Jeremiah 18

This chapter presents the symbolic message God gives to Jeremiah using the potter and clay. God directs Jeremiah to observe a potter at work, using this imagery to convey His sovereign ability to shape and reshape nations, especially Israel. If Israel turns from evil, God will relent from bringing disaster, but if they persist in disobedience, they face His correction. The chapter closes with a prayer from Jeremiah, seeking God's intervention against his adversaries.

Jeremiah 18:1-10 (NKJV)
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:
2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.”
3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel.
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!
7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it,
8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.
9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it,
10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.

God instructs Jeremiah to visit a potter’s house to observe the potter’s work. As the potter reshapes a flawed clay vessel, God reveals that, like clay, Israel is subject to His will. If a nation, including Israel, repents of its wrongs, God will relent from planned judgment. Conversely, if a nation chosen for blessing turns to disobedience, God can withdraw His favor. This portrays God’s sovereignty, His mercy for repentance, and His justice for disobedience, emphasizing Israel’s call to align with God’s will.

Jeremiah 18:11-12 (NKJV)
11 “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.”’”
12 And they said, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.”

God warns Judah and Jerusalem of impending disaster unless they abandon their sinful ways and follow His guidance. However, the people respond dismissively, choosing to follow their own plans and desires instead of God’s. This hardened attitude illustrates their stubbornness and reluctance to heed God’s call for repentance, foreshadowing the inevitable consequences of their rebellion.

Jeremiah 18:13-17 (NKJV)
13 Therefore thus says the Lord: “Ask now among the Gentiles, who has heard such things? The virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing.
14 Will a man leave the snow water of Lebanon, which comes from the rock of the field? Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?
15 “Because My people have forgotten Me, they have burned incense to worthless idols. And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways, from the ancient paths, to walk in pathways and not on a highway,
16 To make their land desolate and a perpetual hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and shake his head.
17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back and not the face in the day of their calamity.”

God expresses the tragedy of Israel’s betrayal, comparing their abandonment of Him to forsaking pure mountain waters for tainted sources. Their idolatry has led them astray from the righteous path, inviting disaster upon their land. God warns of desolation and the scattering of His people by an overpowering force, symbolized by the east wind, showing the gravity of their spiritual infidelity and the inevitable consequences.

Jeremiah 18:18-23 (NKJV)
18 Then they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”
19 Give heed to me, O Lord, and listen to the voice of those who contend with me!
20 Shall evil be repaid for good? For they have dug a pit for my life. Remember that I stood before You to speak good for them, to turn away Your wrath from them.
21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; let their wives become widows and bereaved of their children. Let their men be put to death, their young men be slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when You bring a troop suddenly upon them; for they have dug a pit to take me, and hidden snares for my feet.
23 Yet, Lord, You know all their counsel which is against me, to slay me. Provide no atonement for their iniquity, nor blot out their sin from Your sight; but let them be overthrown before You. Deal thus with them in the time of Your anger.

Facing opposition from those who reject his warnings, Jeremiah cries out to God. His adversaries plot against him, disregarding his role as God’s messenger. Jeremiah, having interceded for the people before, now calls for divine justice, recognizing their relentless opposition and betrayal. His prayer reflects his pain and plea for God to vindicate him, emphasizing the severity of the people's rebellion and the personal cost of standing for God’s truth in a hostile environment.