Jeremiah Rebukes an Unfaithful Nation (Continued) - Jeremiah 17:19-27, 18:1-23, 19:1-15, 20:1-13
Sing to the Lord!Give praise to the Lord!He rescues the life of the needyfrom the hands of the wicked.
This brief bit of praise at the end of today's reading might not seem too extraordinary. But in context, it is truly amazing. Jeremiah closes a passage where he has been beaten and imprisoned by the religious establishment. He has been publicly humiliated "put in stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the Lord's temple." And it's all because of the people and priests' reaction to the message of doom and destruction that the Lord has given Jeremiah to speak.
I find it difficult enough to speak in the Lord's behalf when there's no persecution. What would I do in the face of persecution? Lord knows.
There are also a couple of passages in this reading where Jeremiah, at God's direction, uses the potter and his creation in clay as an object lesson for God's relationship. It reminds me of an incredible teen retreat I went on at North Boulevard where we had a potter come in and turn a pot as we watched. The next day, the artist took the finished pot and out of the blue smash it. The reaction was incredible to the destruction. There was sort of a collective gasp that someone would just destroy something so useful and beautiful. It seemed like such a waste.
But then he took the broken pieces and soaked them overnight in water so they became pliable. And he reworked the pot. It was a powerful lesson. No matter how broken we are God can reshape us.
So I went down to the potter's house and I saw him working at the wheel. 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. Jeremiah 18:3-4
It's wonderful to be both God's creation...and His recreation! Lord knows.
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