Jeremiah 18

CHAPTER 18

At the Potter’s House (18:1–23)

1–4 What Jeremiah learned at the potter’s house is among the most significant lessons in the Old Testament. There are other brief references to the potter in Scripture (Isaiah 29:16; 45:9; 64:8; Romans 9:20–21); but here in this chapter, through the analogy of the potter and his clay, Jeremiah teaches us about the relationship between God’s sovereignty on the one hand and human responsibility on the other. Although the teaching is given in the context of Judah’s last days, it applies to all people at all times, both to individuals and to nations.⁶⁶

God, of course, is the potter, and we are the clay. Just as the potter has complete control over the clay, so God has complete sovereignty over both individuals and nations. Notice in verse 4 that the clay Jeremiah saw being formed was marred; the defect was in the clay, not in the potter. So the potter simply took the same clay and formed it into another pot.

Here we see two things: God’s sovereignty and God’s grace—but most of all, God’s grace. The potter (God) could have thrown the defective clay out, but instead he refashioned it, he reformed it. And that is how God treats us:He doesn’t throw us out because of our defects; rather, He reforms us into vessels suitable for His use.

Just as the potter has a plan for the clay, so God has a plan for each of us (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 1:6). God patiently shapes us and smoothes out our defects; often He uses our parents or teachers—or even our enemies—to do this work. Note that a lump of clay has little value in itself, but when it has been made into something useful by the Master Potter, it has great value.

In interpreting parables, such as this parable of the potter and the clay, we must not take the analogy too far. Clay is lifeless, inert. But we humans are alive and responsive. Yes, we all are spiritually “dead” to begin with (Ephesians 2:1), but we still have the capacity to respond to God’s reviving grace. And as God works with us, we are able to take part in what He is doing in our lives (Philippians 2:12–13).

There is, however, one important quality we share with clay:we can be molded; we can yield ourselves to the potter’s hands. The greatest mistake we humans can make is to refuse to yield to God. When we do this, we become like hardened clay, and God can no longer mold us; He then has no choice but to throw us out.

5–10 In verse 6, the Lord applies the lesson of the potter specifically to the house of Israel—that is, to Judah,⁶⁷ which was indeed defective. But then the Lord applies it to all nations (verses 7–10). Like the potter, the Lord can do anything He wants with any nation, but He waits to see the response of each nation (and individual) before He acts. The Lord is absolutely sovereign, but He does not act in a mindless or mechanical manner. Both His threat sand His promises are conditional; they are carried out in accordance with our response.⁶⁸ If we respond rightly, He cancels the threat; if we respond wrongly, He cancels the promise. Thus, within His overall sovereignty, God has granted human beings a certain degree of freedom to choose the right response or the wrong one.

The right response to God’s threats is to repent and turn to Him (verses 7–8); then God can do His reforming work. The wrong response is to continue to do evil; then God will reconsider the good He had intended (verses 9–10). Judah’s people had been making the wrong response for generations; here, through this parable of the potter, God was giving them a final opportunity to repent (see Jonah 3:9–10).

11–12 In verse 11, God gives Judah a final call to repent. However, since God possesses all knowledge—past, present and future—He knows that the people of Judah will not repent (verse 12). They will reply: “It’s no use; it’s no use trying to dissuade us from our own plans” (see Jeremiah 2:25). Therefore, when the people of Judah are judged, they will be judged according to their own choice.

13–17 Here the Lord reflects on the stubborn disobedience of His people. Just as it is unthinkable that Mount Lebanon would be without snow, so it is unthinkable that Judah would have forgotten God and turned from ancient paths (the law of Moses) into dangerous bypaths (verses 14–15). Nature doesn’t change, but Judah certainly had changed; Judah had done the unthinkable, and thereby had sealed its doom.

18 Here we are told once more about Jeremiah’s personal circumstances. His enemies, which included most of Judah’s people, decided to attack him with [their] tongues; they probably planned to accuse him of treason because of his predictions that Judah would soon fall. Furthermore, they said that no one needed Jeremiah anyway; they already had enough teaching and counsel from other priests and prophets.

19–23 Jeremiah expresses his distress to the Lord. He is especially grieved that his enemies have repaid his good with evil (verse 20). He had tried to save the people of Judah from God’s judgment, but now he was being persecuted for seeking their good. They had dug a pit to capture him, as one digs a pit to catch a wild animal (verse 22).

So Jeremiah calls out to God for vindication. His language is strong because his enemies are treating him without justice or mercy; he calls on God to treat them in the same way. This prayer is in accordance with many passages of Scripture: over and over we see God repaying evildoers with the same evil they sought to inflict on others. We too can pray that God will act with justice and vindicate His servants.

As individuals, however, we must remember that seeking personal revenge is always wrong; vengeance must be left up to God (Proverbs 25:21–22; Romans 12:1721). Rather, as individuals, we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). For further discussion on the subject of praying against one’s enemies, see Psalms 3:7; 10:15; 109:6–20 and comments.