “by analogy esteem (especially of the highest degree), or the dignity itself.” Dishonor means “it refers to dishonor, disgrace.” Take note that the clay is in His hand and under His control, yet while working with the individual, God gives ample opportunity to reveal any inclination that one might have of obeying God. Nevertheless, there are those who challenge the Potter (God). Some clay (vessel) that God is shaping will not take His designing. But, God is long-suffering. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Some rebel against God’s plan, and that one continues on under the judgment of the God it questions. God hates sin and it must be dealt with, but His mercy goes out to the vessel involved. If we insist upon destroying ourselves, He will allow us to do that. If we insist upon not being repentant, and instead choose to be disobedient and/or rebellious, He will give us our desire – at least the fruits of that choice. Yet, God patiently waits for His people to allow Him to shape and mold them into what He wants them to be. Keep in mind: The Potter has an intended purpose for us. He has a goal. We may frustrate that goal. Remember that some become vessels of honor, some vessels of dishonor.

    Understanding there are vessels of honor and dishonor, read the following verses: “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour” (2 Timothy 2:20).Vessels of gold and silver are vessels of honor. Read a description of such a one from Psalms. “23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand” (Psalm 37:23-24). Vessels of wood and earth are vessels of dishonor. One can recognize a vessel of dishonor in Isaiah. “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?” (Isaiah 45:9). When we refuse God’s will, we are injuring ourselves, or depriving ourselves of the joy and satisfaction of being where God wants us to be, fulfilling His purpose for our lives . Remember: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). God has a plan. It is our job, as Christians, to submit to Him and walk in it (see also 2 Timothy 2:21). The key to what kind of a vessel we will be is determined by how we respond to the Potter’s touch and our obedience to His Word. “23. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24. Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 25. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons” (Colossians 3:23-25). There are many who refuse to submit fully to God and His Word. The defects are not in the Potter but in the clay.

    The following song is a great reminder of this lesson.

    Have Thine own way, Lord!

    Author: Adelaide A. Pollard (1906)

    1. Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
    Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
    Mold me and make me After Thy will,
    While I am waiting, Yielded and still.

    2.Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
    Search me and try me, Master today!
    Whiter than snow, Lord, Wash me just now,
    As in Thy presence Humbly I bow.

    3.Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
    Wounded and weary, Help me I pray!
    Power, all power, Surely is Thine!
    Touch me and heal me, Saviour divine!

    4.Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
    Hold o’er my being, Absolute sway!
    Fill with Thy Spirit, Till all shall see
    Christ only, always, Living in me!

    Are you where God wants you to be, submitting to the Potter’s hand, fulfilling what He has planned for your life?

  • The Potter and the Clay

    “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?