Bible Pathway - Aug. 18, 2012
Read Jeremiah 15
Highlights:
Jeremiah's prayer; signs of coming captivity; lesson from the potter; God's absolute power over nations.
Then I went down to the potter's house . . . And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. . . . O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? (Jer. 18:3-4,6).
The potter was not satisfied with the first vessel. The clay may not have been the right consistency to retain the shape that the potter had in mind, so he reshaped it.
This is the story of God's chosen people. God is the Potter; Israel is the clay; history is the wheel. As a nation, Israel resisted the will of God and was miserably marred by sin. Praise be to God that He did not throw the clay away when it did not meet His first expectations. God still believed in His people though they had sinned against Him and turned their backs on Him. God allowed this vessel to be broken, but not completely destroyed. Therefore, the vessel — Israel — was broken by Assyria and the kingdom of Judah was taken to Babylon as slaves. After seventy years in exile, God made of the “same clay” yet another vessel as Ezra returned with a remnant of Jews and rebuilt the Temple.
The word remnant in the Bible is always a pleasure to find. We should rejoice over what it denotes. There is always a few who choose God over everything else. The majority may go the way of the world, but this group — the remnant — will continue to walk in the ways of God and His Word. This remnant can lead others, who before may have walked with the majority, to Jesus. For this cause have I sent you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church (I Cor. 4:17).
God wants our will to be as submissive to His will as the clay is in the potter's hands — as seemed good to the potter to make it (Jer. 18:4). The Master has a plan for your life as a vessel to honor Him. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).
Every Christian is like an earthen vessel — the container for His good pleasure, and we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself (Phil. 3:20-21).
Thought for Today:
It is for God's glory that we were created.
Christ Revealed:
By Jeremiah's words to God: Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart (Jer. 15:16). Jesus said: The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are Life (John 6:63).
Word Studies:
15:1 toward, favorable to; 15:6 repenting, grieving over and giving you another chance; 17:10 try the reins, test the heart; 18:11 frame, prepare; 18:15 in a way not cast up, on paths of sin, not ways of righteousness and honor.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Government Officials: Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX) and Sec'y. Timothy F. Geithner (Dept. of Treasury) • Country: Samoa (190,000) in the South Pacific • Major languages: Samoan and English • Religious freedom • 68% Protestant; 21% Roman Catholic; 2% Baha'i; 1.1% non-Religious/Other • Prayer Suggestion: When you are afraid, have confidence in and rely upon the Lord (Ps. 56:3-4).
Optional Reading: 2 Peter 3
Memory Verse for the Week: Isaiah 55:11
