Deeper Commentary
Jeremiah 18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh saying-
It has been truly commented about this chapter: “Whenever a piece of
pottery turned out imperfect the potter would take the clay and make
it into something else. God says that this is the principle behind His
actions. If He says He is going to build up a nation but the nation
disobeys Him the prophecy will not be fulfilled. Equally, if He says He is
going to destroy a nation and the nation repents, He will not carry out
His intention”. Hence if Israel turned from their way, "I may repent me
of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them" (Jer. 26:3). Earlier Israel
had known God's breach of promise, the altering of His purpose, in that
those who were to enter Canaan actually didn't (Num. 14:34).
Jeremiah 18:2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will
cause you to hear My words- The revelation of God's truth often
requires an initial act of obedience, in this case, going to the potter's
house. "Potter" is the same word first used in Gen. 2:7 about God forming
Adam from the dust. Clearly God is the potter or former, both of
individuals and nations. The word is repeatedly used in later Isaiah of
how God formed Israel, and would form them again as a new creation upon
their return from exile in Babylon (Is. 44:24; 45:9; 64:8 etc.). Jeremiah
had been reminded at the start of his ministry that he personally had been
formed by God (Jer. 1:5). It is also used of how God "frames" or literally
'potters' evil or good in the life of His collective people (:11). The
'going down' could suggest there was a potter who worked in the valley
near the temple; Zech. 11:13 suggests there was a potter who worked there
or even within the temple. And the potter's field was effectively
purchased with the blood of Christ, for Judas spent that blood money on
buying the potter's field, this one which Jeremiah visited. See
on Jer. 19:2.
Jeremiah 18:3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he was
making a work on the wheels- To 'make a work' is literally 'to work a
work' and is the language of creation (Gen. 2:2,3). On :2 I noted the word
for "potter" is that used in the Genesis creation (Gen. 2:7 etc.). So
there was the hint here at a new creation. The only other time we find the
Hebrew word translated "wheels" is in Ez. 1:16 of the birthing stools upon
which women gave birth- another hint at new creation.
'Working the work' is a phrase very often used about the restoration of Jerusalem (Neh. 4:16,17,21; 6:3,9,16; 11:12; 13:10; Hag. 1:14 etc.). The Kingdom could have been restored and a new creation come about from the exiles. But this too was not to happen. The clay misbehaved in the hands of the Divine potter. In the immediate context here, the term has just been used of how Judah 'worked work' on the Sabbath (Jer. 17:22,24), instead of allowing God to work. Not working their own work, keeping the Sabbath, was a sign of covenant relationship with God. God wanted to use people who could not 'work work' (Ez. 15:3,5). To trust in their own works and not allow His working was therefore effectively a breaking of covenant relationship.
Jeremiah 18:4 When the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the
hand of the potter, he made of it again another vessel, as seemed good to
the potter to make it- "Marred" has a moral dimension to it,
translated "corrupt" in Gen. 6:11-13, where the corrupt eretz had
to be destroyed. The Jews were "corrupted" (Jer. 6:28 s.w. "marred"). It
is the word used about how the linen girdle of Jeremiah was "marred" in
figurative captivity in Babylon (Jer. 13:7,9), and yet that marred girdle
was still going to be used. And we have that same message here; Judah was
to be destroyed / marred because they had marred themselves, but then a
new nation was to be created. What "seemed good to the potter" is again a
creation allusion; for God saw what He had made and it seemed very good to
Him.
Jeremiah 18:5 Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying- This
interpretation may have come immediately as Jeremiah watched the potter,
or somewhat later after he had had time to work it out for himself; in
which case this subsequent revelation was only confirming him in his own
conclusions.
Jeremiah 18:6 House of Israel, can’t I do with you as this potter? Behold,
as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of
Israel- God has prepared us exactly to respond to His hand. We were
born at a certain point in time, formed / pottered by Him with our
prehistory, gene pool history etc., so that we can respond. Any lack of
response to His hand is therefore highly culpable. God could work a new
vessel from the clay of Judah, as He wanted to do in the time of Moses. By
grace He didn't totally destroy them, didn't grab a new piece of clay, but
rather tried to rework the existing clay. Even though in Jer. 15:6 God had
said that His hand would now destroy Israel. But in fact He attempted to
rework them.
Jeremiah 18:7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation or
kingdom- God had earlier "in an instant" (s.w.) stated that He would
immediately destroy Israel (Ex. 33:5; Num. 16:21,45), but this didn't
happen because of Moses' intercession. Ezra perceived the connection,
using this word to speak of how "for a little moment" (s.w.) the exiles
had a chance to change the verdict. God speaks, but there is a gap between
the statement and the fulfillment. We all live within that gap, as Judah
were- and there is therefore an intensity to the need for repentance to
change the otherwise certain outcome.
