18:1-19:15The parables in these chapters, probably written during the early years of Jehoiakim’s reign, illustrate God's sovereignty over the nation. God has power over the clay (Judah), and he continues to work with it to make it a useful vessel. But Judah must soon repent. or the clay will harden the wrong way. Then it will be worth nothing and will be broker and destroyed.
Life Application Study BibleJeremiahChapter 18
Jeremiah 18
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1234, 1235, 1236
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18Jeremiah 18
The Potter and the Clay
1The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2“Go down tothe potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. 5Then the LORD gave me this message: 6“O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. 7If fannounce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, Sbut then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. 9And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, 1but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would. 11“Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’” 12But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.”
“Has anyone ever heard of such a thing,even among the pagan nations?My virgin daughter Israelhas done something terrible!
14Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon?Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry?
15But my people are not so reliable, for they have deserted me;they burn incense to worthless idols.They have stumbled off the ancient highwaysand walk in muddy paths.
16Therefore, their land will become desolate,a monument to their stupidity.All who pass by will be astonishedand will shake their heads in amazement.
17I will scatter my people before their enemiesas the east wind scatters dust.And in all their trouble I will turn my back on themand refuse to notice their distress.”
A Plot against Jeremiah
1818Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what he says.”
19LORD, hear me and help me!Listen to what my enemies are saying.
20Should they repay evil for good?They have dug a pit to kill me,though I pleaded for themand tried to protect them from your anger.
21So let their children starve!Let them die by the sword!Let their wives become childless widows.Let their old men die in a plague,and let their young men be killed in battle!
22Let screaming be heard from their homesas warriors come suddenly upon them.For they have dug a pit for meand have hidden traps along my path.
23LORD, you know all about their murderous plots against me.Don't forgive their crimes and blot out their sins.Let them die before you.Deal with them in your anger.
Life Application Notes 5 notes
18:4-7Afraid to obey the LORD, the peaple headed for Egypt, ven forcing Jeremiah to go with them. (They thought that erhaps God would spare them if Jeremiah was with them.) Jereviah had served as a prophet for 40 years. Many of his words had already come true, and he had turned down an offer to live comfortably in Babylon, returning instead to his beloved people. But the people still rejected Jeremiah’s advice. The response of our audience is not necessarily a measure of our success. Jeremiah was doing all God asked, but he had been called to minister to a very stubborn group of people.
18:6As the potter molded or shaped a clay pot on the potter's wheel, defects often appeared. The potter had power over the clay, to permit the defects to remain or to reshape the pot. Likewise, God had power to reshape the nation to conform to his purposes. Our strategy should not be to become mindless and passive—one aspect of clay—but to be willing and receptive to God’s impact on us. As we yield to God, he begins reshaping us into valuable vessels.
18:12Our society admires assertiveness, independence, and defiance of authority. in a relationship with God these qualities become stubbornness, self-importance, and refusal to listen or Because the people refused to listen to God, they had become useless, good for nothing, like a useless linen loincloth. God could destroy his sinful people if he so desired. This is a warning to them to repent before he is forced to bring judgment. God would smash Judah just as Jeremiah smashed the clay jars. Good figs represent God’s remnant. Bad figs are the people left behind. Any nation who refused to submit to Babylon’s yoke of control would be punished. The rocks marked the place where Nebuchadnezzar would set his throne when God ailowed him to conquer Egypt. Babylon would sink to rise no more. Change. Left unchecked, stubbornness becomes a way of life hostile to God.
18:18Jeremiah’s words and actions challenged the people's social and moral behavior. He had openly spoken against the king, the officials, the priests and prophets, the teachers, and the wise (4:9; 8:8, 9). He wasn't afraid to give unpopular criticism.
Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages
Study feature · page 1235
1235 18:13
der 2:10-11, 23:14 Hos 6:10
13So this is what the LORD says:
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Study feature · page 1235
GOD’S OBJECT LESSONS IN JEREMIAH
Significance God will carry out his threats of punishment. God will punish Judah.
Object Lesson Branch from an almond tree Pot of boiling water, spilling southward A rotten finen loincloth Potter’s clay Shattered clay jars Two baskets of figs Yoke Large rocks Scroll sunk in the river
Reference 1:11, 12 1:13 13:1-11 18:1-17 19:4-12 24:1-10 27:2-11 43:8-13 51:59-64
The people could either obey him or silence him. They chose the latter. They did not think they needed Jeremiah, their false prophets told them what they wanted to hear. How do you respond to criticism? Listen carefully—God may be trying to tell you something.