Tag: potter and clay
Discerning True Israel!
Scripture reading for July 25th: Romans 9:1-24
“For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” (Romans 9:3-5) The apostle Paul had great concern for his own countrymen. They had great privileges through being part of Israel and their heritage through Abraham.
But Paul recognized that it was not just a blood tie that made a person part of the true Israel. “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” (Romans 8:6-7) (Genesis 25:23) God sovereignly chose Isaac through election as the one to carry the blessing over Ishmael.
God has infinite knowledge of what was, what is, and what will be. From this knowledge He is capable of choosing who He will use and will fulfill His purposes. He is the ‘Potter’ and we are the ‘clay’. (Romans 9:20-21) We must trust by faith that God knows what He is doing.
Because of sin, we were all objects of God’s wrath. How come God shows mercy on some and not others? Paul offers a possible answer by posing two questions: “What if God, choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath–prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of His glory know to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory–even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:22-24) God’s glory is related to His mercy. He has shown great mercy to those who have not repented and embraced Christ, particularly the Jews who were blinded. This opened the door for both Jew and Gentile to find God’s mercy! Praise the Lord for God’s patience towards us!
Discerning the true Israel!
Scripture reading for July 25th: Romans 9:1-24
“For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” (Romans 9:3-5) The apostle Paul had great concern for his own countrymen. They had great privileges through being part of Israel and their heritage through Abraham.
But Paul recognized that it was not just a blood tie that made a person part of the true Israel. “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” (Romans 8:6-7) (Genesis 25:23) God’s sovereign choice of Jacob from Isaac’s offspring through Rebekah, the twins Jacob and Esau, shows that blood relation was not the criteria for belonging to the true Israel. God’s mercy through election chose Jacob as the one to carry the blessing.
God has infinite knowledge of what was, what is, and what will be. From this knowledge He is capable of choosing who He will use and will fulfill His purposes. He is the ‘Potter’ and we are the ‘clay’. (Romans 9:20-21) We must trust by faith that God knows what He is doing.
Because of sin, we were all objects of God’s wrath. How come God shows mercy on some and not others? Paul offers a possible answer by posing two questions: “What if God, choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath–prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of His glory know to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory–even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:22-24) God’s glory is related to His mercy. He has shown great mercy to those who have not repented and embraced Christ, particularly the Jews who were blinded. This opened the door for both Jew and Gentile to find God’s mercy! Praise the Lord for God’s patience towards us!
Empty Worship
Scripture reading for July 26th: Isaiah 28-30
“The Lord Says: “These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men.”” (Isaiah 29:13) .
Man has a deep inner need to worship God. That is his ultimate purpose and greatest delight. God chose Israel as His special treasure and chose to dwell among them, first in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple at Jerusalem. They were given laws and strict rules about where and how they could approach God safely to worship. When Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord, they were warned by example that worship in an improper manner could result in sudden death. (Leviticus 10:1-3)
Throughout their history, the Israelites struggled to worship God from their heart with all their strength. They drifted into idolatry again and again. They would sometimes worship God and then go up to an idol temple and offer sacrifices there. Sometimes, they just went through the motions and really had no personal love or care for the Lord Himself.
In our reading today, Israel is involved in this empty worship. God seeks to wake them up and warn them through Isaiah’s prophesy. “Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting Me; who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection, to Egypt’s shade for refuge.” (Isaiah 30:1-2) Israel worshiped God, but then ran to Egypt for help without consulting God. They made plans to protect themselves, but failed to rely on the Lord for their refuge in time of trouble. Their worship was empty words and rituals, filled with unbelief that God could provide for them and protect them.
The Israelites wanted things in their control. They told the prophets to tell them pleasant things (illusions) and quit confronting them with the Holy One! (Isaiah 30:10-11) Empty worship and illusions go together. A false understanding of God leads to judgment and destruction. The American church must wake up to the warnings of Scripture. God requires repentance and rest in His care and protection. He wants His people to wait upon Him in quiet confidence and to see His salvation come to pass. (Isaiah 30:15)
Arguing with the Potter!
Scripture reading for August 8th: Jeremiah 16-20
“Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.” Jeremiah 18:5-6
One of the most interesting object lessons I have seen is that of a potter working on his clay while talking about God’s work on us. Watching as the clay was formed gave me a new appreciation of God’s forming me– and a realization that sometimes I failed to cooperate. The clay has to be moistened and worked to make it pliable. It has to be placed on the wheel and spun while the potter applies pressure. He applies his fingers on the outside surface and then thrusts them inside to form the vessel. Sometimes the clay is flawed or needs to be completely reworked and the potter must smash it back down and start over again.
God sent Jeremiah down to the potter’s house and had him watch the potter working on his wheel. As the potter was working, his pot was flawed, and he formed it into another pot, as it suited him. (Jeremiah 18:1-2) God then spoke to Jeremiah about his people being like the clay in the hand of the potter. God was in charge of the clay and the shaping of the vessel that was formed! If the flaws that were in the clay were not eliminated by repentance, then the potter would have to reshape the pot! It was as simple as that!
The result of Jeremiah preaching this message to the people was that they plotted against him. They attacked him with their tongues and then ignored him. (Jeremiah 18:18) Jeremiah cries out to the Lord for help against his attackers. They had viewed his message as evil when God and he had meant it for good! (Jeremiah 18:19-20) They plotted to kill the prophet and do away with him. Jeremiah was angry and asked God to not forgive them! (Jeremiah 18:23)
In response to all of this, God gave Jeremiah another object lesson. He was to go and buy a pot from the potter and take it to the valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Ben Hinnom was the city garbage dump where there were fires burning all the time. It is a picture of hell. There Jeremiah was to tell the people about all the ways that they had resisted the hand of their Potter and angered Him. Then he was to smash the pot as an example of what would happen to them if they failed to respond. (Jeremiah 19:1-10)
It doesn’t pay to argue with the Potter, God! He is in charge and can do with our vessel as He pleases. If we are responsive to Him, His desire is to make a beautiful vessel of honor for His house. If not, we will be smashed down and reformed. In the end, a useless vessel ends up in the valley of Ben Hinnom broken beyond further usefulness.