03/10/2010 = Potter and Clay - Malwani 2. But they said “that is hopeless..
But they said “that is hopeless..” Mood of defiance, as they walked according to their “plans.”
Illus – a quiz- one who answers first will get expired note but who answers second will get
good note. U will accuse me of unfair. Many say dat ppl; God; church is unfair to
them…..God unfair.
As messenger of God, Jer asked to inform dat God will destroy Jerusalem – ppl feel it is
unfair. This passage like sermon – Illus; Principle; Application.
- Not only people but Jeremiah…also accused as unfair. Jeremiah = 7th c – BCE; son of
Hilkiah, priest of anathoth, Benjamin in Judah. Son of a pastor. He loved God but was a
moody person – accused God. God chose him 1:4-5. God already knows who we are and
what we will be. In his age 20 v.6-7 = I am child…v.8 = I am with you. Like moses.
 In chp 12 :1-4 he complains…v.5 – God replies. Same like Job’s complaint – Lord said = were you
there during the foundations of earth – in Job 42 he says sorry – I uttered which I do not
understand.
 Same here Jer also struggles – one crisis to another crisis – struggle…longest book in prophecy…
looks like Baruch went with him all along. He also asks why good people suffer and bad people get
rich and why Israel is suffering? God seeks him to give him the answer thru teaching….a sermon
on it. = Illus; Principle; Application.
 THE ILLUS OF POTTER AND CLAY
18-20, center around the common theme of the potter’s vessels. A] Jeremiah 18:1-17
might be captioned “the marred vessel.” B] Jeremiah 18:18-23 might well be entitled
“the human vessel,” for they relate to Jeremiah’s prayer for vengeance upon those
who plotted against him. C] Jeremiah 19:1-20:6 may be captioned “the broken
vessel,” a fit representation of Judah. D] Jeremiah 20:7:-18 may again be captioned
“the human vessel,” as Jeremiah records the saddest and most bitter of his
confessions.
 18:1-4 = Pottery? Picture of wheel. But the potter puts a lump of clay in the center -
skilled potter can detect the slightest defect, a wobble.
 1] Ancient Israel pottery was advanced technology.. w/o jar what u wud do now. o/w they
had to live close to water and food no storage. Now they have own lifestyle. 2] every
village had pottery = every house; majority; tailoring with ladies earlier. God using illus to
communicate. Came down to their own level.
Story = I. The Marred Vessel, Jeremiah 18:1-17.
A. The observations of the prophet, Jeremiah 18:1-4.
1. “Arise and go down to the potter’s house…,” Jeremiah 18:2.
2. The vessel was “marred,” so the potter made it into another vessel, Jeremiah 18:4.
B. The Interpretation for the Prophet, Jeremiah 18:5-10.
1. “O House of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” (Jeremiah 18:6).
a. God was the divine Potter; Israel was but clay in His hands.
b. But unlike literal clay, Israel had willfully rebelled against the Potter!
2. God’s threats and His Promises are Conditional, Jeremiah 18:7-10.
a. His attitude and response are affected by the people’s response to Him. Cf. Jonah 3:4,5,10.
C. The Proclamation to the People, Jeremiah 18:11,12.
1. “Speak to the inhabitants of Judah…,saying…I am fashioning a disaster against
you…return..everyone,” v. 11.
D. The Accusation against the Nation, Jeremiah 18:13-17.
1. Judah had rejected her God for “worthless idols!” Cf. Jeremiah 2:13
2. Result: God would make “their land desolate…” and scatter them, Jeremiah 18:16,17.
 INTENTION- [not moulding factory…all same; but creative] ; purpose thru history – adam
– human intentions; Jesus is wheel turner not o/wise.[don’t look at jars made..but as
wheel moving; Xst working in us not like statice] POWER – capacity to rectify – may be
many times – god has power; JOY – potter delight; Israel renewal.
 Former; merciful; cooperation
 Lessons = God is potter; creator; Israel is clay – we are clay. What problem ---- Here,
problem – they thought dat God is doing whatever he wants in our life. Same we think…
God is all powerful so like clay he will do whatever he wants. We just have to live with it.
they thought this trouble is brought by God on his own will. That day’s CULTURE. Box
God – will fill my box as I want.
