“The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as He told me and found the Potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Then the LORD gave me this message:
“O Israel, can I not 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. If I announce that a particular nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. And if I announce that I will plant and build up a particular nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey Me, I will not bless it as I said I would.
“Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says:
I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’”
God’s Warning Rejected
But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.”
So this is what the LORD says:
“Has anyone ever heard of such a thing, even among the pagan nations? My virgin daughter, Israel, has done something terrible! Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon? Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry? But My people are not so reliable, for they have deserted Me; they burn incense to worthless idols. They have stumbled off the ancient highways and walk in muddy paths. Therefore, their land will become desolate, a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will shake their heads in amazement. I will scatter My people before their enemies as the east wind scatters dust. And in all their trouble, I will turn My back on them and refuse to notice their distress.” …
Giving Up Control May Be Difficult For Us.
When we finally come to the end of ourselves, we believe we are entirely ready for God to heal us, but we still may want to control how He does it. We are so used to calling the shots that we will ask for God’s help as long as He does it on our terms. We may demand that the changes happen on our timetable or in the order we feel ready to give them up. God does not work that way. That is why humility is such an essential part of surrendering our lives to God.
God told Jeremiah to go to the Potter’s shop to learn a lesson. Jeremiah said, “I did as he told me and found the Potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay and started again. Then the LORD gave me this message: . . . ‘Can I not 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.”
God told Isaiah, “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot ever argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you are doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’” (Isaiah 45:9).
When we put our lives in God’s hands, He will reshape us as He sees fit. It is our humility that allows us to accept the fact that He is the Creator. Our new life may be similar to the one we left behind or entirely different. Regardless, God is the master craftsman over our lives. Whatever He does, we can trust that He will recreate our life beautifully, once we get out of His way!
The parable not only illustrates God’s sovereignty over the nation of Judah, but over our lives as well. God had power over the clay (Judah), and He would continue to work with it to make it a useful vessel. But Judah needed to repent soon, or else the clay would harden the wrong way. Then it would be worth nothing and would be broken and destroyed.
As the Potter molded or shaped a clay pot on the Potter’s wheel, defects would often appear. The Potter had power over the clay, to permit the defects to remain or to reshape the pot. Likewise, God has the power to reshape the nation to conform to His purposes.
Our strategy should not be to become mindless and passive—one aspect of clay—but to be willing and receptive to God’s impact on us. As we yield to God, he begins reshaping us into valuable vessels to be used for His purposes.
Our society admires assertiveness, independence, and sometimes even defiance of authority. In a relationship with God, these qualities become stubbornness, self-importance, and refusal to listen or change. Left unchecked, stubbornness becomes a way of life, making us hostile to God.
God gave the people of Judah the warnings they needed to avoid judgment, but they would not repent and turn from their idols. They preferred their own sinful ways to God’s ways. God’s ways are simple: His paths are straight; His burden is light. But we, at times, become stubborn, proud, and arrogant, choosing to do things our own way—a way that leads ultimately to despair and pain.
May we learn the lesson of the clay in the Potter’s hands. May we be pliable and flexible, not rigid and stubborn. May we remember we are but vessels in the hands of our maker to be used for His purpose to bring honor and glory to Him, not to ourselves.
Questions for Personal Application
Where in my life am I resisting God’s shaping?
How do I respond when God’s reshaping feels uncomfortable or painful?
In what ways have pride or stubbornness hardened my heart toward God’s correction?
What might God be asking me to “turn from” so He can begin a new work in me?
Am I willing to be a vessel for God’s purposes, even if it means letting go of my own plans or identity?
Prayer: In the Hands of the Potter
Father, You are the Potter, and I am the clay. Forgive me for the times I have resisted Your shaping and insisted on my own way. I confess that I often want control over how and when You work in my life, yet Your ways are higher and wiser than mine. So today, I surrender my will to You.
Crush and remake what is flawed within me, Lord. Remove the hardness of pride, stubbornness, and self-reliance that keep me from becoming who You’ve called me to be. Make me pliable in Your hands—humble, teachable, and responsive to Your Spirit.
Even when Your work feels uncomfortable, help me to trust that You are forming something beautiful and purposeful out of my life. Shape me into a vessel that brings honor to You, not to myself. May my life reflect Your craftsmanship and bring glory to Your name.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In the Hands of the Potter Jeremiah 18:1-17 NLT https://biblia.com/bible/nlt/jeremiah/18/1-17
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