“The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 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. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel” (Jeremiah 18:1-6)!
Dear Loving Heavenly Father, we thank You for not only creating us, but for being willing to re-create us in accordance with Your plan for our lives. May we be willing to submit to whatever Your will for us is, so that we may reflect Your glory and help others to do the same! Please accept this prayer we bring in the gracious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Prophet Jeremiah lived through some of the most tumultuous days of the children of Israel, and had to deliver some of the most unpleasant warnings. Because of this he spent a lot of time behind bars. It was his unfortunate duty to tell the king of Judah that during his reign the people would be taken captive and would be seventy (70!) years in Babylonian captivity! And if that was not enough, they were not to resist their captors! Poor Jeremiah! No wonder he is known as “The Weeping Prophet!” After delivering the message, he and his servant Baruch had to run for their lives and hide.
I have shared this prelude with a purpose. Oftentimes the message that the prophet delivers is as much, and at times, more so, for him or her, than for the people to whom it is being delivered.
While Jeremiah is complaining to God about the way he is being treated by the people, and asking God to vindicate him, God sends His prophet to the Potter’s House, to teach him a message He is to deliver! His prophet is broken and needs the divine touch of the Divine Potter.
There are several very valuable lessons that can be learned from our visit to the Divine Potter’s House.
Lesson No. 1, and perhaps the most valuable: The Divine Potter never discards the marred clay! Remember Samson? Remember David? Both of them became marred because they chose to remove themselves out of the Potter’s hand and plan. In spite of this, the Potter was always close by to take them back into His arms of love and re-fashion them.
From the womb, God’s plan for Samson was that he would begin to deliver God’s people out of the hands of the Philistines. Poor Samson’s life bacame marred by the wrong choices that he made. He died in his last battle against the Philistines, in which he destroyed more Philistines in his death, than in his lifetime. In his suffering he had become a more useful vessel in the hand of the Divine Potter. To prove that God had not discarded him, the Lord Himself, acknowledged him in the Bible’s Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11:32)!
David, described as, “a man after God’s own heart,” also became marred when he chose Uriah’s wife and despised the word of God. Yet God did not discard him. He allowed him to suffer the consequences of his bad choices, but forgave him and “[created within him a clean heart, and renewed a right spirit within him].” The Divine Potter also secured for him a place in the Bible’s Hall of Faith, alongside the other giants of faith (Ibid).
We will continue to learn other lessons about how you and I can be healed from our brokenness, from our visit to the Divine Potter’s House!
Note: A very slight change has been made to this devotional.