shaped by God's hand

Good morning friends,
Our reading for today is one of the best-known stories in Jeremiah. God uses a potter as a lesson for Jeremiah. In case some of Jeremiah's audience haven't gotten the message that God is calling them to repent and threatening them with judgment, God gives them an image as well. Teachers know that different students learn differently; God knows the same thing, so he presents his lesson in different formats throughout the book.

The image of the clay in God's hand is also appealing at the personal level. We are raw material and we can allow God to shape us into the people God wants us to be. Seen this way this isn't just a call to repentance; it's also an invitation to follow God and be transformed. I pray we would hear these words and rejoice as the master potter shapes us into an image of love and justice.

God bless,
Sam

Jeremiah 18:1-11

1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2"Come, go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." 3So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.


5Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it.


11Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.