Jeremiah;- The potter story (ch18)

The Lord sent Jeremiah (ch18 v1) down to the potter’s house to hear the Lord’s words. They would come to him as he watched what was happening. Sure enough, they came as he was watching a potter make a mess of the pot being prepared on his wheel (easily done), and re-work the clay for a second attempt.

The moral which the Lord put into the prophet’s mind was that the Lord could treat Israel in the same way. In this particular image, they were a “spoiled” vessel, but the vessel had not yet been “fired”, so the material could be re-worked and used again. At least this is a more positive image than the “broken flask” of the next chapter or the “permanently spoiled cloth” of ch13.

In vv7-10 (continuing the basic theme), the Lord puts forward the principles on which he will deal with sin and repentance. In essence, they are identical to the principles put forward in Ezekiel ch33 vv12-16, The only difference is that the passage in Ezekiel is talking about the treatment of individuals, because the community is about to be dissolved for the time being. This passage is about the treatment of nations.

In short, his promises and judgements are conditional. If he threatens to pluck up and break down a nation, on account of their sin, the judgment will be cancelled if they turn away from evil. That’s what happened to Nineveh in Jonah’s time. Conversely, if he makes a promise to build up and plant a nation, the promise will be cancelled if the nation does evil in his sight. That is why Judah cannot depend upon “We have a covenant, we have the temple.”

There follows a little dialogue on the theme of “making plans”.
V11 Jeremiah is to tell the inhabitants of Jerusalem that the Lord is making a plan against them. That is the reason why they should repent.
V12 They respond by insisting that they will follow their own plans, in accordance with the evil in their hearts.
V18 Furthermore, they will make their own plots against Jeremiah. They will not listen to him and will smite him with the tongue. They want to continue getting “law from the priest, counsel from the wise, and word from the prophets”, even though all these officers are letting them down by refusing to endorse the true word heard through Jeremiah.

Vv19-23 is a a poetical addition which follows on from v18. Jeremiah complains again about their treatment of him. He has actually been praying for them (this must have been before the Lord told him to stop doing it). “I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them.” Yet they have responded ungratefully, by digging a pit for his life and laying snares for his feet. They have even plotted (that word again) to slay him. So he prays, instead, that the Lord will now carry out his intended judgement. That is, to deliver their children to famine, to deliver the men to the sword so that their wives become childless and widowed. Let the cry be heard from their houses when the marauder comes, let the nation be overthrown before the Lord. “Deal with them in the time of thine anger.”

Vv13-17 A rhetorical passage, denouncing the “abnormal” behaviour of Israel. “Ask among the nations who has heard the like of this? The virgin Israel has done a very horrible thing”. It is not normal for the peaks of Lebanon to be left without snow, or the streams which flow from that snow to be left without water. Yet Israel are creating something just as absurd and unthinkable by abandoning their God, the true “highway”, and burning incense to false gods.

We may compare ch2 vv9-13; “Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see… my people have forsaken the fountain of living waters and hewn out cisterns for themselves.”

This is so shocking that “everyone who passes by is horrified and shakes his head.”

Therefore God will scatter them “like the east wind”. Why “east”? I think it’s in the geography of Palestine. The west wind brings welcome rains from the Mediterranean. The east wind brings only sandstorms from the desert, which will scatter any group of people.

(We mustn’t repeat the Bellman’s mistake in “The Hunting of the Snark”. He got it wrong and thought that an east wind would be blowing TOWARDS the east.)

And then, on “the day of calamity”, the Lord will turn his back on them instead of allowing them to see “his face” (that is, his willingness to hear their prayers and help them).

P.S. Want to see someone making a mess of a pot?

a reply to: DISRAELI

The Lord sent Jeremiah (ch18 v1) down to the potter’s house to hear the Lord’s words. They would come to him as he watched what was happening. Sure enough, they came as he was watching a potter make a mess of the pot being prepared on his wheel (easily done), and re-work the clay for a second attempt.

The moral which the Lord put into the prophet’s mind was that the Lord could treat the United States of America in the same way.

In short, his promises and judgements are conditional. If he threatens to pluck up and break down a nation, on account of their sin, the judgment will be cancelled if they turn away from evil.

V11 ...to tell the inhabitants of the United States of Americathat the Lord is making a plan against them. That is the reason why they should repent.

V12 They respond by insisting that they will follow their own plans, in accordance with the evil in their hearts.

V18 Furthermore, they will make their own plots against Jeremiah. They will not listen to him and will smite him with the tongue. They want to continue getting “law from the priest, counsel from the wise, and word from the prophets”, even though all these officers are letting them down by refusing to endorse the true word heard through Jeremiah.

Vv13-17 ...denouncing the “abnormal” behavior of the United States of America. “Ask among the nations who has heard the like of this? The virgin United States has done a very horrible thing”.
Yet America are creating something just as absurd and unthinkable by abandoning their God, the true “highway”, and burning incense to false gods.

… my people have forsaken the fountain of living waters and hewn out cisterns for themselves.”

Therefore God will scatter them “like the east wind”. The east wind brings only sandstorms from the desert, which will scatter any group of people.


And then, on “the day of calamity”, the Lord will turn his back on them instead of allowing them to see “his face” (that is, his willingness to hear their prayers and help them).

ROTFLMAO!!!!

Love reading this Prophet. He is among my favorites although the minor ones are some of the most relevant. Still, your observations of what this prophet is saying does help bring out some very important points. Sometimes we simply read over what is actually being said.

ie. I simply passed over the fact that the spoiled vessel had not yet been fired. One must slow down and stop "reading" and begin to understand what is actually being said.
O Yea...and ask the Lord to "show". TY for the insight
DavidsHope

a reply to: DavidsHope
Yes, a fired vessel can't be re-used, which is why one gets broken in the more pssimistic next chapter.