DBG - August 19 - Jeremiah 18-22

In this chapter God’s sovereignty over men is compared to a potter and his clay.

vs. 1-17 – God illustrates His sovereignty over Israel through a potter working with clay.  The clay had no power to shape itself.  It was completely at the mercy of the potter’s will.  So it is with the nations (and individuals) under God’s guiding hand.  Some very important truths are in vs. 7-8.  While God is sovereign, His will is moved by the actions of men.  God can pronounce judgment and it will surely come.  But if the target of the that judgment repents, God will withhold that sure judgment.  This is not inconsistency on God’s part.  It is part of His sovereignty.  He can and will do as He pleases.

vs. 18-23 – Jeremiah faces more opposition from the wicked.  They attack him with their words, which as we all know are far more powerful than any sword or spear.  He responds with an imprecatory prayer, calling for God to judge them. 

In this chapter Jeremiah uses another object lesson to show the coming judgment.

vs. 1-13 – Jeremiah is commanded to use yet another object lesson.  This time he takes an earthen vessel and gathers the leaders of Judah.  He leads them to the valley of the son of Hinnom.  He repeats the message from Jeremiah 7:32-33, that this valley that was a place of idol worship would become a place of slaughter.  This is emphasized as he casts down the vessel and breaks it to illustrate the violent judgment that was coming.

vs. 14-15 – Jeremiah follows the message of the broken vessel by proclaiming the coming judgment while in the Temple courtyard.

In this chapter Jeremiah is persecuted and frustrated in his mission.

vs. 1-6 – A high-ranking official, possibly the same position as the captain of the Temple in Acts 4:1, named Pashur (“liberation”) hears Jeremiah’s message from Chapter 19:14-15.  He arrests Jeremiah, beats him, and places him in stocks near the Temple to be ridiculed by the people.  When released the next day, Jeremiah tells Pashur that God had renamed him Magormissabib (“terror on every side”), signifying the judgment to come upon him and the people.

vs. 7-18 – In one of the most moving passages ever composed, Jeremiah reveals the turmoil within his heart.  He blames God for burdening him with a message that has brought such harsh opposition.  He tried to withhold his terrible message, but the burden burned within him.  God brings him from the depths of despair to singing God’s praises.  But from this mountaintop of joy, he rapidly descends back into despair beginning in vs. 14

In this chapter Jeremiah responds to Zedekiah’s inquiry.

vs. 1-2 – This chapter jumps ahead in time from the settings of its surrounding chapters.  It is placed here thematically, not chronologically.  It would correlate to II Kings 25:1-2 and it takes place in 587 B.C. as Nebuchadnezzar is besieging Jerusalem.  King Zedekiah sends representatives (the Pashur here is not the same man as in the previous chapter) to inquire if the Lord will deliver them.

vs. 3-14 – The message Jeremiah gives is not the one Zedekiah desired.  Judgment would surely come.  The city would fall.  The people would be killed or taken captive.  Zedekiah would be captured.

In this chapter Jeremiah prophesied of the fates of the kings of Judah.

vs. 1-12 – Jeremiah preaches to the royal house of Judah.  He calls upon them to lead the people in righteousness or judgment would come.  The king here is Jehoahaz (reigned 3 months in 609 B.CC, see II Kings 23:31-34 and II Chronicles 36:1-4), son of Josiah.  He is here called Shallum (retribution) as an allusion to the short rule of Shallum, king of Israel, who only reigned one month (II Kings 15:13). 

vs. 13-19 – This section is addressed to king Jehoiakim (reigned from 609-598 B.C.)  He enriched himself and built his palace amid the decline of the nation.  He is the only king who has not burial recorded (II Kings 24:6).

vs. 20-30 – This section is believed to address the three-month reign of Jehoiachin (II Kings 24:8-9, II Chronicles 36:9).  He is called Coniah in vs. 24, which drops the part of the name that refers to God.  His line is cursed in vs. 30 so that none of his descendants would be on the throne of David.  Interestingly, he is in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1:12 as a forefather of Joseph.  This does not disqualify Christ from being Messiah, as Joseph is not His actual Father.

The image of the potter and clay is a popular one in Christianity.  It is reassuring that God is working His will in us.  I think we often fail, though, to note that that clay has some role in its own shaping.  We note In Jeremiah 18:4 that the initial design intended for the vessel could not be completed.  The clay refused to take that shape.  So the potter remakes it into something else. Yes, God is sovereign over all, but also man’s actions can guide the hand of God.  That is seen in these chapters as judgment was assured, but it was also promised that it would be withheld if the people repented. 

Our hymn today is an anonymous text that first appeared in 1869 under the heading “Give Me Thy Heart”. 

Take my heart, O Father! mold it
In obedience to thy will;
And, as ripening years unfold it,
Keep it true and child-like still.

Father, keep it pure and lowly,
Strong and brave, yet free from strife,
Turning from the paths unholy
Of a vain or sinful life.

Ever let thy might surround it;
Strengthen it with power divine,
Till thy cords of love have bound it,
Father, wholly unto thine.