 If clay had mouth – hurts when thrown as ball. No it cant.
 Beyond v.6-10 = we are not clay but human with free choices..god has all the power but
he needs our cooperation. This Ilus is shown – to say dat it is insufficient to illustrate the
relship of god wit ppl thru this e.g.
 God responds to ppl. Not god acts in one way only…but dat god changes plans when ppl
change. Potter does not wait for repentance of clay. But here h.beings are creation and
creator has given freedom. so more deeper than potter and clay.
 A dynamic relationship between two parties where the action of each party affects the
behavior of the other party. That’s a relationship. A free relationship between two free
persons.
 A true relship is not both treated fairly but of adjustment and sacrifice. God is not like
potter…but more than that. More than fair.
 E.g. a child given extra ice cream alongwith chocolate. After few days withdrawn – child
thinks it is not fair. It was used to but it was more than fair. So God - His relationship with
His people is more than fair - He responds to them dynamically.
 If He tells them that He is going to bless them a certain way and then they reject their
relationship with Him. If they completely disobey Him, then He will cancel the good that
He was going to do. And that won’t feel fair. Because we will be expecting to be treated a
certain way and we’ll think that we deserve to be treated that way. So for things to
change won’t feel fair to us at all.
 Same in Matt 20 – payment of owner to last ppl. Others said not fair.
v. 11-17 – application
 Warns them – if repent. But in 12 – already made up minds. Wont respond to god’s
discipline. Israel who is god’s precious bride – one e.g. here again =
 The comparison is made between the snow of Lebanon and Israel. God points out that
the snow on the mountains of Lebanon never leave the mountain. In fact, if the snow
were to leave the mountain, it wouldn’t be the “snow of Lebanon” anymore. It would just
 be snow. What makes it the snow of Lebanon is that it is on the mountains of Lebanon.
What makes Israel - Israel is their relationship with YHWH. Israel is the people of YHWH.
If they turn away from YHWH, they’ll stop being Israel.
 And yet they are confused. They think that if they are sent away from the land, that they’ll
stop being Israel. But the land isn’t what makes them Israel. It’s their relationship with
YHWH their God. So they are all upset because they think that being kicked off their land
is going to make them lose their identity. But God is pointing out that they’ve already
given up their identity. They’ve forgotten their God. And their identity comes from Him, not
the land.
So what’s God going to do? He’ll take away their land. Hoping that in exile they will realize that
they can still be Israel without their land, because they can still relate to the God of Israel. But if they
won’t relate to Him when they are in their land, there doesn’t seem to be much hope that
they’ll turn to YHWH once they are in exile. What God is doing here is exactly what we saw the
potter doing. God’s creation isn’t going the way He intended it to go. This clay pot that
He’s shaping isn’t what He hoped. He’s done what the potter never does – he gave His
people a chance to change. But they didn’t. So now He’ll do what the potter does right
away. the potter doesn’t just throw away the clay he was working on. He lumps it back
together and starts over. So that’s what God is going to do. He’s not giving up on His people.
Their exile feels like the end to them, but it isn’t. He’s starting over. There comes a time where
being turned away from Him has consequences. But He won’t abandon His people. He’ll
remake them. God remakes His people. God remakes us.
 The problem is that remaking something begins with destroying it. When Jeremiah went to the
potter’s house, he saw the potter take the lump of clay he was working with, smash it into a ball
and then start over to build something else. Well, here we see God taking His people and smashing
them into a ball. We don’t see the starting over part, but it’s implied. This destruction is for a
purpose. There is something new God is doing on the other side. But when you’re on this side of
being smashed, it can be hard see anything but the smashing part. That’s what God says to His
people here. “Their land will be made waste.” “I will scatter them before their enemies.” God is
destroying Jerusalem.
 What God often does is to take away the things that we think are integral parts of our identity, for
Israel – it was land. Not dat he will always take.
