Discuss Jeremiah 18

The last part of the first stanza of the song "He knows my name" from the 2014 "If We're Honest" album of Francesca Battestelli states this:

True to who You are

You saw my heart

And made

Something out of nothing

We really can't disengage the concept of the comprehension that we have nothing to offer but a "broken and contrite heart" as Psalm 51:8 states when we first come to a saving faith. God Himself grants repentance ( 2 Tim. 2:25 and 2 places in Acts) but this results in our heartfelt plea for God's mercy. In the same logic salvation isn't a one way street. Realizing our own unworthiness and helplessness is what unregenerate man cannot or will not concede in this lifetime as we see illustrated in Jeremiah 18:12. Man finds ways to justify demon worship as giving them something; of course we see a perfect example in Acts 19:25-28 for example where a whole town spent an afternoon rioting; or in 1 Kings 18:28 with the so called "prophetic contest" between idols and the true and living God.

This illustration of what theologians title "Irresistable Grace" (not my favorite term) seems to fit here. Some could say that our response of realization of our sins; along with a verbal affirmation ( Romans 10:9-12) is a choice we make; rather than a response to the Spirit's prompting. I would agree as to the general search for truth that some have may come first for many; although we can't rule out a "Damascus Road" sort of conversion today either. In the mindset of unregenerate man; to be controlled or "possessed" by the Holy Spirit which results in a predictable response makes us robots and is a frightening concept in "losing our individual freedom of choice"; etc. Man's logic doesn't consider that our Creator should have ownership or mastery over His own created beings and of course we can struggle even as believers in trusting God to see us through the trials of life. This ties into the verse in Luke 17:33-37 in regard to really living when we lose our life

God does not want to fix our old adamic nature....He wants a completely new Creature to be born in us...Remember the potter saw that the vessel was so marred that he had to make a new vessel... Jeremiah 18:4...Our old adamic nature is of satans seed....It has no integrity to remain righteous and Holy....Thats y Jesus said outta of the hearts of man proceeds all manner of evil....Thats y we have this Horrible propensity to sin...Lust....Our old adamic nature cannot be fixed by the works of the law...If Righteousness came by the law then Christ died in vain...Thats y we must be bornagain of an incorruptible seed...We must birth a completely new innerman which is the H.G. that Child of Promise....Unless you receive the Kingdom of God as a lil Child...( that new born babe desiring the sincere milk of the word the H.G. )....you will in no wise enter there in....

.....Remember that man Legion that had all the demons...Legion cd not be tamed by chains and fetters (laws and commandments) ...He broke all the chains and fetters to pieces....Thats us we brake every law and commandment to pieces...Our old adamic nature has no integrity to remain righteous....Thats y we must be bornagain... to birth a new Creature....Which is that Child of Promise...Only Jesus cd tame Legion with his living word a living being the H.G. had to be born in legion...2 k demons came out of legion....Thats y we cannot groom our old adamic nature with commentaries and much studing...He answers to the Dog that returns to his vomit and the sowe that returns to her mud....We cannot study our selves into the Kingdom of God...Its gotta come via his seed initiating a birth of Christ in us...The N.C. But after that Jesus spoke to Legion he was in his right mind and clothed....Then he wanted to be a disciple and follow Jesus...ty Jesus

Behold i make all things new....Everybody is gonna birth a new Creature....When that book is opened that is sealed...Jeremiah saw all men in travail and birth pains...J 30:6

Brother SSpencer:

I quoted you scripture.

You believe: because God CAUSES you to believe.

His WORKS.

He doesn't cause everyone to believe at the same time.

Paul didn't believe until God caused him to believe.

Everything has an APPOINTED TIME; it the works of God, his timetable.

He chose Jacob; and not Esau, before they were ever conceived.

Hebrews 11:20 By faith (by the spirit of Christ) Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, concerning THINGS TO COME.

Jacob; the last, was given dominion over the first.

Genesis 27:37

The first born of flesh is not always the first born of spirit.

Matthew 19:30 ... The first shall be last and the last first ....

After the second resurrection, when Esau stands in his former estate, his flesh, he will be caused to believe and the yoke will be broken from his neck.

Genesis 27:40

All things were maded new by Christ resurrection, but all things have an appoint time to come to TRUTH.

