Jeremiah 18:1-2 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.
So Jeremiah went to the potter’s house and found him working at his wheel. The pot between his hands was marred, so he started over, and shaped it as he pleased. Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does? . . . Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand (Jeremiah 18:6), said God.
I took a pottery class in high school where I learned to knead the clay to make it soft, and throw it down to make it pliable. Then I spun it on the wheel, removed a stone, and started over more than once. Then it was glazed and fired in a kiln and, in the end, I had a piece of art.
It’s not easy for clay to become porcelain, or for us to become like Christ. But if we yield to our Maker, he’ll shape us into something good. It is amazing, in fact, what God can do with a lump of clay. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand (Isaiah 64:8), wrote Isaiah.
Jeremiah 23:24 Do not I fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.
God is always bigger than we think. To go from one end of the universe to the other takes billions of years. But if the universe was ten times larger, it couldn’t contain God. The God of our imagination is always smaller than the God who exists, and our greatest thought of God is nothing compared to reality.
Jeremiah 26:2 Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word.
Jeremiah may’ve been tempted to leave out the hardest parts of God’s message. Preachers are human too, and want to please their listeners. But the desire to please must never overrule the command to preach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth—so help us God.
The word of God includes law and gospel, threats and promises, blessings and curses. There are words of grace, mercy and prosperity as well as wrath, judgment and hardship. Preachers miss the mark whenever they focus on the positive at the expense of the negative, or on the negative at the expense of the positive.
People need the whole word of God, not just the parts that please them, or displease them. When Paul finished his work in Ephesus he could say with a clear conscience, I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God (Acts 20:27). God’s word to Jeremiah applies to preachers everywhere. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word.
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Jeremiah 28:10-11 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, and he said before all the people, This is what the Lord says: In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.
Jeremiah wore a yoke to show it was time for God’s people to serve the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 27:1-7). The false prophet Hananiah embarrassed Jeremiah by removing the yoke and breaking it in front of everyone. Then he boldly predicted that Babylon’s power would be broken within two years. It was an impressive confrontation, and Hananiah seemed to win.
Jeremiah 28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord. In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.
Not all religious disputes are settled this clearly, but this event raises the issue of false religious claims. Other religions disagree with Christianity, and many who claim to be Christian preach a different gospel (Galatians 1:6). With so much confusion, it’s tempting to say nothing at all.
This can be wise, sometimes, but we’re also encouraged to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people (Jude 1:3), wrote Jude. We should study God’s word and speak it faithfully whenever it’s appropriate.
God told the prophet Jeremiah not to back down from the false prophets who only spoke their dreams. Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain? declares the Lord (Jeremiah 23:28). False religious claims won’t be defeated until the Lord returns. Until then, God’s people should know and speak the truth, even if the whole world disagrees.
Reflection and Review
How does God mold his people?
Why are preachers tempted to compromise God’s word?
Is it always appropriate to share God’s word?
So Jeremiah went to the potter’s house and found him working at his wheel. The pot between his hands was marred, so he started over, and shaped it as he pleased. Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does? . . . Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand (Jeremiah 18:6), said God.
I took a pottery class in high school where I learned to knead the clay to make it soft, and throw it down to make it pliable. Then I spun it on the wheel, removed a stone, and started over more than once. Then it was glazed and fired in a kiln and, in the end, I had a piece of art.
It’s not easy for clay to become porcelain, or for us to become like Christ. But if we yield to our Maker, he’ll shape us into something good. It is amazing, in fact, what God can do with a lump of clay. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand (Isaiah 64:8), wrote Isaiah.
Jeremiah 23:24 Do not I fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.
God is always bigger than we think. To go from one end of the universe to the other takes billions of years. But if the universe was ten times larger, it couldn’t contain God. The God of our imagination is always smaller than the God who exists, and our greatest thought of God is nothing compared to reality.
Jeremiah 26:2 Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word.
Jeremiah may’ve been tempted to leave out the hardest parts of God’s message. Preachers are human too, and want to please their listeners. But the desire to please must never overrule the command to preach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth—so help us God.
The word of God includes law and gospel, threats and promises, blessings and curses. There are words of grace, mercy and prosperity as well as wrath, judgment and hardship. Preachers miss the mark whenever they focus on the positive at the expense of the negative, or on the negative at the expense of the positive.
People need the whole word of God, not just the parts that please them, or displease them. When Paul finished his work in Ephesus he could say with a clear conscience, I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God (Acts 20:27). God’s word to Jeremiah applies to preachers everywhere. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word.
*****
Jeremiah 28:10-11 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, and he said before all the people, This is what the Lord says: In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.
Jeremiah wore a yoke to show it was time for God’s people to serve the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 27:1-7). The false prophet Hananiah embarrassed Jeremiah by removing the yoke and breaking it in front of everyone. Then he boldly predicted that Babylon’s power would be broken within two years. It was an impressive confrontation, and Hananiah seemed to win.
Jeremiah 28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord. In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.
Not all religious disputes are settled this clearly, but this event raises the issue of false religious claims. Other religions disagree with Christianity, and many who claim to be Christian preach a different gospel (Galatians 1:6). With so much confusion, it’s tempting to say nothing at all.
This can be wise, sometimes, but we’re also encouraged to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people (Jude 1:3), wrote Jude. We should study God’s word and speak it faithfully whenever it’s appropriate.
God told the prophet Jeremiah not to back down from the false prophets who only spoke their dreams. Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain? declares the Lord (Jeremiah 23:28). False religious claims won’t be defeated until the Lord returns. Until then, God’s people should know and speak the truth, even if the whole world disagrees.
Reflection and Review
How does God mold his people?
Why are preachers tempted to compromise God’s word?
Is it always appropriate to share God’s word?