 Illus = a rebuilder on a plot – old demolished for new one. New is better. Some never thru this;
some in it; some passed it.
 The first objection is that people are afraid to just be clay in the
hands of God. They are afraid what will happen to them. The
second one is, I want to go my own way. I want to control my own
life. I want to be in charge myself. But there is a third common
objection that people have to surrendering themselves to be like
clay in the Lords hands.
What Happens if the Clay Is Hard?
If the clay is hard, the potter will spend days pouring water on it and pounding it
thoroughly until it becomes soft. It took God 20 long years of "pouring and pounding"
until Jacob's heart became soft enough. Moses needed 40 years of desert life to become
the meekest man on earth (Numbers 12:3) who could lead Israel out of Egypt.
The Bible warns us not to harden our hearts: "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not
harden your hearts" (Hebrews 3:15).
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" - John 1:29
It is possible for us as believers to have a tender heart for a season, but then when God
speaks to us about an issue, to choose not to humble ourselves but rather to harden our
hearts. This is not a good place for us to be, because the Bible declares: "God resists the
proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).
What Causes Our Hearts to Become Hard?
Being poisoned by negative talk. One person in a church or ministry is dissatisfied, bitter,
critical and unwilling to change. He starts to talk negatively and poisons others. Soon the
atmosphere of love among the brothers and sisters is replaced by disunity, anger and
hardness of heart toward each other and the Lord.
An elevated view of ourselves. We feel important because we do something significant for
God's Kingdom, and we don't recognize that our heart is filled with pride, arrogance and
an exalted view of ourselves. Often the symptoms don't show up until years later when
our heart is no longer soft in the Potter's hand.
Rebellion. Any form of rebellion is like a tiny seed that, if not dealt with, will grow and
eventually harden our heart and bring destruction. It begins with a tiny issue or a thought
like this one: "Who does he think he is to tell me what to do? My life is none of his
business!"—and it ultimately ends in death.
What Should We Do to Keep Our Hearts Soft?
Don't take God's grace for granted. Grace is given to those who are humble, not to those
who are right or feel indispensable. - Watch over your heart (Proverbs 4:23). Don't keep
company with those who spread negative talk, sow disunity or have a rebellious spirit.
Love them and pray for them, but have no part with them. Believe me, you and I are not
strong enough to withstand the poison they spread. It's in the atmosphere, and we
breathe it in whether we intend to or not. - Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21). Don't
fight for your rights. Be willing to give up something. Learn to let it be. -
Don't think of yourself more highly than you should (Romans 12:3). Remember that all the
gifts, talents and ministry you have are given to you by the Lord. Nothing is of yourself. It's
all God's grace. - Be careful from whom you receive your counsel. That's especially
important when you are disappointed because your expectations are not met. Don't go to
a brother or sister who is not mature in the Lord and who sympathizes and agrees with
your complaints and tears. Instead, go to someone who is mature and who can help you
see the hand of God and His purpose behind the things you face. - Repent and run to the
cross. If need be, do this a thousand times a day to maintain the tenderness of your heart.
Whenever you seek the limelight, want to take credit, get hurt or when your expectations
are not fulfilled and your plans don't work out, don't fight; go to the cross. - God always
seeks to do one thing with us on the Potter's wheel—not to make us more powerful and
famous, but to make us more like His Son, the Lord Jesus.
The process of making a vessel out of clay can be broken down into five basic steps. Each step is prerequisite
to the next step being successful.
1. Obtaining the clay
2. Preparing the clay
3. Centering the clay on the wheel
4. Shaping
5. Firing
In Jeremiah’s day pottery making was a common and valuable skill. In the much closer knit society where each
individual is mutually dependent and closely related to each other and the common trades which were
necessary to sustain life, everyone was somewhat familiar with the work of the potter.
When God sent Jeremiah to the potter’s house, God intended to draw some distinct parallels between the
potter’s process of making vessels of clay and the process God employs in making human vessels to carry out
His will. Of course, we are the clay in this narrative.
Once the clay is brought up out of the miry pit and washed, tread upon and softened, it is then placed upon the
potter’s wheel.
