God the Potter, Judah the Clay

JEREMIAH   CHAPTER 18

The Lord gave Jeremiah the message to go down to the shop where clay pots and jars were made. While there, the potter made a jar which didn't turn out, so he squashed it into a lump of clay and started again. The Lord told Jeremiah he could do the same thing to Israel. As the clay is in the potter's hand, "so are you in my hand".

He had Jeremiah go warn all Judah and Jerusalem and tell them what disaster the Lord has planned against them, so they might turn away from evil and do what is right.  But the people told him they would continue to live as they wanted to, following their own desires.

This angered the Lord and he said their attitude was unheard of even in pagan lands. Israel had done something too terrible to understand. They had deserted God and turned to idols and so he would desolate their land and scatter them before their enemies as the east wind scatters dust. And he would refuse to notice their distress.

Then the people tried to stop Jeremiah by saying that they already had prophets and priests and he was not needed to teach law and give prophecies. So they spread rumors about him and ignored him. Jeremiah asked the Lord to listen to him because he heard the people planning to trap and kill him. He had tried to plead for his people and protect them from God's anger, but now he would let them die. He asked the Lord to not forgive their crimes and blot out their sins. He asked the Lord to let them die before the Lord.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW: The parables in this chapter were probably written during the early years of king Jehoiakim's reign and they illustrate god's sovereignty over the nation. Judah was like a clay vessel, but when it hardens the wrong way, it must be broken and destroyed.

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELAT TO US TODAY? In this chapter we are reminded of how God shapes us. We are not lumps of clay that have no choice or brain. But God alone has the power to mold us. Sometimes during our reshaping, we develop flaws and defects too important for God to overlook. Qualites like assertiveness and independence grow to become defiance of authority, stubbornness, self-importance and eventually refusal to listen or change.

Jeremiah faced the people's challenges. He spoke openly against their higher authorities and wasn't afraid of unpopular criticism. The people thought they didn't need him - boy! were they wrong! How do you respond to criticism? Listen with your heart and you may hear God trying to tell you to change.

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:


HEALTH: Pray for Gabe.

Pray for Gary my insurance man who has prostate cancer that entered his bones.

Pray for Arlene’s nephew David and for my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life.

Pray for Carolyn’s brother Ronald who has cancer and for her sister Wanda’s soul which went to heaven.

Pray for our friend Michelle who was diagnosed with a form of MS.

Pray for Robert Sargent who is quite ill with lung cancer.

Pray for Gary Summers, my friend from church, who has cancer.

Pray for Judy’s husband who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Pray for her too, that she can deal with the side effects of his illness.

Pray too for Charly’s husband Robert who has been undergoing chemo. Pray also for Charly who longs to be 100 percent again and walk without an aid.

Pray for James’s sister Cynthia whose chemo has lost its effect as the cancer grows powerful.

SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary

RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John

LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter, Brian

SUPPORT: Pray for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom. Pray for our famers and those who raise livestock during this terrible drought.