If you receive a sweater at Christmas and it’s not the correct size, you can likely exchange it at the store for one that fits. If you unwrap another gift that’s missing a part or not functioning properly, you can take the item back and have it replaced. But if someone gives you a valuable pottery vase, and you somehow break it, accidentally or not, don’t bother collecting all the pieces, requesting the receipt, and taking it back to the seller. Jeremiah 19 is the sequel to chapter 18. After his initial visit to the potter’s house, where he watched a skilled craftsman at work, shaping and reshaping the moldable clay, Jeremiah is sent to the store to buy the finished product. “Go, buy a potter’s earthenware flask,” God says (v 1). The jar would have had a wide body, a narrow neck, and a handle for pouring water. It would have been a practical gift, and perhaps valuable for its decorative appeal also. But Jeremiah is not told to wrap it as a present or to enjoy it in his own home. Instead, God sends him straight to the garbage dump outside Jerusalem, taking the flask with him, along with some of the city leaders. The “Valley of the Son of Hinnom” (also known as “Topheth”) is where rubbish was left to burn. And the “Potsherd Gate” is where the potters tossed the shards of their broken pottery (v 2). As Jeremiah stood among the rubbish, he began to preach the Word of the LORD. The message was not, “peace on earth, good will toward men.” God was about to send a great disaster upon Jerusalem. The people had forsaken the LORD to worship false gods. They had even offered their children as burnt sacrifices to Baal. So God’s just wrath would include death by sword and indecent burial. When the city is besieged by Babylon, the starvation will become so intense that parents would eat their children (v 3-9). Following God’s instructions, at the conclusion of his sermon, Jeremiah takes the flask and smashes it!—saying, “‘Thus will I do to this place,’ declares the LORD, ‘and to its inhabitants, making this city like Topheth’” (v 10-15). If chapter 18 was a lesson in God’s sovereignty, chapter 19 is a lesson in God’s wrath. Wet clay can be reshaped by the potter, but a broken pot is beyond repair. In the New Testament, the Valley of Ben Hinnon is called Gehenna and is usually translated as “hell.” This is the eternal destiny of all God’s enemies. But at Christmas, we rejoice that Jesus Christ was born to save us from hell. The Baby grew up, obeying God perfectly, then offered His life a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus willingly endured God’s wrath that we might escape it. For further meditation: