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Morning Meditation for the Season after Pentecost
July 30, 2026
Reading: Jeremiah 18:1-6
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
In ancient and contemporary Israel pottery, clay plays a role in the throwing process. Ultimately, it is inanimate and has no agency. The shaping of the clay is totally at the behest of the potter, who is completely in charge. Consider then God as the potter as God shapes Israel’s future. What the potter determines to do with the clay in the future will be decided based on Israel’s present behavior.
Here is an image of God as completely sovereign, in tension with a God who is open and changeable. How unusual to witness God whose mind is not yet made up. A tension between God’s sovereignty and the self-determination of God’s people runs throughout this passage. God alone makes the decisions, yet the people of God play a role in shaping whether God’s decisions are destructive, that is uprooted; or constructive, that is planted.
Now contrast the image of Israel as clay in the potter’s hands with the imagery of Israel as the hardened clay pot, which when broken cannot be repaired. These two images contrast malleability with brittleness, adaptivity with rigidity, and new possibility with finality.
God is seemingly represented as threatening the destruction of entire nations. God “inflicts,” “prepares,” and “devises” disaster. How to grapple with a punitive God if one is unwilling to endorse a theology of a punitive, violent God. Imagine, God who could be considered one of the most violent single forces in human history.
Jeremiah’s ministry spanned the years just prior to, during, and after the fall of Jerusalem. The trauma of this period had a devastating effect on the nation and the prophet. God is not so far removed that God is unaffected by what happens to humanity. In this story, God’s love is expressed in the reworking of the clay, however painful and unpleasant it might be.
Love is ultimately a plan for good. Israel’s decision not to worship God and to worship other gods instead leaves the nation vulnerable to heartbreaking consequences. For now, even if the effort is futile, Jeremiah calls the people to contrition.
A potter working with clay is an everyday occurrence in the ancient world. Jeremiah receives God’s instruction to issue a call for repentance. There is a clear call for repentance, together with unequivocal warning that the consequences for failure to honor God can be severe. God’s love can be tough love. applicable to any nation, Israel included.
God will work with what is available and insists that humanity see reality. God will not ignore Israel’s unrighteousness. Repentance alone can prevent the consequences of Israel’s detrimental communal choices and halt a self-destructive path. Yet, even now, Israel’s “future is still somewhat open, awaiting a repentant response.” Things could go either way. This glimmer of hope, however faint, is the reason that people return to this story.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
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