5/16/1971
Jeremiah 18.4–‘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.’
Before Jeremiah received instruction from God to visit the potter, because of his ministry in Judah, and because of the heavy burden he felt, he went around tearing down things, destroying and overthrowing what he came in contact with. God had given him charge over the nations with instructions to tear down, but also to build and to plant that the nations might be redeemed. But Jeremiah had not fully understood God’s instructions so it became necessary for God to do something to make Jeremiah understand more fully what his plan was for the Judaean nation. Thus, God caused Jeremiah to visit the potter and to fully observe the potter at work, doing this visit while the potter was making. The vessel he made involved his making a slightly wrong move, and in just a second the vessel was completely destroyed, and the potter was left with just a wad of clay, not a vessel. So the potter had to start over again, and this time he completely finished a beautiful vessel.
I think I can understand what came into Jeremiah’s mind when he began to see the greater purpose of God for the nation of Judah and for his work with this nation, so instead of tearing down he started building and planting that the nation might be redeemed. On the outskirts of Los Angeles I once visited a large pottery plant and saw many men at work making various pottery items and I saw what a glazed finish product would be like, and just what a mistake would do. In just a second a beautiful piece of pottery would be nothing but raw materials. Reading Jeremiah I realized that God was able to take the most flawed, or even vile and mean human beings and make godly leaders of them. And I am sure Jeremiah realized this and applied it to his ministry.
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