We Are Like The Potter’s Clay
Jeremiah
18:1-11
Living Bible (TLB)
Here is another message to Jeremiah from the
Lord: Go down to the shop where
clay pots and jars are made, and I will talk to you there. I did as He told me and found the potter working at
his wheel. But the jar that he was
forming didn’t turn out as he wished, so he kneaded it into a lump and started
again. Then the Lord said: O Israel, can’t I do to you as this potter has done to
his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s
hand, so are you in my hand. Whenever I announce that a
certain nation or kingdom is to be taken up and destroyed, then if that nation renounces
its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. And if I announce that I will make a certain nation
strong and great, but then that nation changes its mind, turns to evil,
and refuses to obey me, then I, too, will change my mind and not bless that
nation as I had said I would. Therefore, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem,
saying: Hear the word of the Lord. I am planning evil against you now instead
of good; turn back from your evil paths and do what is right.
Jeremiah 18:1-11
Living Bible (TLB)
Here is another message to Jeremiah from the
Lord: Go down to the shop where
clay pots and jars are made, and I will talk to you there. I did as He told me and found the potter working at
his wheel. But the jar that he was
forming didn’t turn out as he wished, so he kneaded it into a lump and started
again. Then the Lord said: O Israel, can’t I do to you as this potter has done to
his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s
hand, so are you in my hand. Whenever I announce that a
certain nation or kingdom is to be taken up and destroyed, then if that nation renounces
its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. And if I announce that I will make a certain nation
strong and great, but then that nation changes its mind, turns to evil,
and refuses to obey me, then I, too, will change my mind and not bless that
nation as I had said I would. Therefore, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem,
saying: Hear the word of the Lord. I am planning evil against you now instead
of good; turn back from your evil paths and do what is right.
Nationally and individually, we are all as clay in the
hands of the Lord our God, our Maker! If
we are marred and flawed with unrepented, unconfessed, unrenounced and
unforgiven sins, then our Maker may decide to shatter us, to destroy us and
discard us as refuse. On the other hand,
if we become cleansed and purified through repentance, through the confession
of our sins, through renouncing our evil ways and through receiving His
forgiveness, then our Maker may plan to bless us with good things.