Romans 9:21 Hath not the potter POWER over the clay, of the same lump, to make one a vessel of HONOUR, and the other a vessel of DISHONOUR?

Daniel 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the world are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and NONE can stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou?

Jeremiah 18:4 And the vessel he made of clay was MARRED in the potter's hand, so he MADE it again ....

Psalms 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit (when he chooses to do so), they are CREATED and thou renewest the face of the earth.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven

Psalms 123:2 ...so our eyes wait upon the lord, UNTIL he have mercy upon us ....

NOT YET are ALL THINGS put under him; BUT, when they are, God will be ALL IN ALL.

God Bless you, my brother in Christ.

Psalm 21

The Psalm seems to describe a king (small k) which would signify an earthly ruler; and some of the statements from verses 1 through 7 fit that premise. Nonetheless; there are Messianic traits from verse 8 on that indicate either Christ or God Himself fulfilling justice and wrath on the earth in the future.

Verse 4; for instance could fit with promises given to the lineage of David with Solomon; for example whose reign in theory would be infinite if he had remained obedient. These promises; however were not to be met with any fallible human ruler. We see sentiments to this in Psalm 2:7-8 as to us being the reward for Christ's sufferings as His adopted Sons.

Verse 8 talks of the "right hand" of God finding enemies. The right hand of God has been used to signify Christ ( Heb. 1:3; Rev. 5:7 etal).

Verse 9 is much like Malachi 4:1 as to the description of Christ's return at Armageddon.

'

Verse 10 is like Isaiah 14:21 on the offspring of the wicked; and can be related to Revelation 17 and 18 as well with the final destruction of Babylon (also referred to extensively in the writings of Jeremiah).

Verse 11 reminds us of Jeremiah 18:12 as well as other Psalms in the devices of the wicked coming to naught. And verse 12 is similar to Psalm 56:9 although there are other verses that discuss God making people turn their backs before judgment is rendered.

Finally; verse 13 asks God to be exalted so we can praise Him and sing to Him because of His power. This could be singing a "new song" or other related verses ( Psalm 98:1 and of course Revelation verses).

Sir/Ma'am,

Is there a question in there somewhere? I think Sam Cook took the 100 pounds of clay and made a bullfrog named Jeremiah.

Matthew 24,

North, South East & West, examples: Ezekiel 37:9, Revelation 7:1, Job 37:9,

East Wind; Genesis 41:6,23,27, Exodus 10:13, Exodus 14:21, Psalms 48:7, Isaiah 27:8, Jeremiah 18:17, Ezekiel 17:10, Ezekiel 19:12, Hosea 13:15,

West Wind; Exodus 10:19,

North Wind; Proverbs 25:23,

South Wind, Job 37:17, Luke 12:55, Acts 27:13,

Psalms 78:26, Ecclesiastes 1:6, Jeremiah 10:13, Jeremiah 51:16, Amos 4:13,

Interestingly in Michigan the Northern winds blow, it feels like bitter coldness inside, freezing your nose inside like icicles, even through your clothing layers. In Southern California when the " Santa Ana winds" dry & hot, dusty, both very district & unpleasant. The winds that blow East from the Pacific Ocean even summertime bring cool, unpleasant chills as early evening approaches. Etc. (In some personal observation of distinct winds.)

Hopefully these are helpful

Press song house line on way lord have then only pray song the potter saw a vessel this is not Jeremiah chapter 18 that Sam Cook saying about he took 100 pounds of clay.

Dgjot,

I'm responding to your reply without reading any of the responses, so my thoughts will stay focused. Just incase there's repeating._..

Being you're still alive, it's not final judgement: Matthew 4:17, Acts 17:30, 2Peter 3:9, in context read whole chapter. Psalms 48:14, Proverbs 10:12, Proverbs 13:14, Ezekiel 33:11, Ezekiel 18:32,

it could be warning from GOD: Psalms 118:18,

or attack not from GOD,: Ephesians 6:12,

Psalms 90,

Jeremiah 18:8,

Psalms 37,

You are angry because of injustice it seems: Exodus 21, Exodus 22, Leviticus 20, Numbers 35, Proverbs 8:36, Genesis 18:19, Proverbs 21:3,

Psalms 73, Jeremiah 27:7-18, Isaiah 58, Isaiah 59, Matthew 25:31-46, James 2,

Ephesians 6:10-18, Ephesian 4:26, Psalms 82:3, Ecclesiastes 5:8,

Hopefully these are helpful

Indeed brother Daniel, not only the Genesis Flood account, but a whole lot of other instances where the Lord had either destroyed, commanded Israel to destroy people (including children), animals, & even the destructions yet in the future, can all be considered. From our view, even from the moral command not to kill & that any killing of another human being is murder, we can easily apply that to all instances of taking of life. When man takes another man's life, the plan & execution of that act comes forth from an evil heart. Now, can we apply the same with God? Does God need to first have such "evil thoughts" to both devise & execute His Plan?

