Here is a teaching of chapters 18 & 19 of the book of Jeremiah. If you want to check out Bible studies of the previous chapters, click here
Chapter 18: At the Potter’s House
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 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. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares theLord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
Okay. So in these verses 1-10, the word of the Lord told Jeremiah to go to a Potter's house so he could see the way that he was working with the clay and how we formed it in another pot, shaping it as best as it seemed to him because he wanted Jeremiah to say a message to the people of Israel that he was going to do as the Potter did. So if he announces that a kingdom or a nation is going to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, and they repent of their evil, then he will not inflict the disaster he had planned. That's the same thing for the opposite. So if he plans to build up a kingdom or a nation and they do evil in his sight and don't obey him, then he's going to reconsider the good that he had intended for them.
11 “Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’” 13 Therefore this is what the Lord says: “Inquire among the nations: Who has ever heard anything like this? A most horrible thing has been done by Virgin Israel. 14 Does the snow of Lebanon ever vanish from its rocky slopes? Do its cool waters from distant sources ever stop flowing? 15 Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols, which made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths. They made them walk in byways, on roads not built up. 16 Their land will be an object of horror and of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads. 17 Like a wind from the east, I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster.”
So in these verses here, the Lord is telling Jeremiah to go to the people of Judah and Jerusalem and tell them that disaster is going to be upon them and to reform from their evil ways. But he already knows that they're going to say that it's no use and they're going to continue to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So the Lord says that the most horrible thing has happened in his land in Israel because his people have forgotten him and they burn these incense to these worthless idols. They follow these paths of wickedness instead of following the Lord and the paths that he had for them. So whenever the disaster strikes on them, their land is going to be laid waste and people are going to pass by and just shake their heads because the land is going to be destroyed. There's not going to be anything left in the land.
And he says that he's going to scatter them before their enemies. So all the people of Judah and Jerusalem are going to be scattered out to their enemies and distant nations, just like we've read in previous chapters. And he's going to show them his back and their day of disaster. So he's not going to show them his glory or have mercy on them, because time and time again, throughout these chapters, we've read that he's continuously telling these people to reform from their evil ways, follow him, obey him, and they just keep ignoring him, not following him and just following the evil inclinations of their heart. So he's going to turn his back on them.
18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.” 19 Listen to me, Lord; hear what my accusers are saying! 20 Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember that I stood before you and spoke on their behalf to turn your wrath away from them. 21 So give their children over to famine; hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows; let their men be put to death, their young men slain by the sword in battle. 22 Let a cry be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring invaders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet. 23 But you, Lord, know all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their crimes or blot out their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you; deal with them in the time of your anger.
So in these verses here, the people are plotting against Jeremiah to attack him with their tongues and not listen to anything he says. They say that the teaching of the law by the priest will not be lost, and the counsel from the wise or the word from the profits, but we know from previous chapters, just like it says in chapter 8 of Jeremiah in verses 8-11, it says, "how can you say, 'we are wise for we have to the law of the Lord,' when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have? Therefore, I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; profits and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace." So we know that the teaching of the law by the priest, the council from the wise, and the word from the profits are all lies and just false. They are not actually listening to the word of the Lord and the truth of God's word. Still, these people are saying that they're not going to let these teachings be lost so they're going to plot against Jeremiah and not listen to anything he says.
So then Jeremiah says to the Lord, "hear what my accusers are saying" and to remember that he stood before him and spoke on their behalf. In the previous chapters, there have been several occasions where Jeremiah is pleading with the Lord to please turn his wrath away from these people and not to put disaster upon them. And they have plotted against him to turn their back on him. This is not the first time they've done this. So Jeremiah is telling the Lord to destroy them, put the disaster that he planned to against them, and not forgive them for their crimes or blot out their sins, to let them be overthrown and to deal with them with his anger.
Chapter 18 Study Guide:
What will happen if the nation repents of its evil?
What will happen if the nation does evil in the Lord’s sight and doesn’t obey him?
What will the people say when Jeremiah tells them what the Lord is preparing for them and that they should turn from their evil ways?
Why will all who pass by their land be appalled and shake their heads?
What are the people plotting against Jeremiah?
Why is Jeremiah telling the Lord to put disaster on these people?
Chapter 19:
1 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the lord almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 4 For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. 6 So beware, the days are coming, declares theLord, when people will no longer call this place Tophethor the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
So in these verses here, the Lord is telling Jeremiah to go and buy a clay jar from a Potter and to go to the Valley of Ben Hinnom and tell the Kings of Judah and the people of Jerusalem that there's going to be a disaster on that place because the people have forsaken him, they made that a place of foreign gods, where they burned their sacrifices to these gods that are false, that they or their ancestors never even knew, and they've built these high places of baal (which is a false God that they worship) to burn their sons. This is something that the Lord never commanded them to do, or never mentioned, or it never even entered his mind to ever have them do that. So the days are coming that there's going to be such a disaster on the Valley of Ben Hinnom, that it's no longer going to be called that it's going to be called the Valley of slaughter.
