Slices
Prepare
Think about the last time you were in hospital visiting someone who was seriously ill and you were helpless to do anything for them. Remember how you felt.
Bible passage
At the potter’s house
18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, ‘Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?’ declares the Lord. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
11 ‘Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, “This is what the Lord says: look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.” 12 But they will reply, “It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.”’
13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
‘Enquire among the nations:
who has ever heard anything like this?
A most horrible thing has been done
by Virgin Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
ever stop flowing?
15 Yet my people have forgotten me;
they burn incense to worthless idols,
which made them stumble in their ways,
in the ancient paths.
They made them walk in byways,
on roads not built up.
16 Their land will be an object of horror
and of lasting scorn;
all who pass by will be appalled
and will shake their heads.
17 Like a wind from the east,
I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face
in the day of their disaster.’
18 They said, ‘Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.’
Explore
This passage isn’t simply about God (as the potter, v 6) being in control over creation (the clay, v 6). It is specifically about Judah’s heart with respect to God and the covenant they have with him. As we saw before, Judah has broken the covenant and is proud. God wants them to turn from their pride and dependence on self and come back to him in humility (v 11), but the shock here is that even though they seem to know what they should do, they suggest they are powerless: ‘It’s no use … we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts’ (v 12).
Ultimately, of course, it is Jesus and the new covenant that solves this dilemma (suggested in Jeremiah 31:33) by a change of heart and the gift of the Spirit that enables us to change day by day.
Most of us don’t like the idea that we can’t help ourselves. The gospel doesn’t seem like good news if we receive it as personal criticism of our lack of ability to be good enough for God. But what if we receive it simply as a description of the way things are, a diagnosis from a doctor who knows what’s needed?
Respond
Reflect on how you feel about the implications of the good news. How do you feel about not being able to save yourself?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 2 Samuel 6,7; 1 Corinthians 4
Pray for Scripture Union
Give thanks for the Trustees of Mission Partner Christian Initiative to Schools in Letchworth – Ashley Croft, Graham Clark, Penny Bainbridge, Martin Money, Roger Aldridge, Christine Sherriff, Christine Croft and Lindsey Bryant. Pray for them as they oversee the work in schools.
Because a strong start begins with smart preparation
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