"Marred and Remade”

Jeremiah 18:1-12

(Quest for the Best – seeing life as experiences of God shaping/molding to usefulness, beauty, perfection)

INTRODUCTION:

Tom Lemmons – He Who Wept , an epic novel of Jeremiah, P. 88-90
Reading Lemmons, studying Jeremiah 18, drawn back in memory to high school days, Industrial Arts class – introduced to clay and a potter’s wheel, learned to take portion of clay, throw it – as close to center – on a potter’s wheel, w/water – slick & smooth – began to mold clay, working with two hands together – created various bowls, containers, artwork. I enjoyed it!

and while remembering high school – who should come to mind but one Rosalyn Clapsaddle – my, my, my – my first love! In words of country western song – she stole my heart and stomped that sucker flat! I didn’t enjoy that!

There is connection between art class and experience of young love - while I am reflecting the image of the creator God in me thru my art class creations – I create because He made me in His image as creative God. God is molding and shaping me thru the experience of life – life that included the painful emotions associated with Rosalyn

Continue Jeremiah
- seek to experience life at its best (Our Quest for the Best, theme of this book)
We understand from today’s passages – life must be seen as experiences of God shaping and molding us to usefulness, to beauty, to perfection. Message that Jeremiah learned at the Potter’s house was that the life of faith means being thrown on the potter’s wheel and shaped into something beautiful and useful. And when we are not beautiful or useful, God takes us thru the painful process of being re-shaped so we can be useful and beautiful.

Maybe life is a bit uncomfortable for you just now – maybe even painful or perplexing or overwhelming.
Illustration: Kelly – Houston – new boss – reputation – good manager but crude in speech and humor, etc. My comment – sounds like a good candidate for the Gospel. Kelly’s comment – my thought too with added twist – God must also want to smooth some of my rough edges.

The Word of God addresses us in those contacts – specifically Jeremiah 18 – notice how our theme is the theme of this passage “In our Quest for the Best, we must see life as experiences of God shaping and molding us to usefulness, beauty, perfection”:


3 segments to this passage

1st time the Word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah – vs. 1-2 2nd Section – we see the Work of the Potter vs. 3-4
3rd Segment – Word of the Lord the second time with the meaning of His message

Investigate these 3 segments and draw some conclusions to apply this week.

1) “Go Down to the Potter’s House”
Why the potter’s house?
It was a fixture in every 7th century community in Israel
Everyone knew where his house was
Everyone knew the nature of the activity that took place there
The potter’s work was necessary to everyday life
If God sent a prophet today to Upland –
Probably sent to Ivanhoes – or 76 Station, to sit and observe the very common place.

God seeks to communicate His message by connecting with the known, the familiar, the everyday.

Eugene Peterson:
Jeremiah, attentive and sensitive to God’s direction, was commanded: “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” God’s task, through Jeremiah, is this: How can I get these people to take me seriously, right where they are? How can I get them to see that I am working, right now, silently and invisibly, but surely and eternally, in their lives and in their history? How can I get them to see the connections between what they are doing now and who they will be in ten years – in twenty years? How can I get them to see the continuities between what I did in Abraham and Moses and David and what they are now? How can I get them out of their tedious egos into my glorious will here and now? “Go down to the potter’s house.”

Go out to the farm – go over to the dining commons – take a seat in the stadium on Friday night or Saturday afternoons. Go down to the potter’s house.

Jeremiah obeys this first Word and he observes.

2) The Work of the Potter vs 3-4
a) “at the wheel” literally at the wheels – Jeremiah’s day, twin wheels, vertical axle – potter use foot on bottom wheel to turn top wheel.
b) “pot he was shaping” – every vessel in Jeremiah’s day had both function and beauty. With a pot (function) save and transport
Life easier, no longer limited to what could be held in one’s hands at one time, more relaxed, less urgent. Pots were very useful! But they were also beautiful. No pot was just a clay pot (see vs. 4 again) an imperfection – in balance, proportion, symmetry, something – potter was not pleased. Started over.

Every pot was a piece of art in Jeremiah’s day. Sometime this function and beauty thing is hard for us to understand. Brown bags for groceries, fine bran vases for fireplace mantle. But to people of Israel in Jeremiah’s day, every pot from the potter’s wheel was both functional and artistic – both useful and beautiful.

Jeremiah began to see something he hadn’t seen before – God was at work in the experiences of His people – shaping them both for a purpose ( a vase ) and for personal beauty Useful – but not only useful, also beautiful. Beautiful – but no only beautiful – also useful.

Remember our them? “In Our Quest for the Best, we must see life as experiences of God shaping and molding us to usefulness, beauty, perfection.”

In this second segment (The Work of the Potter), we have seen
a) the potter at the wheels
b) the potter shaping a pot
c) thirdly, the clay was marred in his hands, so the potter formed it into another, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Something happened – lump into clay?
Pulled too thin?
Became out of balance, began to wobble,
Something happened.

Jeremiah may have wondered what the potter would do – give up in disgust? Throw clay away and start with new lump? The Potter molded the clay back into a lump and threw it again on the wheel and started over, making a new pot.

(That brings us to our final segment)

3) The Word of the Lord, a second time vs. 5-12

His message – I am the potter, O Israel. I will do with you as I see fit.

(7-8) If I announce judgment and people repent – I am free to change my plans and not destroy.
(9-10) If I announce blessing and people do evil – I am free to change my plans and destroy.

And Jeremiah proclaims that message (11) “I am planning disaster – repent”
But the people (the clay) will say (12) “Its no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.”

And so Jeremiah weeps –
They are marred and will be crushed and re-thrown on the potter’s wheel to be remade. They are neither useful nor beautiful, and thus will experience the pain of being reshaped.

What are we to make of this word for us today?

One Reflection, One Resolution

REFLECTION: There is no question that we are marred and spoiled. Our impurities, blemishes, imperfections, wobbling and tipping, instability – all are due to sin – our self will, our rebellion, wandering.
God is a potter who is committed to marred clay. His plan, design, will – we be useful and beautiful. There is no person who is not needed in what God is doing and there is no person who is not unique and beautifully different from everyone else. My clay pot – only one in whole world – unique and useful.

RESOLUTION: Let’s repent of that which marrs us – apathy, our con--?--, our pride, selfishness, anger, whatever marrs you. (vs. 8) “repent” – Hebrew word form which the name of the prophet Nahum is derived. Original meaning of the word = “to draw a deep breath” can be a physical way of expressing deep feeling – either of relief or sorrow.

The deep breath of sorrow can lead to a change of life. The deep breath of relief can acknowledge the sweetness of mercy that follows repentance.

No disaster has to be – God can change it – mercy will always triumph over judgment. No promise of God is free ticket for carelessness. He can change it.

For some of us – Reflection will make us uncomfortable, will remind us that we are marred, that we are destined for disaster. Another prophet, Isaiah describes another marred man. Isa. 52: Lord Jesus’ face was marred at hands of Roman soldiers, so badly beaten it was hard to recognize he was a man. Jesus – God – became sin for us that we might become acceptable to God – useful and beautiful.

Vessels that can contain love, mercy, peace of God and vessels form which these things might be shared. Paul, II Cor. 4 – treasure in clay jar…

If reflection is uncomfortable – why not draw a deep breath of repentance and invite God to change you. It may be painful – but it will be worth it!

For many of us – reflection will encourage and console us. God is still at the wheels! He continues to mold and shape us to usefulness and beauty thru the experiences of life. Our Quest for the Best goes on.



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