7 “‘In this place, I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds and the wild animals. 8 I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. 9 I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’
In these verses, it's explaining the disaster that's going to be upon that place, how he's going to ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and whenever the people that seek their lives are going to come and have a war against them to destroy them, they're going to fall at the hands of those people. Their dead bodies are going to be food for the birds and the beast, and that the city is going to be so devastated. It will be such an object of scorn that everyone that passes by is just going to be so appalled because there's not going to be anything left in this city, it's just going to be in ruins. The city would be reduced to cannibalism during the stress of the seige being imposed on them, by their enemies that seek their lives.
10 “Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”
So in these verses here, the Lord had Jeremiah break the jar to demonstrate how the Lord is gonna smash the nation and the city, and it's going to be just like the Potter's jar, not be able to be repaired. So the Lord's going to bring disaster on these people because they wouldn't listen to his words. There have been so many times in the chapters of Jeremiah, where the Lord said to the people to acknowledge their guilt, repent, ask for forgiveness, truly change their ways, and he will choose them. He even said in chapter 18 of Jeremiah, that if he announces to destroy a nation or kingdom, and they repent of their evil, he will not afflict the disaster that he had planned, and he has Jeremiah go to the people and tell them to turn from their evil ways because the Lord is preparing a disaster for them and they don't listen. They just keep following the stubbornness of their evil hearts
14 Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.’”
So here at the end of chapter 19 of Jeremiah, it says that he's going to bring on this city in the villages around it, every disaster that he pronounced against them because they were stiff-necked and they wouldn't listen to his words.
Chapter 19 Study Guide:
Why did the Lord tell Jeremiah to tell the kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem that he is going to bring disaster on the Valley of Ben Hinnom?
What will people call the Valley of Ben Hinnom?
Why did the Lord tell Jeremiah to break the clay jar that he told him to buy from a potter?
So that is chapters 18 and 19 of Jeremiah. Now, I just want to say a few things here, because I really, really want you guys to understand the magnitude of these chapters and of the book of Jeremiah. In a lot of ways, the world today is similar., the people in the world today are similar to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. This world is so corrupt and there are so many evil things that have been normalized. I mean, you can't turn on the TV without seeing the destruction, lying, sexual morality, violence, and stuff that's just being so normalized.
A lot of people don't even realize that it's not okay to do the majority of the things that are shown on TV or that influencers and this world are doing. That's why it's so important and we really study the Bible, pray to God, and have that strong relationship with him to know exactly what it is that we should be doing and be able to acknowledge our guilt, repent, ask for forgiveness, and truly change our ways, obey the Lord, do what's commanded of us, and he's going to choose us. He has our best interests at heart. He just wants us to reach out to him and him and let him guide us to the path that he has for us. But if we, if this world just continues to follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts and continues to live in the wickedness, this world is only going to get that much worse.
Things are only going to go downhill from here. It's already so insane. All of the things that have been happening in this world, and it's just going to keep getting worse. If we, as a nation, don't come together, acknowledge our guilt, repent, truly ask for forgiveness, truly change our ways, follow him, obey him, do what's commanded of us, let every single person that we know, know about God and how amazing he is, and the things that we should and should not be doing, and that we help every person that we know be able to, when it's their time to go, go to heaven and see his glory and help them be saved so they can see his glory.
I'm going to pray for you guys real quick. So if you would please just close your eyes and pray with me, dear Lord, our heavenly father. We love you so much. I pray that you are with each and every single person listening to this right now, Lord. I pray that you wrap your arms around them and show them so much love. I pray that they know the truth about your word and that you soften their heart and that they acknowledge their guilt, they repent, they ask you for forgiveness and truly change their ways, and they follow you. And that you work through them to make an impact in other people's lives. And they go out there and they let other people know about you and the truth about your word, Lord, and the truth about what is right and what's not right, Lord. I pray that you give them the wisdom, that you give them the time, the energy, the courage, and the strength to be able to really study their Bible, pray, have a close relationship with you, and be able to go out in the world and tell others about you. Lord, I pray that each and every single person listening to this opens up their mind, their heart, their body, and their spirit to you Lord and they let you in, they obey you, they follow you, and they let you guide them in the path you have for them. I love you so much. In Jesus' name, amen.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, business, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along this hot mess life of mine. New episodes every week.
For weekly Bible Studies, check out my YouTube Channel. Each week I go over a new chapter of the Book of Jeremiah. I have chapters 1-15 here if you want to check them out.
I also have the Bible Study going over chapters 14 & 15 on my podcast, if you would rather listen to it.
For study guides and videos of previous chapters, join this group and check out the units tab :)
You can also follow me on Instagram (_lorenacamille_.) I'll be posting frequently and doing daily stories. I'll follow you back :)
Want to be apart of a community of Christian women coming together, supporting, motivating, inspiring, and loving each other? Join our Facebook Community
Holy Bible. New International Version (NIV)
Comments