Posts Tagged ‘Potter’

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 Jeremiah 18:1-6

Jeremiah is sent by God to the potter’s house, where he learns an important lesson.  The image of the potter fashioning a vessel on his potter’s wheel would have been very familiar to Jeremiah’s audience.  It is familiar territory for us, too, since the shaping vessels of clay by hand on a potter’s wheel is still done in much the same way today.

What does Jeremiah notice as he observes the potter at work?

He notices first the clay.  As he watched the potter shape and mold the clay, Jeremiah knew that he was looking at a picture of himself, and of every person, and of every nation.  We are the clay, fashioned into useful vessels by God, the potter.  Jeremiah isn’t the only prophet to draw on this image: Isaiah and Zechariah also use it, as does Paul in his letter to the Romans.  Jeremiah watched as the clay was fashioned into a vessel.  Then, some imperfection in the clay spoiled it in the potter’s hand and the potter crushed it and began the process again. Read More