The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’
12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore thus says the Lord:
Ask among the nations,
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel
has done a very horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion?
Do the mountain waters run dry,
the cold flowing streams?
15 But my people have forgotten me;
they make offerings to false gods;
they made them stumble in their ways,
in the ancient roads,
and to walk into side roads,
not the highway,
16 making their land a horror,
a thing to be hissed at forever.
Everyone who passes by it is horrified
and shakes his head.
17 Like the east wind I will scatter them
before the enemy.
I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity.”
18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”
19 Hear me, O Lord,
and listen to the voice of my adversaries.
20 Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for my life.
Remember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.
21 Therefore deliver up their children to famine;
give them over to the power of the sword;
let their wives become childless and widowed.
May their men meet death by pestilence,
their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
22 May a cry be heard from their houses,
when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!
For they have dug a pit to take me
and laid snares for my feet.
23 Yet you, O Lord, know
all their plotting to kill me.
Forgive not their iniquity,
nor blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger. Jeremiah 18 ESV
Jeremiah 18 The Potter and the Clay
19One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?” 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?” 21Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?… Romans 9: 19-21
1-11. Arise and go down to the Potter's house - God is going to talk to Jeremiah, but He wants him to be at the potter's house for this lesson. It is like show and tell, I can describe something to you, but like they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words."
While Jeremiah looks upon the potter's work, God darts into his mind two great truths. God has authority, and power, to form and fashion kingdoms and nations as he pleases. He may dispose of us as he thinks fit; and it would be as absurd for us to dispute this, as for the clay to quarrel with the potter. But he always goes by fixed rules of justice and goodness. When God is coming against us in judgments, we may be sure it is for our sins; but sincere conversion from the evil of sin will prevent the evil of punishment, as to persons, and to families, and nations. - Matthew Henry
I will relent of the disaster I intended to do to it - You will note this theme throughout Scripture, that God is God, and you are not, and He is calling all men everywhere to repent. Jeremiah is hitting upon great doctrinal truths here that the people of his time, and the church today do not like to admit. Salvation belongs to the Lord, and men need to turn away from their sin.
…22So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” 24Then the Pharisees who had been sent… John 1: 22-24
Amend your ways and your deeds - Disaster is coming, the wages of sin have already been well established, or do you think that God is like men in that He lies?
Note the urgency: return now every one. “Men are quite willing to promise to return when they have gone a little further; when, perhaps, they will have gone past all possibility of returning; but ‘now,’ is always an ugly word to them. ‘to-morrow,’ they like much better. ‘Now,’ is a monosyllable which seems to Burn into their bosom like a hot coal, and therefore they pluck it out, and throw it from them.” (Spurgeon)
12-17. But they say, "that is in vain, we will follow our own plans" - They did not want to repent, and it was either vain on Jeremiah's part to think they should, yet Jeremiah spoke on behalf of God, or vain because they thought it impossible or unnecessary. They preferred their sin, and had been assured by many false prophets of what would amount to another gospel. "Look,' they say, 'no need to repent or confess anything, and here is why, you are Abraham's children, you have the temple, go offer up sacrifices, and remember, you were born this way, only doing no more than what feels right or good to you." This is the response to Jesus' gospel today, many call themselves the church, preachers, but they hate His message.
22“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” 23Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.… Luke 9: 22-24
Do the mountain waters run dry - They were not trading "dirt for diamonds" as Steve Lawson would say, but no, it was the other way around. You are leaving the cool, refreshing, constant waters, for stagnant puddles, disease ridden, murky waters. Who does such a thing? It is a picture of futility and stupidity.
A thing to be hissed at forever - What did this people do to upset God to such a degree of calamity?
“The term seriqot, ‘hissing’ or ‘whistling,’ denotes that the land would become a spectacle so shocking as to cause passers-by to whistle in awe. The verse is remarkable for its striking assonance, with its s-sounds conveying the impression of hissing.” (Thompson)
Like the east wind I will scatter them - Again, this is the potters right, and He will use another nation to judge them, but also, He will use their captivity to mold them, shape from them a vessel He is pleased with.
6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;… 2 Corinthians 4: 6-8
18-23. Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah - His opponents did not like his message nor his boldness. He was unwilling to compromise with them, to meet them halfway, combining or agreeing with their message. He preached judgment, but like Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, the inoffensive church movements, where everyone is made to feel comfortable in their sin, entertained no less, his adversaries preached soft, and saw themselves more as "encouragers". If only wanting something to be true made it so.
…13Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored to full use, just like the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. 15Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all,… Matthew 12: 13-15
The law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet: This was (in part) the message of the false prophets. If a man held the title of priest, he must have the law. If he were considered wise, he must have good counsel. If he were called a prophet, he must have a word from God. This was a mentality that pretty much denied the existence of corrupt priests, foolish elders, and unfaithful prophets. - E Word
They wanted Jeremiah to respect the cloth, their titles, their ministries, to be judged my their measure, with the ruler they made. Satan knew the law and twisted it, many are considered wise for being clever, yet show themselves fools in denying God, or having some knowledge but bathing themselves in pride. Today, if I did an internet search I am sure there are thousands of people going around calling themselves prophets, preachers and sages that are not. They hate Jeremiah because he questions their authenticity, says convicting things, exposes them for what they are, and that could effect their bottom line.
Let us strike him with the tongue - Talk over him, if he won't stop talking we will frustrate him. They had their liberals back then to, shout, chant over speakers, vain repetition, slander.
To speak good for them - Jeremiah has cried for them, and it is love to warn someone, greater love to tell someone the truth that you know they don't want to hear. The lie they live in can't save them, but what Jeremiah has done for their good, the intercession on their behalf, they return evil for good, lies for truth. What else can be done for them?
Laid snares for my feet - This has to be a frightening time for Jeremiah, he knows what happened to Isaiah and others that came before him.
…31At this, the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him. 32 But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?” 33“We are not stoning You for any good work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man, declare Yourself to be God.”… John 10: 31-33
…11Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about. 12They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul. 13Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.… Psalm 35: 11-13
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