Clay in the Potter’s Hands

“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:  ‘Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel.  And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he worked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.  Then the word of the Lord came to me, ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done?’ declares the Lord.  ‘Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.  If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down, and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it…Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you.  Return, everyone  from  his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’”-Jeremiah 18:1-11 (ESV).

God commands Jeremiah to observe another symbolic act.  He is to go to the potter’s place of work and there watch him as he takes clay and forms it into a vessel.  Even in ancient times, we are told, potters had wheels similar to the ones handcraft potters still use today.  The potter’s wheel consisted of two flat, circular stones which were mounted on a rod.  As the potter turned the stones around with the rod, he placed mud and water on them, thus forming a vessel.  If the vessel did not form properly, or if the potter saw a flaw in it, he began all over again, using the same materials, but seeking better results from his efforts.  Near Helen, Georgia in the mountains is the Potter’s Wheel, a place where clay vessels are still formed and fired in a kiln.  Grover and I used to go by sometimes just to watch the craftsman work and to marvel at how deftly his trained hands shaped the beautiful objects of usefulness and art in his gift shop.  In Georgia, several names are noted in pottery-making.  One from years ago is Meadors Pottery.  If you have in your possession one of their fine pottery creations, you have a treasure.

Jeremiah’s object lesson is for people and for a nation.  Each individual is clay in the Lord’s hands to be formed into a useful and worthwhile person. Likewise, a nation under God is like clay in the potter’s hand, useful and purposeful when formed and without flaws that weaken.  In each instance, the potter (God) who formed us, is willing for us to start over.  It was Alexander Whyte, the noted Scottish preacher who said, “The victorious Christian life has a series of new beginnings.”  Closely aligned with Rev. Whyte’s statement is this comment by J. Wilbur Chapman (in Revival Sermons [New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1911]  p. 23): “The clay is not attractive in itself, but when the hands of the potter touch it, and the thought of the potter is brought to bear upon it, and the plan of the potter is worked out in it and through it, then there is a real transformation.”

The words of the hymn written by Adelaide A. Pollard inspire me:

            “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.”

God had Jeremiah sound this plea:  “Return everyone from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds” (Jer. 18:11).  May we think on these words and act accordingly.