Psalms 40:2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And
established my goings.
The Hebrew word translated “established” in this verse is pronounced, “koon”. In its greater definition is means:
fixed; ordered; directed; determined; made ready, or restored.
There is a pre-ordained reason why the softened clay is immediately placed upon a rock, which rock, in our case
is Christ. Our great Potter which is our God, has already determined, already ordered, fixed in His mind what He
wishes to make of me and the path I should walk.
Psalms 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way.
Proverbs 16:9 ¶ A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.
On now to the wheel …
The potter’s wheel in Jeremiah’s time most likely consisted of two stones, a lower thick round flat stone
that was larger and heavier connected by a wooden shaft to a smaller, less weighty round stone, also with
a flat top, which the potter used as a working surface for the clay. The potter turns the heavier bottom
stone with his foot thus driving the top wheel in circles, turning it at just the right speed for the potter to
accomplish his work.
It is upon this top wheel the potter places his prepared clay. Thus far the potter has taken the clay out of
the pit, prepared it, placed it on the rock, and has now established its goings.
After the potter places this lump, this glob of clay on the wheel and sets it to spin, he places his hands on
the clay, not to shape the clay, but to center it. At first the clay fights with the potter’s hands, as you can
imagine, uncentered on the rock, each time it comes around to the potter’s hands it finds resistance.
Like clay, we cannot center ourselves, but must allow the pressure of the hand of God, firmly positioned,
lovingly consistent, to center us on the rock, which is Christ Jesus. It is not enough to be on the Rock, we
must be centered on the Rock in order to ever become what God sees potential in us.
Have you ever known someone whom you considered to be eccentric? What in the world does eccentric
mean anyway? It basically means to be off center; away from the center or the axis; to have an elliptical
pattern of life instead of a circular revolution. Everyone is born into this world off center, eccentric, and
needs to become centered on the Rock under the loving hand of God.
Many people are centered on many things, mostly themselves … this is called egocentric or self centered.
This leads people to live life as though it was all about them. To quote Pastor Leonard Gardner, upon
whose writings I have heavily drawn, “Simply being religious or going to church isn’t enough because even
religious people can get centered on doctrines, preachers, churches, ministries, messages, or gifts.”
The potter cannot begin his work to form the vessel until the clay gets centered. If he tried to shape the
vessel before the clay was centered it would result in aspect of the vessel being too thin while others too
thick. The result of the thick side pressing upon the thin side with its weight and mass, during the drying
process the vessel would crack under the stress. Again, Pastor Gardner referred to these vessels as
“crackpots” – one who refused to be centered on the Jesus but is determined that they are just as usable
as any other vessel God has made.
How does the potter get the clay centered on the wheel? There are no markings on the surface since
every lump of clay is of a different size, weight, consistency and purpose … what does the potter do?
First he speeds up the wheel and places his hands as guides at borders which are acceptable to him and
best for the vessel which he envisions in the clay. After making sure there is enough water on the clay to
keep it soft and moldable without getting too sloppy to change form, the potter keeps his hands on the clay
until it is centered.
How does the potter know when the clay is centered? When the clay no longer resist his hands but
accepts the confines, the guidelines, the borders of the potter’s will. When the clay stops fighting the
potter, the clay is centered.
Many people have been called, taken from the pit, prepared for shaping, but not for use. They find
themselves living life on the wheel, never fulfilled, never complete, always turning, resistant to the hands
of the potter which seem to be invasions, pressures, points and people of resistance to the eccentric life
they live, always turning and coming back around to the same old thickness and thinness of their elliptical
orbit on the rock.
True capacity is created only after a person becomes Christ centered and stops resisting the hands of
God. Like clay, people can dry out on the wheel if they continually refuse to be moved. Or worse yet, they
could spend life as a self centered, self made crack-pot, no one wants to use.
So, what’s the conclusion – don’t be eccentric by being self centered, ministry centered, or gifts centered,
do be Christ centered, don’t become a crackpot, do yield to the loving pressure of God’s masterful hand,
get centered on the Rock and let God begin to shape you and create in you what only He now sees.