If no sin can be found with God (for if there is, then He ceases to be the God Who we know from the Bible), then there must be another aspect about Him that differs from sinful man. Without making this too long, my mind is always directed to Jeremiah 18:1-10. I learn from these verses, that the Lord can do what He pleases with Israel as well to the nations. And by 'nations', we must include its inhabitants, old & young, its governments, infrastructure, culture, etc.; anything that could mean a complete annihilation of a people given over to wickedness. And Israel was not exempt.

"Does the creator have evil thoughts?" If those thoughts are based on righteousness & justice (which sinful man could not have), then I could not conceive those thoughts to be evil but are determinations according to the standards that God sets, Whose Standards cannot be disputed. If they appear evil to us, it's probably that we're looking at the matter in human terms, with human minds, from our fallen state, rather than from a Holy Creator's View & Understanding - One Who does all things well even if we decide to the contrary. Blessings to you brother.

No. The KJV has it right. For a better look at why God repents when He does, we can look at Jeremiah 18:

6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;

10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

Hi Marke , I've been enjoying your posts a lot lately , thankyou . A thought that I find quite awesome is that not only did all the events depicted in the Bible actually happen and exactly as the narrative tells us , but that every bit of these events , God caused to be written and preserved for us , you and me , right here right now , to learn from . God is beyond all space and time . All of the Bible , every bit of it , is for us to learn from . There is not one extraneous sentence ( unlike most of the novels I've read ) . Its mind boggling to me how awesome God is , He gives us free will but He already knows how we will use it . He leaves nothing to chance , we are all exactly where he wants us to be , we always have been and we always will be . This is why we must submit to Him in our day lives . In submitting to His Will for us we are showing our faith in Him and in His love and mercy towards us and in His righteousness in knowing what is best for us . God doesn't just teach us through the Bible . I firmly believe that He teaches us the lessons that we , as individuals need to learn in order for us to be better Christians and therefore acceptable to Him in the day of judgement . I believe that in our daily lives we need to be alert to where we are and who we are with and what we are witnessing , as all of these things may be pertinent to our development as Christians . I also believe that if we are closed off to learning we shall die spiritually . Keep your heart and mind open , open to God and His Word and His Word made flesh and what is going on in your life and how you can learn to be a better Christian through your day to day life experiences . Thanks again for your excellent posts .

Thanks Marke. That's a difficult concept for us to properly grasp. On the one hand, we have an Omniscient God ( Psalm 147:5; Psalm 139:1-4; Isaiah 40:28), and then we see as in Jeremiah 18:8-10, "If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them": occasions when God 'repents' (or, is sorry, changes His Mind) when 'a nation obeys or disobeys Him'.

I agree with you, God does give us free Will, but also the wherewithal to make proper decisions based on our knowledge of Him & His Word. Though He knows ultimately what we will do at the time of our decision, seeing Him 'repent' could indicate that His change of Mind is at the physical/material level: that of altering the course of events based on man's decision. I never see that God is caught by surprise by man's good or evil acts, rather that He deliberately acts according to man's actions. His Omniscience never changes, but His Acts for or against man are made as a result of man's decisions.

The fact that God repents proves He does not determine from the beginning every aspect of our lives but leaves room for us to make decisions according to our own will regardless of His will.

I don't think that Bible teachers avoid such passages; maybe those passages just don't come up in their course of studies or preaching. If you look at a commentaries, I'm sure you will find detailed comments about such issues.

When I consider them (such as 1 Samuel 15:3), or when God commands that the heathen be driven out of their lands, or to kill the males & save the women & children, I understand that God is exercising His Authority & right to do what He wants with His creation. Do we feel the same way when only 8 souls were saved in the Great Flood & many thousands of men, women, children & animals were destroyed? Or, when tragedy strikes us today (e.g. a Tsunami, earthquake, virus) & again an innumerable number destroyed?

