At the Potter’s House : Intro
Hey y’all!
How’ve you been? You ready for something new to the blog?! Well, the news is…
I’m excited to announce a new Bible Study series here on the blog (yay!). For the study, we’ll be looking at Jeremiah 18:1-6, which is part of a section in the book of Jeremiah which is sub-titled in some Bible translations as “At the Potter’s House”.
At the Potter’s House
Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NIV)
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.
Before we delve into this passage, I want to give some context to the scripture because I’m not going to assume that everyone knows this passage or even knows about the book of Jeremiah in the Bible. So, to start things off:
The book of Jeremiah is named after the prophet Jeremiah. God had revealed to him that his purpose and calling was to be a prophet in the nation of Judah. In a very brief, condensed nutshell, a prophet is someone specifically chosen by God to be a messenger who delivers the counsel, command, and instruction of God in order to make the will of God known to the people to whom they are sent. Prophets and prophecy is a very big topic, and if it is something you want to learn more about, I encourage you to sign up for a teaching series that a good friend of mine is hosting through her ministry, Rock Foundations, this fall (more info) where prophecy will be discussed and taught on in depth. For the purpose of this Bible study, just know that Jeremiah was chosen by God during that time to speak the messages that God wanted to give to the people of Judah. Those messages for the people of Israel and other nations are recorded in the book of Jeremiah; as well as the events of Jeremiah’s life and how he remained faithful to fulfilling his purpose, even in the face of persecution and opposition from fellow citizens and national leaders. The passage we will be looking at in Jeremiah 18 is in the context of God speaking to Jeremiah and giving him a message for the people of Judah at the Potter’s House, where God uses the activity at that location to illustrate the message.
In terms of the historical context of the book of Jeremiah, the original nation of Israel split into two separate nations after King Solomon’s son took over as king. (King Solomon was the son of King David, the one who defeated Goliath). Israel split into two, with the kingdom of Judah was in the southern region, and the kingdom of Israel in the northern kingdom. Over time, both of these kingdoms turned away from God to worship the idols of the nations around them and also treated each other unjustly. In Jeremiah’s time, the kingdom of Israel in the north had been conquered and destroyed, but the kingdom of Judah was still standing, though still turned away from God. God gave Jeremiah words of warning and calls of repentance, which he would share with the people and rulers of Judah, calling them to turn back to God and be saved from the disastrous consequences of their idolatry. In Jeremiah 18:1-6, we’re looking at a particular instance of God giving Jeremiah a message for the people of Judah, with the setting of the potter’s house (that is, where the local potter made items) being used to communicate the message.
This passage is one of my favourites in the Bible, and I look forward to seeing what we can glean from this story. I look forward to going on this journey with you!
Peace and blessings,
Claire
Have you read this passage in Jeremiah 18 before? Let me know in the comments! (Also, feel free to share what you learned when you read it- I’m curious to know!)