clay in the hands of the potter
Under the hand of a talented artist, they are learning the basics of taking a lump of clay and molding it, shaping it, until they have made something useful out of it. Patiently, He forms, molds, turns, and smooths us. Once smashed, they added them back into their wet clay, and mixed the bits in. When I look far and wide but cannot see Your hand. Seven Biblical Insights for Healthy, Joyful, Christ Centered Marriages. (2 Cor. Are we clay in the hands of the Potter? This understanding has never born witness in my spirit. When we go to the Scriptures for understanding, an entirely different picture is painted. Shall the clay say to him who forms it, “What are you making?” Or shall your handiwork say, “He has no hands”? Only Jesus. This understanding has never born witness in my spirit. suffering and may your consolation “abound through Christ” as you wait on Him Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. These accounts—Jeremiah at the potter’s house, Pharaoh, and Judas—are fascinating, because they deal with God’s sovereignty and the free moral agency of man. Our cracks can be good enough for us.On the other hand, we can choose to yield to the Expert. Reading the full chapter reveals that if a man wants to be a vessel of honor in the house of the Lord, he must purge himself from iniquity! Yet You ever give ear to my prayer when I call. I’m noticing that the process of molding clay is not intuitive in everyone. Writer(s): John Mark Hall, Jonathan Lindley Smith. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. As God formed Jeremiah, He will form our lives. Verses 2–6 say, “So I went down to the potter’s house, and I … As Jeremiah watched the potter work, he learned how we should respond to God’s work in our lives. We know You’re upholding us with Your strong right hand. Let’s be moldable clay in God’s hands. R322 Heidelberg (Western Cape) At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;” (Jer. You comfort us, guide us by Your staff and Your rod. There are two major plagues ongoing right now. 18:6-7). We have seen You be faithful; we know You are still. Why a child so sweet and so young yet so frail? But now, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay, and you our potter; and we all are the work of your hand. The clay was then fired at a high temperature to induce chemical change that allowed the hardened clay to hold liquids without disintegrating. Account No: 62857507259. Your email address will not be published. health issues and it was a miracle that she made it as long as she did, yet I In 2 Corinthians 4:7 Paul called us “earthen vessels.” This is fitting since God “formed [us] of the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7a). Required fields are marked *. Parents, siblings, teachers, elders, and authors might come to mind, but Scripture teaches trials are the clearest way God molds us. Then, some pieces appeared beautiful, but after drying for a week, we found cracks. We would not have chosen the pain. If it’s too dry, it will pucker and resist. “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” (2Ti 2:21). This poem flowed out of a Like clay in a potter’s hand. Your email address will not be published. We often get cracks and mars as we go through the experiences of life. The potter’s hands shaped the clay, and there are many “hands” God uses to shape us. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Daniel 4:23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; And since, not even while the whirl was worst. ... We know You’re upholding us with Your strong right hand. Clay in the Potter’s Hands. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! Then it is good for nothing and must be thrown out. We can become stiff and hard in His hands, which is why Isaiah 45:9 warns: Woe to him who strives with his Maker! We are in the Potter’s hands, and we face two choices. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Lessons from Clay in the Potter’s Hand – Lessons…and lessons | Lessons...and lessons, Wilderness Wildlife Week is for Homeschoolers! Those who trust in the LORD—this we read in Your Word—. This is a sobering example that should encourage us to have soft, teachable, submissive hearts toward the Potter. Enduring Trials God’s Way: A Biblical Recipe for Finding Joy in Suffering, In Romans 9:19–21, the Potter looks responsible: “You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? We are the clay, and thou our potter . Judas was overcome with guilt, but instead of trusting God’s forgiveness, he committed suicide: Judas purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. Get your copy today! To us, the process is painful sometimes. heart that was hurting from the pain of rejection and closed doors. If we are soft and pliable, we can become better. You are like the clay in the potter’s hands, and I am the potter.” Clay pots were made by shaping earthen clay into pottery form, either by hand, by potter’s wheel or by mold. To my left rest many, resembling me, but they’re hardened and drying, crumbling in state. Even when things don’t turn out as we think they should. LORD, our souls fall on You; be our Refuge, we pray. He will not abandon the work of His hands. He is not sending calamity, sickness and destruction into our lives. Until the day when I see Jesus Christ face-to-face. This site uses cookies. What is the answer? They remained hardened though, so then God showed them what happens to stubborn clay. Is the Potter or the clay responsible for the way a vessel turns out? In The Hands Of The Potter… dark season. There’s no tear You don’t see, no grief You don’t feel, No cry You don’t hear and no pain You can’t heal. