It was time for Jeremiah to take another field trip. This time the LORD sends him to a pottery workshop. The prophet watches as the potter slaps a lump of clay onto the middle of his stone wheel. Spinning the wheel with his feet, he begins to carefully shape the clay with His hands, forming it into a pot. But then something goes wrong. The pot is not shaping up properly. There is some fault or defect in the clay. So the potter skillfully forms it into a different kind of vessel altogether. He turns a pitcher into a bowl, or a lamp into a cup, or whatever seems best to him (v 1-4). The potter’s wheel is a lesson in the absolute sovereignty of God. It puts an end to human pride and silences every boast. Jeremiah 18 contains one of the great rhetorical questions of the Bible. “Can I not do with you as this potter has done?” Of course, God’s question needs no answer. Who would dare to tell Him no? In case anyone is unclear, God supplies the answer: “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel” (v 5-6). As Philip Ryken explains, “The doctrinal point of the passage can be stated very simply: God can do whatever He wants with you. This is what it means for Him to be God. Because He is God, He is free to do whatever He pleases. In His hands rest all power, rule, control, authority, kingdom, government, and dominion. This is the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. Some people do not care for this doctrine. Others tremble at it. Some may even try to oppose it. But it cannot be denied. Human beings are not on equal terms with God. He is the Creator; we are the creatures.” Some have misunderstood Jeremiah’s image, concluding that the potter was limited by his clay. In this view, the clay determined what the potter could do, and could thus frustrate the potter’s original purpose. But this exalts humanity above God and misses the whole point of the metaphor. If God is the Potter, He can do whatever He wants; He has complete mastery over the clay. The reason God took Jeremiah to the potter’s house was to warn Israel. Entire nations are shaped upon His wheel. The LORD brings prosperity or disaster as He pleases. A kingdom headed for disaster will be saved if it repents; and a nation once blessed by God will be destroyed for its wickedness (v 7-11). Sadly, Israel stubbornly ignored God’s message and attacked His messenger. Having forgotten God (v 12-17), they were determined to silence Jeremiah (v 18). Aware of their plans, the prophet pleads for God to intervene (v 19-23). For further meditation: