The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel . . . ” (Jeremiah 18:1-6, NASB)
When I was growing up, my Grandma had a kiln in her basement. Her hobby was ceramics. I don’t know if she ever made pottery with a wheel. Mostly she worked with molds. She would pour the clay into the mold for whatever shape she wanted, put it into the kiln to bake, and when it was done she would take it out of the kiln. Then she would paint it. She would then have the ceramic object she wanted. I remember things like roosters and chickens, Santa Claus mugs and such. My parents had a couple of rooster/chicken lamps, and I think Sue and I may still have some Santa mugs laying around somewhere. The point is, she made whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. It was her good pleasure to do with them as she pleased (gifts mostly, I think!).
My Grandma’s hobby is similar to the Prophet Jeremiah’s parable of “The Potter and the Clay,” part of which is above. In the story, God tells Jeremiah to report to the potter’s house, and that He would have further instructions for Jeremiah there. Jeremiah watches the potter as he shapes an object on his wheel. Dissatisfied with the pottery he’s shaping, he stops, turns the clay back into a lump, then starts the process over. He would spin and shape until the object met his pleasure.
When God addresses the prophet, He tells Jeremiah how His relationship with Israel is the same as between the potter and his lump of clay. God established the Hebrew nation for His good purposes. He expected Israel to be a light unto the nations, an example for the rest of the world. He had established commandments and rules for them to follow, but God’s people had gone astray, and they would be punished–conquered and led into exile. The Potter would start over with His lump of clay!
The Bible uses the Potter and Clay several times as a metaphor to illustrate our relationship to God. He is the Potter, of course, and we are the clay. We are here to serve His good purposes. We are on the good earth for God’s pleasure, and to praise His name in everything we do. When, on His wheel, God becomes dissatisfied with what He sees, He makes us into a lump, and starts to shape us over again!
I don’t want to be a lump (With my ALS, I feel like a lump. I can’t move, and I have no strength. However, maybe that makes me more pliable, easier for God to shape!). I want to be molded, shaped into a useful vessel for God to use. If you put your your faith and hope in God’s Son Jesus, He can shape you into that beautiful vessel.
Worship: “The Potter’s Hand,” Hillsong Worship, ft. Darlene Zschech
God, take me; mold me; use me; fill me; guide me; lead me and walk beside me. I give my life to the Potter’s hand. In Jesus’ name.