Jeremiah 18:1-10 teaches us that God, the Potter, has the full right to do as He pleases with His creation. If God decides to strike me down today, does anyone have the right to ask Him, 'Why'. The problem then arises, when referring to those OT Scriptures, is in regards to whether any of God's appointed leaders, such as Joshua, Saul, etc., did actually receive God's Commands or were prompted by their own lust for war & destruction. I'm in no way suggesting this as I believe that God did speak & directed His servants in how they should deal with the heathen, but I only suggest this because people will query the authenticity of the Divine Command & therefore the issue needs to be dealt with them.

In this vein, I think of the Islamic prophet, Muhammed, who too claimed to be called by God to destroy the heathen idolators living in the cities of Mecca & Medina. Did He call him to do so, or was it done of his own volition? In the NT, we're never told to go out & slaughter anyone, but sadly it has been done in the name of Christianity (e.g. the Crusades, etc.). Ours is always the Gospel of love to all people. Yet, God hasn't finished with the World: millions more will yet be struck down by God through various means for their sins.

Messed up but God, still has his hands on us.

could someone explain Jeremiah 18:6b and Proverbs 11:25b.

GOD's chosen people above (formed from the dust of the earth) boldly refuse to repent of sins, thereby forfeited there BLESSING from Jehovah / GOD; now the moment has arrived and GOD is about to release HIS WRATH on HIS chosen people. WOW! WOW! WOW! I thank GOD for HIS plan of forgiveness of /from sin.

verse 12 "And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart". WOW! God's desire to bless people / nations with His mercy, peace, patience, healing power, blessing ... never-the-less people / nations desire their idols they create through the lust of the flesh, eye, proud of life.

"At what instant.." The very moment that the LORD has a thought and expresses it by words; if at that very moment the man either responds by acknowledging the truth honestly, and turns FROM his sins and the evil ways of his life; or if he lets his heart's lusts and vanities deceive him so that he now turns FROM his righteousness; SO QUICKLY LIKEWISE WILL THE LORD REPENT of what He was about to do.

In verse 11 God let his people know that they could turn around. They had an opportunity to make a change. We can make a change while we still have time but we must not take God's kindness for weakness.

Fear God because He can do whatever it pleases Him to you when you disobeyed his commandments. As the pot is in the hands of the Potter so we are in God 's hand. It is His mercy that restraints God from dealing with us as He pleases.

For those of us that cannot fully understand, please, could someone put this into plain modern day speak? It 's kinda funny from my point of view I 'm a potter and around our crowd there 's an understanding that you won 't control the clay until you become one with it. Fighting it only frustrates you and destroys the piece you are attempting to make. You need to work with the forces to achieve compliance from your medium clay, it 's funny like that.

I must be mindful to forever be humble, broken and obedient to God and His Word.

We must know Nothing, be Nothing and Humble ourselves to be used of God. No man can strive with His Maker.

Yes, yes, yes, John Wesley. I 'm not a Methodist, but I am in full agreement with you here. As one missionary statesman once said I think it was C. Hudson Taylor, but I 'm not for certain it was he , "The good is ever the Enemy of the best. "

When we device devices against thee prophets and men of God we are asking for destruction because God will hear their prayers.jeremaimh 18:18-22

God want us to confess for our sin and clean ourselves up before we can come to for repent. We all need a clean heart before stand before God.

Our lord wants to reshape us to a good and pleasing useful vessel.

vs 10 a lesson that christians/born again/worship in spirit and truth. God is the potter and He has the power to form and fashion us as he pleases. because of our disobedience: idolatary, iniquity which causes calamity,misery and desolated land.
Marred: empty vessel,unrighteous, unholiness, unsantification and all evil ways. It is difficult for God to straighten out these kind of people
We are in God's hand as clay."He can pluck up and pull down"

This chapter is to the Israelites. verse 10 God is our potter and our lives is in his hands He has the power to form and fashion us as He pleases."He can pluck up and pull down and destroy"
Disobedence:: idolatary and iniquity causes calmaity and misery.
God the potter is more than willing to forgive the iniquity and stubborness and he will not hold back the good things. This is good lessons for Christians /born again or those who worship him in spirit and truth.we should always fear the lord.by living a life that pleasing to Him.