To pluck up and to break down and to destroy it- The 'plucking up' is the word used of how Judah would be plucked up out of their land for their disobedience to the prophetic word (Dt. 29:28; 2 Chron. 7:20). And as the Gentiles plucked up / out Israel from their land, so those nations would be plucked up (Jer. 12:14,15,17). Likewise the building and planting specifically refers to the restoration of Israel after their plucking up (Jer. 24:6; 31:28,40; 42:10). It was God through His word who would do these things; but that possibility worked through the preacher and proclaimer of that word. Therefore in Jer. 1:10, Jeremiah is presented as the one who would do these things. This is the enormous power delegated to all to this day who preach His word; we really can save people, plant them in the Kingdom by sowing the seed of the Kingdom; and those who refuse will be plucked up.
Jeremiah 18:8 If that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from
their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do to them-
Jeremiah's message as the Babylonian armies approached Jerusalem had stressed that if the Jews repented, then God would repent of the evil He was planning to bring upon them (Jer. 18:8,10; 26:3,13). The Jews did not repent, and so Jerusalem was taken and Zedekiah deported. Even at this thirteenth hour, God said to the Jewish forces that remained at large outside Jerusalem and who were about to flee to Egypt: "If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down. . . for I repent Me of the evil that I have done unto you"" (Jer. 42:10). What a God we have! Although Israel had not repented, the Angel repented to the extent of changing His pre-requisite for repenting of bringing more evil on them. And so God changed this from returning wholeheartedly to the Law, to merely remaining in the land of Israel rather than fleeing to Egypt. What of us? Jer. 31:18,19 tops all for such encouragement: "Turn thou Me (said Ephraim), and I shall be turned. . . I (God in the Angel) was turned, I repented"- and therefore God repented too!
God was prepared to relent (Jer. 18:8; 26:3,13,19; 42:10), and yet He says
in Jer. 4:28 that He will not. This is not self-contradiction, but rather
a reflection of the depth of how God's compassion is finally greater than
His judgment of sin. The whole mental and emotional trauma made God weary
of all the relenting, so deeply did He feel it (Jer. 15:6).
Due to Moses’ prayer, “the Lord repented of the evil which he had said he would do unto his people” (Ex. 32:14 RV). Yet these are the very words of Jer. 18:8- if a nation repents, then God will repent. But in this case, God accepted the singular prayer of Moses.
Jeremiah 18:9 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation or
kingdom, to build and to plant it-
This was the case with the people of Judah. God had promised to build
and plant them in a restored, Messianic kingdom in Israel (Jer. 31:28;
42:10; Ez. 36:36). But this was all conditional upon them continuing to
obey His voice, otherwise He would change His plans (Jer. 18:9,10).
Jeremiah had been given the power to speak the words of both destruction
and building and planting (Jer. 1:10).
Jeremiah 18:10 If they do that which is evil in My sight, that they not
obey My voice, then I will repent of the good, with which I said I would
benefit them-
This is exactly what happened in Jer. 42:10. The remnant left in the
land could have been built and planted, into a new restored Kingdom of God
in Israel. But they fled into Egypt.
Jeremiah 18:11 Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, Thus says Yahweh: Behold, I frame evil
against you, and devise a device against you: return you now each one from
his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings-
"Frame" is the word translated "potter" in :2. The call to repentance
was intensely individual, to "each one". "Devise a device" is the very
phrase used of how Judah's response to this was to "devise a device", to
make a plot, to kill Jeremiah and stop his words, as they thought, from
coming true (:18). This was perversity in the extreme. They thought they
could match God's plot with their own. No wonder they could not be further
worked with.
Jeremiah 18:12 But they say, It is in vain; for we will walk after our own
devices, and we will do everyone after the stubbornness of his evil heart-
They preferred their thoughts or devices to God's (:11). Whether or
not they said these words, this was how God read their hearts, as saying
these words.
Jeremiah 18:13 Therefore thus says Yahweh: Ask now among the nations, who
has heard such things; the virgin of Israel has done a very horrible
thing- No god of the nations made such huge effort with their people.
It was all supposedly a simplistic matter of yes / no obedience, and
receiving blessings or cursings. Yahweh was far more complex in His
workings, and always seeking to save and bless His people despite their
disobedience. But they refused even that. "The virgin of Israel" leads us
to expect that the "very horrible thing" she did was an act of immorality,
sexual unfaithfulness to their God. And that is indeed how the term is
always used elsewhere (Jer. 5:30,31; 18:13; 23:14; Hos. 6:10). By forming
alliances with other nations and serving their gods, they had been
unfaithful to the God who wanted to marry them; for that is the
implication of a virgin being unfaithful.
Jeremiah 18:14 Shall the snow of Lebanon fail from the rock of the field?
Shall the cold waters that flow down from afar be dried up?- It ought
to have been natural for Israel to respond to such amazing grace and love;
but their refusal of it was as unnatural as gushing melt water on a slope
suddenly drying up. Likewise any refusal of God's love is a conscious
fighting against Him, clay resisting His forming hand.
