An organic lectionary Blog

Jeremiah 18:1-11

18The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2“Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4The 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. 5Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6Can 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. 7At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it.

11Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.


so my new thing is to try to read scripture organically! This is going to be slow going for a bit, but bear with me as I try to exegete the text in a post-rational way!

Potters- what do they do? They form, they create, they mold, they shape, they spin a pot they transform clay into a pot

clay- what does it feel like? mushy, soft, flexible, potential, gross, messy, dirty, stains your hands, pretty worthless, controlled, helpless

sight- lump into beautiful, useful pot

sound - hmmm?

touch - formation

smell - kinda gross, then smell goes away

taste - don't think this is applicable

The main sense I am getting at the moment is how we are like clay and we are easily manipulated by whatever hands are on us. The difference is that as human beings, we have a choice of who our potter is going to be. We can be molded and shaped and transformed by God, or we can be shaped by something else, or we can just sit there like a lump of clay!