“Hope Denied”

Scripture: Jeremiah 18:1-12

Israel had broken the covenant that had stood in place for hundreds of years. It had been God’s gift to Abraham and all who would claim to be his descendants. It was the Lord’s offer of an incredible relationship. It was his promise of hope for eternity. It was a loving embrace unlike anything that the people would ever experience from anyone else. But Israel had turned it down in favor of an imagined, but non-existent, substitute. And they would have cried out “What has happened to us? What have we done to anger our God?”

Prophet after prophet had been sent to them to answer that very question, and still they didn’t listen!

Someone once asked a rabbi if it’s necessary to follow all the traditions of Judaism in order to affirm the Jewish faith. The rabbi took a glass of water and poured part of it out on the ground. “The water in the glass and the water on the ground,” he explained, “are identical. But for me to drink the water, I need to have it in the glass.”
- From Homiletics Online

Israel had begun to create their own traditions, and to follow their own example - they had, if you will, given up drinking out of the glass that the Lord had given them, and were attempting to lick the spilled water off of the filthy earth.

And with this thought in mind, let’s turn to the word that God has given us through the prophet Jeremiah.

Read Jeremiah 18:1-4

My cousin’s husband is a potter (The House of the Potter). He’s creative and innovative, and while much of his work is conventionally beautiful, such as my communion chalice and paten, some of his pieces are very unique and, quite honesty, some are even strange. One of the pieces that we bought many years ago is a pitcher that has “Bill Kirner” written all over it. I can almost imagine his playful attitude as he framed its character and shape, with the oddest face you have ever seen at the top, and with hands and arms on either side, both of which, incidentally, are left hands! As soon as I saw it, I knew that it was supposed to sit on our kitchen counter, and it is a constant reminder of what a potter’s heart and mind are all about.
It’s about the expected, as well as the unexpected.

The potter that Jeremiah was to visit was both skilled and observant – he knew what he wanted the pot to look like, and his pot had, somehow, taken on an appearance that was not to his liking. Something had marred it during its development, and even though it was probably functional and could have held water, it was no longer acceptable to him. Notice that the potter has the final, and only, say in the matter. The created object is given no opportunity for input into what its form or purpose may be.

Israel and Judah had decided that they would take over the responsibility of faith determination and governance. They would worship who and what and how they wanted, and the ways of their Jehovah God were set aside. The “pot” had decided that they knew far better than their “Potter”, and had refused to let the Lord rule in their lives.

Some things never change. The pots of today are still trying to act the part of the potter, when they have neither the right nor the ability to make their lives what they think they should be. Everything from ministry to family structure to personal life styles are up for grabs by the very people who should be rejoicing over the plan that God has laid out for them, instead of trying to be both creator and created. Our blemishes, our marrings, are not beautiful, regardless of what we may think. And our only hope is to let the Divine Potter correct the mistakes that we have introduced into our lives.

Read Jeremiah 18:5-10

God is relating the ability and responsibility of the potter to correct mistakes in his works, to the righteous correction that God wishes to make in our lives. A misshapen ceramic pot is no less imperfect than a misshapen life is, and the Lord wants us to know that he is the only one who can remove the imperfections from our being. And with that, God shifts the analogy of the pot and potter, to the true purpose behind the comparison. He is telling Judah and Israel that the time for allowing them to make their own errant decisions is nearly at an end – that he is about to take back his right, and obligation, to take corrective action on their sinfulness. Remember that the covenant stated that “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” (Leviticus 26:9-12) The people had only broken the last part – the first was still intact!

If the people will repent of their wayward lives, the Lord will gently remove their sins and will restore them to the covenant that continues to demand their loyalty. But if they refuse to change, then the change that will be inflicted upon them will be a bit more drastic.
When we reflect on the call that was placed on Jeremiah’s life in chapter 1:9-10, we see that this is exactly the responsibility that Jeremiah had been given at the start.

This means that, while the prophet won’t be the one who does the overthrowing and destroying, he is the one who will carry the Lord’s warning that this is exactly what is about to happen. But note that there is also a word of hope that will be included. Not only will there be a tearing down of the imperfect, but there will also be a rebuilding with the righteous. That is what correction is all about. The mistakes aren’t just discarded – that would create an even greater ugliness. They are replaced with the better.

Read Jeremiah 18:11-12

So from the analogy of a potter, to the call on Jeremiah to proclaim a coming correction, to this specific message for the people of Judah and Jerusalem, The Lord tells the people in no uncertain words, that there are only two options available for them – either they take the initiative to return to the covenant of God, that they start acting like his people once again, or the Lord will take the responsibility of making the changes for them.

The Lord has given the people every opportunity to return to his way, and every time, they have refused. So please understand that the correction isn’t the act of a condemning and destructive God, as some people may think. It is the work of a loving and compassionate God. The Lord wants only the best for his creation, but when the creation is “hell-bent” to destroy themselves, the loving Lord will stop them one way or another.

I may have told this story before, but it is worth retelling today. When I was either in my pre-teen or early teen years, I loved to climb trees – and we had a beautiful climbing tree in our side yard that had to have been nearly 40 feet high. One day, I climbed up until I was nearly at the top of that tree, and what a view I had. I was higher than the roof on our two story house, and could see houses and landscapes that were blocked from view at ground level. While I was enjoying my accomplishment, my Mom came around the house, calling my name. But did I answer? Not on your life! I was in charge of my climb – not her! She soon went into the house, and within a few minutes, as you might have guessed, the sky began to turn black. Very quickly, rain began pouring down, and the lightning began to flash, and if you have never ever tried to descend a soaking wet tree quickly, I want to tell you that it was a scary experience.
I finally managed to get to the ground safely, and headed to the kitchen door. As I entered the house, Mom was waiting for me, and asked, in a rather abrupt voice “Where have you been? Didn’t you hear me calling you?” And in my best “drowned rat” voice, I said “You don’t even care.”
Well, of course she cared – that’s why she was outside looking for me. She had heard a weather warning on the radio, and wanted to bring me inside to be safe. But in my self-centeredness, I decided that I was going to ignore her, and just do things my own way, which, as it turned out, was the most foolish thing I ever did – although, come to think about it, there may have been a few more “most foolish things” over the years that I don’t remember!

I did get a hug, though, and was told to go upstairs and put on some dry clothes. When I got back to the kitchen, I got another hug, along with the words “Next time I call you, please answer me!”

Can you hear the Lord saying those exact words to Judah? Can you hear him saying those same words to you? “Please - listen to me, and answer me when I call!” At first glance, it may seem as though God is trying to spoil our fun and personal initiative, but the truth is that he is just warning us of the impending disaster that awaits us if we continue on the journey that we have set in motion. Tall, wet trees are excellent lightning rods, and I could easily have been part of that conductive circuit if I hadn’t decided to climb down when I did. Judah had the same opportunity to leave their old, destructive ways, but they weren’t about to leave the path that they had created, and very soon, they would suffer the consequences.

We also have the option of leaving the sinful ways that can only lead to destruction. The Lord has used Jeremiah to bring the same message to us, if we will only listen! But will we? Have we learned anything from the story of Israel and Judah? Are we bent on throwing away the Lord’s last offer of hope? We all must choose well!