Jeremiah 18:15 For My people have forgotten Me, they have burned incense
to false gods- The allusion is to Dt. 32:18, where Israel "forgot God
who formed you", and we have shown on :2 that a "potter" is literally a
'former'. But Israel claimed to worship Yahweh; yet they forgot or were
oblivious to the real implications of Him. We too can go through a
semblance of worship whilst having effectively forgotten our God.
And they have been made to stumble in their ways, in the
ancient paths, to walk in byways, in a way not built up- At the
restoration, these rocky paths were to be made smooth.
Is. 57:14 teaches that a level way must be made amongst the Jewish people,
i.e. the stumbling blocks and ‘valleys’ must be removed from their path. “Cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling block
out of the way of my people” is therefore a command to God’s people to
undo the generations of false shepherding which Israel have experienced:
“They have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to
walk in paths, in a way not cast up” (Jer. 18:15 s.w. “cast…up”
in Is. 57:14). Once we have prepared the way in this sense, then the
highway is in place over which the Lord Jesus will return. This is how
vital our work is for the Jewish people.
Jeremiah 18:16 To make their land an astonishment and a perpetual hissing;
everyone who passes thereby shall be astonished and shake his head-
But the land was not perpetually mocked. As explained on Jer. 10:18,
many remained in the land and it was not left totally desolate. In wrath
God remembered mercy, and there is also the factor of intercession and
repentance of a minority to be taken into account.
Jeremiah 18:17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy;
I will show them the back and not the face in the day of their calamity-
This is what was done to the Egyptians at the Red Sea, driven back by
an east wind. God showed them His back, so that they were in darkness and
could not reach the Israelites. But out of that destruction there was to
arise a new people, redeemed from Babylon after the pattern of Israel's
deliverance from Egypt. That was the Divine hope and program, although it
never really came true at that time as it could have done.
At the time
when Moses doubts whether he really has found grace, the God who speaks to
Moses face to face then turns and shows Moses only His back parts (Ex.
33:11,20,22). This is alluded to in Jer. 18:17 and there interpreted as
being a sign of God's anger- to turn away His face and show His back
parts. God was so angry with Moses' disbelief in His grace.
Jeremiah 18:18 Then they said, Come, and let us devise devices against
Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from
the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us strike him with
the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words- "Devise a
device" is the very phrase used in :11 of God's device to destroy Israel.
But Judah's response to this was to "devise a device", to make a plot, to
kill Jeremiah and stop his words, as they thought, from coming true. They
satisfied themselves that Jeremiah was a false prophet, and the false
prophets were the true prophets. They considered Jeremiah a renegade
priest; the priests' duty was to teach God's word, and the rest of the
priests taught the words of the false prophets in the name of Yahweh. Ez.
7:26 alludes to these words, saying that the law would perish from these
priests.
Jeremiah 18:19 Give heed to me, Yahweh, and listen to the voice of those
who contend with me- Jeremiah was aware of what they were saying,
perhaps because God revealed it to him in :18. He asks for his words to be
heard, and also the words of his enemies. This is an example of where our
situation is heard by God as a prayer. The words of our enemies are heard
as if they are words addressed to God, requiring Him to respond to them.
We therefore shouldn't be so steamed up about them.
Jeremiah 18:20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? For they have dug a pit
for my soul. Remember how I stood before You to speak good for them, to
turn away Your wrath from them- Seeing the world through the eyes of
both God and man- Jeremiah said that God’s wrath was his wrath, “I am full
of the wrath of God” (Jer. 6:11), and yet he stood before God “to turn
away thy wrath from them” (Jer. 18:20). Hence the huge psychological
tension within the prophets.
Jeremiah 18:21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and give
them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives become childless
and widows; and let their men be slain of death, and their young men
struck of the sword in battle- When Jeremiah's wishes here came true,
he spends the book of Lamentations lamenting it, referring to these very
words. We must be so careful what we pray for, especially if it is
imprecation against others, lest it come true. He therefore lamented his
own prayer at length.
Jeremiah 18:22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when You shall bring
a troop suddenly on them; for they have dug a pit to take me, and hid
snares for my feet-
Jeremiah 18:23 Yet, Yahweh, You know all their counsel against me to kill
me- They falsely claimed prophetic revelation to kill Jeremiah as he
was a false prophet (:18; see on Jer. 19:7.
Don’t forgive their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from Your sight; but let them be overthrown before You; may You deal with them in the time of Your anger- When Jeremiah's wishes here came true, he spends the book of Lamentations lamenting it, referring to these very words. We must be so careful what we pray for, especially if it is imprecation against others, lest it come true. He therefore lamented his own prayer at length. Jeremiah here is the very opposite of Moses, who pleaded that the people who despised him would have their sin blotted out. And yet Jeremiah also comes over as at times far too positive about Israel, complaining that God's judgments were too harsh. He may have been bi-polar, or simply going through the mood swings that were perhaps inevitable to anyone who was representative of both God and Israel. And his internal conflict between these two poles, of judgment and grace, also reflected those within God, as brought out in Hosea, where His "repentings" are unbearable for Him (Hos. 11:8). See on Jer. 20:13.
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