Jeremiah 18:1–10

Context

Jeremiah 18:1–10 is the passage in which God sends Jeremiah to the potter's house to watch him at work and then explains the meaning of what he has seen. Jeremiah was a prophet active in the last days of the Kingdom of Judah, in the period before and after Jerusalem fell to Babylon.

The potter shapes vessels on a potter's wheel ("the wheels," KJV). When a vessel is "marred" (that is, spoiled), he makes another vessel from the same clay. Having shown Jeremiah this, God declares, "as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand" (v. 6). Verses 7–10 broaden this into a general principle. Even if a nation has been told of coming calamity, God will repent of the evil if it turns from its wickedness. Conversely, even if a nation has been promised blessing, God will repent of the good if it does evil. In the verses that follow (vv. 11–12), Jeremiah urges Judah to turn back, but the people refuse. Chapter 19 continues with the symbolic act of breaking an earthen jar.

Interpretation

• Readings that emphasize sovereignty: The Calvinist and Reformed traditions read verse 6 together with the potter imagery of Isaiah 45:9 and Romans 9:18–23. These traditions understand the verse as showing the sovereign freedom the Creator exercises over his creatures.
• Readings that see conditional prophecy: Interpretations that focus on verses 7–10 hold that the passage shows how announced judgment and blessing can change according to human response. The Arminian and Wesleyan traditions cite the passage as grounds for giving serious weight to human repentance and responsibility, pointing to the account of Nineveh in Jonah 3:10 as an example. Reformed interpreters also generally agree that the passage calls for repentance, but they explain this call as consistent with God's decree.
• Readings that focus on reshaping: Devotional literature and preaching often read the scene of the potter reshaping, rather than discarding, the marred vessel as a message of restoration and renewal and apply it to personal faith. Some commentators point out, however, that the passage refers primarily not to individuals but to the "house of Israel" and to "a nation" or "a kingdom."

Debates and Issues

• The expression that God "repents": The Hebrew verb nacham behind this expression is rendered "repent" in the King James Version. Classical theism, appealing to Malachi 3:6 and other texts, holds that God does not change, and it therefore explains the expression as language accommodated to human understanding; John Calvin interpreted it along these lines. By contrast, some theologians who advocate so-called open theism cite the passage as evidence that the future is not entirely settled. This view has drawn considerable criticism within evangelicalism.
• The predestination and free will debate: Both sides of this debate cite the passage. Those who stress divine sovereignty mainly point to verse 6, while those who stress human responsibility mainly point to verses 7–10.
• Quotation out of context: Some observe that isolating verse 6 and reading it fatalistically, or isolating verse 4 and using it as personal comfort, misses the conditions in verses 7–10 and the call to repentance that follows.

In the Korean Church

The image of the potter and the clay is frequently used in sermons on dedication and repentance, and it is also commonly cited in New Year's services and in sermons connected with ordination or installation to church office. The hymn known in Korean as "Junimui tteuseul irusoseo" (originally "Have Thine Own Way, Lord") is said to have been inspired by this passage.

Related Passages

• Isaiah 45:9
• Romans 9:20–21
• Jonah 3:10
• 2 Timothy 2:20–21