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. In every case the context is the nation of Israel. The kids reacted with surprise and a bit of dismay, coupled with excitement in some, as the instructor told them to take their cracked bowls and smash them to tiny bits. The locust plague is consuming Africa, Middle East, India and moving into China with the potential for 25MM to perish from starvation. Jeremiah 31:9 They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. their precious little girl again. Judas could have been one of them if he had repented. Therefore. If we are stubborn and stiff, we can become bitter. (Jeremiah 18:1-4 RSV) We have commented in previous messages about the many things God uses to teach his people, these remarkable visual aids which appear from time to time in this book whereby God imparts lessons to this prophet. What strain o' the stuff, what warpings past the aim! Pharaoh demonstrates the painful consequences. Are you soft, pliable clay in the Potter’s hands, or are you stubborn and stiff? For I am wounded and broken and destined to fall. Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. I enjoyed the sermon as it described the mighty works God is doing for his people, The God who can remake our vessels, our alters and our temples. When my labor is hard and I feel it’s in vain. If you ever grieve the loss of someone you love and dearly In Jeremiah 18 it makes the subject very clear: “O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? I’m glad you watched and were encouraged! It means “destroyed or corrupted.” It is the same word for “ruin” in Jeremiah 13:7 that describes the “profitable for nothing” sash. Read Colossians 3:5-14 for a full description of what Paul is referring to in 2 Timothy 2. The idea of the Potter certainly refers to God, but the subject of the clay never refers to individuals, especially not in the New Covenant. The clay in the Old Testament refers either to Israel or to the nations. When all that is wrong here on earth You restore. The religious leaders used the money to purchase a field where a potter discarded worthless vessels. I do offer a perspective on Pharaoh and a hardened heart that God did not force on the heart of Pharaoh. It also recognizes God’s authority to shape us inwardly, to spiritually fashion us into a vessel fit for His use, molded as an image of our Lord Jesus Christ. We only link to products we have used or would use ourselves. Pharaoh had many opportunities to stop God’s escalating plagues. I am but clay in the potter’s hands, a mass amongst many in the workshop of life. Filed Under: Trials and Suffering Tagged With: patience, sanctification, sin. (LIBERTY BIBLE COMMENTARY, Vol. One such symbol is that of potter and clay. We can choose our own path, and many times we do. When Judas hanged himself, either the branch or the rope broke, and his body fell to the ground. Pharaoh did not need to destroy Egypt but like the time of the prophet Jerimiah Pharaoh was haughty with the excesses of Egypt and could not change like the stiff necked people in in the time of Jerimiah. The potter controls the wheel like God controls the circumstances of our lives: And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. The most detailed example is found in Jeremiah 18. So today I will choose to be strong and take heart. We might feel marred, disfigured, or flawed, but instead of discarding us, God can reshape us “into another vessel” that is precious and valuable. The Jews’ hardness in chapter 17 led to the command in chapter 18 for Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house. The contexts of the passages speaking of the potter and the clay is always with reference to God’s dealings with Israel. No matter. Isaiah 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! 1:3-5). God wanted to show His people He was working for their good. But that is not what Paul is referring to. If we are like the clay—soft, pliable, and submissive—then we become better. Yet in our deep anguish, Your Presence we seek, For You are still God and Your ways are still good. Although, the potter Jeremiah watched worked patiently on the same piece of clay until it became a vessel that “seemed good to [him].” Paul said we can be “confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Just like clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. And the whole picture here is God can do whatever he desires with clay in his hands… He knows what pressure we can withstand. Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’, In 2 Timothy 2:20–21, the clay looks responsible: “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Due to politics we really don’t know how many will perish from the Corona {“Latin for ‘crown’] virus. Let age approve of youth, and death complete the same. is still good, and they still trust Him and look forward to when they will see We can feel like this during trials too, wondering if God is aware of our feebleness: “Does He know how weak I am, and this suffering feels like more than I can handle?” As this account reveals, the Potter is completely familiar with the clay, and He knows best how to handle it. But, unlike the clay, people can choose not to cooperate with God.
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