Another word came from the Lord to Jeremiah about a Potter and His clay.
The Lord sent Jeremiah to the potter's house in order to hear the new message.
When Jeremiah got there, the potter was making something on the wheel. It became spoiled, so the potter remade it into a different vessel.
And the word of the Lord came. The message was that He could do with Israel as the potter did with the clay. He'll use another nation to bring the destruction of the spoiled version. And if the nation being used acts inappropriately, He'll deal with them.
He can also speak and build up a nation. And if that built up nation does evil, the Lord will withhold the blessing He had for it.
Then He becomes more specific and warns the inhabitants of Judah, specifically Jerusalem, that He is planning calamity for them. He advises them to turn back and reform.
The people did not give a great reply:
But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’ Jeremiah 18:12
It's a good reminder what a good, good Father we have in heaven. Sometimes our clay becomes spoiled, either by our own sin and behavior or from living in a fallen world. And sometimes the potter has to make a big adjustment to the vessel on the wheel. We can trust Him as the potter to want a good vessel.
The lord did not like their answer, as you might expect. But I'm sure they weren't the first or last. I am sure I will be horrified when I find out how many times I told the Lord (in thought, word, or deed) that I planned on following my own wicked heart. His provision of a Savior and a Helper shows the depth of His compassion and love for us.
Hallelujah!
Anyway, in this moment, the Lord responds with ironic disbelief. Who has heard of this, His virgin Israel acting appallingly. Nature holds its course. but these humans decide they can make a better way than their maker. This clay wants to make its own vessel design apart from the potter.
Again, it sounds ridiculous, but I do it daily. I think most of us do. Ergo, he must make a way for the stupid clay to get back to the potter's wheel.
In this case, the Lord is done messing with the spoiled clay:
To make their land a desolation,
An object of perpetual hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And shake his head.
‘Like an east wind I will scatter them
Before the enemy;
I will show them My back and not My face
In the day of their calamity.’” Jeremiah 18:16-17
So, of course, hearing this prophesy, do they quake in fear and change their wicked ways? No. They aim for the messenger instead.
The people plot a plan against Jeremiah, with the goal being to ignore his warning words.
Jeremiah does the right thing and takes it up with the Lord, crying out in frustration that his good is being repaid with evil. Jeremiah reminds the Lord of when he went to bat for the people of Israel before the Lord. Now he concedes that the Lord should give the people over to famine and sword. He eagerly awaits hearing their cries when the raiders come because they have set a trap for him. He actually goes so far as to ask that the Lord never forgive their sins or lessen his anger toward them.
It sounds brutal and not very Christian. We're told we're not even to laugh when bad things happen to bad people. But Jeremiah and David and others pray for horrible things. But I think that shows the arc of our story. It starts out with retribution against a whole family if someone is hurt or killed. So, an eye for an eye is actually progress towards proportional justice. Then we learn that God has several cities of refuge built into the Promise Land. Then we learn we have a Kinsman Redeemer. Who teaches us 70x7 and turn the other cheek. We get the Sermon on the Mount that teaches us about an upside down Kingdom and God's desire for us to love like He is Love.
Compare that to Islam, who is still throwing gays off of buildings and running gang rape groups in the United Kingdom. Attacking, kidnapping and raping people in Israel. All in the name of their god.
Compare that the godless secularist who go to the other extreme and let criminals go, as long as they belong to the right aggrieved groups.
The Lord is working a plan of redemption and it shows in the development of civilization that is influenced by His people. We won't be home until the Second Coming, but He shows us the wisdom of His plan and benefits of trusting and obeying. Amen.