The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the Potters’ house, and there I will cause thee to hear My words.
Then I went down to the Potter’s house and behold he was working at the wheel.
And the vessel that he was making from clay was spoiled in the hands of the Potter, so he made it over reworking it into another vessel as it seemed good to the Potter to make it.
Then the word of the LORD came to me, “O House of Israel can I not do with you as this Potter does? Says the LORD, behold as the clay is in the Potter’s hand, so are you in My hand O House of Israel.”
THE POTTER’S HOUSE. Jeremiah was told to go to a potter’s house, where he observed a potter fashioning a vessel out of clay. Because the vessel was not suitable for what the potter had intended, he had to remold it into something other than what he had first designed.
This parable of the Potter and the clay contains several important principles for God’s work in our lives. As the potter has power over the clay, so God has sovereign authority over the nations. This doesn’t mean that God is irresponsible and arbitrary in what He does, even though He is free to act as He pleases. The LORD’s actions are always consistent with His nature, which is Holy, Just, Wise, and Loving. God doesn’t need any advice from us, nor do we have the right to criticize what He does.
As the Potter molded or shaped a clay pot on the potter’s wheel, defects often appeared. The Potter had power over the clay, to permit the defects to remain or to reshape the pot. Likewise, God had power to reshape the nation to conform to His purposes. Our strategy should not be to become mindless and passive–one aspect of clay-but to be willing and receptive to God’s impact on us. As we yield to God, He begins reshaping us into valuable vessels. We must remember that God is the Potter and we are the clay.
My prayer is “Mold me, shape me Dear LORD, make me a vessel of use for You.”
SERMON—Presiding Elder Barbara Hayes
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