Series: The Process Begins
The Prophet Jeremiah: 629BC (Jeremiah 1:1-10)
Jeremiah 18 NKJV
1 ¶ The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying:
2 "Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words."
3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel.
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the LORD. "Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!
When Jeremiah arrived at the potter’s house, the potter was sitting at the wheel making a vessel of clay. This scripture indicates the three necessary elements Jeremiah was sent to observe:
1. The Potter
2. The Clay
3. The Process
Of course we easily understand:
1. God is the Potter
2. We are the clay
3. There evidently is a parallel process which is used by the Potter to make something valuable, useful, and desirable from the clay.
In order to fill in some blanks, we are going to take a look behind the scenes at the making of earthen vessels in that day. From research we can newly learn today what was common information in Jeremiah’s day.
Believe me when I tell you that it takes quite a lot of time to properly research, study and develop a sermon series on any topic of the Bible. This is especially true when one has to dig through mountains of information just to find one historical fact dating back to the centuries before Christ.
During this series I am going to draw heavily from the research my friend, Leonard Gardner, has already accomplished. He is a tremendous and faithful man of God, 76 years young at the moment, and has been ministering more years than I have been alive thus far. I can see every benefit to using his years and wealth of study and experience to supplement out knowledge on the subject at hand.
Research shows that there were basically five steps to making pottery in Jeremiah’s day. Some of these steps are no longer necessary in our day but we must remember that it is Jeremiah’s picture which God wants us to use to understand the parallel truths of these particular scriptures.
In order for us to gain the interpretation of scriptures we must allow each revelation to be set into the context intended by at that time. For example:
Jeremiah 33:3 Call upon me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you did not know.
We cannot take this out of its original context to suppose that call means to phone God on your cell. When this scripture was written it was set in the time when it simply meant to cry out to God. Without regard as to which generation reads this verse, it will forever and always mean: to “cry out” in prayer and lift your voice unto heaven, knowing that God will hear you and He will answer you and He will respond to you in ways you cannot even imagine.
Context is vital … so, let’s look at some of the things which were common understandings of Jeremiah and others in his day and allow them to draw the parallels we need in our day.
Ok: The Potter, the clay, and the process. Tonight we are going to begin taking a look at the process. As I said earlier, there were basically five steps the potter took to in the process of making vessels of clay.
As we look at these remember, we are the clay! In fact, when God first made man, He formed man of the dust of the ground … not just any dust, but dirt … most likely clay which was colored and would stick together. Colored, you may ask … why colored? Because even we call ourselves the Human Race … the “Hu” in human suggest color.
Of course many Native American Indians believe it was “Red” clay! But we will save that for later. Suffice it to say that when God talks to Jeremiah about clay, He is talking first about the whole nation of Israel at that time but in a much broader sense He is talking about all of mankind and tonight He is talking about you!
Five Steps of a Potter
Step Number One: Choosing the Clay
Psalms 40 NKJV
1 ¶ To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
In Jeremiah’s day, as well as in David and Jesus’ day, there were no Hobby Lobby type craft stores where a person could go and purchase an assortment of clays with which to work. Rather, there was a pit.
Isaiah 51 NKJV
1 ¶ "Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.
In order to obtain clay a Potter first had to take a trip to the pit. The pit represents the world to which Jesus came in order to find us. As with any pit, the more you dig, the deeper it gets, the darker it gets, until finally the only light illuminating the clay is the light which comes from straight above.
It is interesting to note that clay cannot get out of the pit by itself. And even if it could it could not make anything valuable or useful of itself.
There are no self made vessels in God’s Kingdom.
The only value the clay possesses for the potter is in its raw and as yet, unmade form.
It is also interesting to note that the pit is a dangerous place, not only for the clay to live out its existence without hope, but also dangerous to the potter who would venture going down into the mire. It is at the risk of his life that the potter obtains the clay. In fact, this very first step in the process costs Jesus His life.
The clay does not choose the potter but the potter chooses the clay.
John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you …”
From research we understand that the potter chooses the clay based upon what he needs or what he wants to make. When the potter envisions the vessel of his choice, he then looks for the clay which has the right touch. Clay is chosen by touch. When the potter touches the clay he imagines what it might become and sees in the clay what no other one sees … not even the clay!
God is the Potter, we are the clay, and there is a process. The process begins for the Potter when He chooses the clay. The first step for the clay is getting out of the pit. However, getting out of the pit is but the first step … there are yet four more steps before the clay is at the place of its intended use.
All throughout the process there are critical moments that, if not careful, can thwart the potter’s work and render the clay’s outcome less than the potter first imagined or a completely unusable lump or vessel.
In the continuing studies on this subject we will discover the parallel truths contained in the following four steps:
Step 2. Preparing the Clay
Step 3. Centered on the Wheel
Step 4. Shaping
Step 5. The Fire
Next week we will pick up with step two. But for tonight’s conclusion allow me to bring some balance to what we have learned.
We all came from the pit of this world and it is important that we remain humble and thankful for God who sent His Only Son, Jesus, to this pit to find us. We were nothing, going nowhere, just dust waiting to die and a hand reached out and touched us. God saw something in you and me that we could never have imagine ourselves.
Jeremiah 18:4 reminds us that God makes us into instruments of use according to His own design and not always according to our own desires.
We need to remember from whence we came, be aware of where we are, but also have a healthy hope, faith, and joy in where we are going. God is not finished with any of us yet. Our journey began when we came out of the pit and today we are all still in the process of being made into a vessel of honor for God’s glory.
Have you been chosen out of the pit? If so, don’t return to or continue to live in the miry clay of this world. The hand of God has reached down from heaven and His light is shinning on you to deliver you into your greatest day. Don’t resist His hand. Sure there will be pressures along the way and some heat to go with it, however the process is all designed by God to make you according to His plan and His purpose.
I’ll see you here next week to learn more about the Potter and Clay.
