The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
The word that came to Jeremiah is the opening of a message that sends him down to the potter's house, where the reshaping of a marred clay vessel becomes the illustration of God's dealings with His people. God is the Potter and His people are the clay, whom He shapes and works according to His purpose and after His own likeness. His announced dealings with a nation are conditional upon its choices, so threatened judgment may be withheld if it turns from evil, and promised good may be withdrawn if it disobeys. Nations and individuals alike are in His hands, so a nation that forsakes sin and turns to God is not held to its fathers' sins, while the virtues of its fathers do not shield children who choose wrongdoing.
He warns and pleads with His people to turn from evil and do what is right, for as clay in the potter's hand they are subject to His judgment. Those who follow Him in righteousness receive His blessings, but those who persist in their own ways prove unfaithful and cannot be blessed. Their part is to yield to the Master's forming as pliable clay rather than attempt to direct the work themselves. His shaping may include kneading and reshaping, waiting and trimming and polishing, turning the clay again and again until His will is wrought out, with grace and truth perfecting the fashioning work.
Yielding means daily, hourly, momentary surrender, with the soul emptied of pride and self-sufficiency to receive divine impressions and make room for Jesus. It means giving heed to His instruction and surrendering self to the divine will, serving Him with heart and soul and strength in unselfishness, purity, and holiness. To be clay is not to resist advice and counsel and not to follow one's own mind and judgment, but to submit the will to Christ, to counsel together with brethren and be subject one to another, and to let the Spirit of truth inspire and govern all movements in constant connection with Jesus. When thus surrendered, His hand removes defects and reshapes character to form a shapely, polished vessel fit for useful service.
That vessel bears much fruit, reveals the perfection God desires every human being to show, displays the Potter's glory, and becomes a blessing to others. When the clay refuses to be molded and treats its defects as virtues, growth is deformed, defects remain, and character is marred by tendencies to wrong.
The word that came to Jeremiah is the opening of a message that sends him down to the potter's house, where the reshaping of a marred clay vessel becomes the illustration of God's dealings with His people. God is the Potter and His people are the clay, whom He shapes and works according to His purpose and after His own likeness. His announced dealings with a nation are conditional upon its choices, so threatened judgment may be withheld if it turns from evil, and promised good may be withdrawn if it disobeys. Nations and individuals alike are in His hands, so a nation that forsakes sin and turns to God is not held to its fathers' sins, while the virtues of its fathers do not shield children who choose wrongdoing.
He warns and pleads with His people to turn from evil and do what is right, for as clay in the potter's hand they are subject to His judgment. Those who follow Him in righteousness receive His blessings, but those who persist in their own ways prove unfaithful and cannot be blessed. Their part is to yield to the Master's forming as pliable clay rather than attempt to direct the work themselves. His shaping may include kneading and reshaping, waiting and trimming and polishing, turning the clay again and again until His will is wrought out, with grace and truth perfecting the fashioning work.
Yielding means daily, hourly, momentary surrender, with the soul emptied of pride and self-sufficiency to receive divine impressions and make room for Jesus. It means giving heed to His instruction and surrendering self to the divine will, serving Him with heart and soul and strength in unselfishness, purity, and holiness. To be clay is not to resist advice and counsel and not to follow one's own mind and judgment, but to submit the will to Christ, to counsel together with brethren and be subject one to another, and to let the Spirit of truth inspire and govern all movements in constant connection with Jesus. When thus surrendered, His hand removes defects and reshapes character to form a shapely, polished vessel fit for useful service.
That vessel bears much fruit, reveals the perfection God desires every human being to show, displays the Potter's glory, and becomes a blessing to others. When the clay refuses to be molded and treats its defects as virtues, growth is deformed, defects remain, and character is marred by tendencies to wrong.