Good morning, we have another day to praise the Lord. Let us do so by reading Jeremiah chapters 18 through 21.
Pottery Beneath Our Feet
My wife and I live in Arizona, where she makes jewelry using traditional silversmithing techniques. Sometimes she casts pieces using the lost-wax method, working with natural materials like cactus spines and succulents gathered around our property. As we dig in our garden, we often encounter small shards of ancient Hohokam pottery—fragments that once belonged to a people who lived here for nearly a thousand years.

Their civilization did not overlap with the time of Jeremiah, though separated by thousands of miles. The Hohokam decorated their dark clay pottery with symbolic figures, part of their pagan worship practices.
A Contrast in Purpose
For the people of Judah, pottery held no religious function. Though they often did, religious leaders instructed the people not to worship idols. Still, their pottery remained utilitarian—a plate for food, a vessel for water, no need for decoration.
The Divine Potter at Work
In Jeremiah’s time, God speaks through a potter’s wheel. He uses the craft to communicate His authority and our dependency. While we like to think of ourselves as self-made, Scripture insists otherwise:

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” (Prov. 16:9, NIV) —

Jeremiah is still pleading with Zedekiah and the leaders to repent, but the window is closing. The image of the potter restarting the clay speaks to God’s persistent efforts—and eventual judgment.
Glimpse into the Clay
I’m reminded of eighth-grade pottery class, spinning a vase on the wheel. Just when I thought I had it, the walls would thin and collapse. So I’d try again. I’m sure my mother kept the ashtray I made, though it was supposed to be a vase.

Did she love the gift? Probably. She was a smoker, so it may have even found a purpose. But it wasn’t what I set out to make. Like that clay, our sin reshapes God’s design. He wants to mold us into vessels of honor, but we resist. We fail, and He starts again.
What the House Needs
When God shapes us, it isn’t about our preferences. I didn’t apologize to the ashtray—we needed it in our house. I had dreams once: architect, pilot, rock star. But God molded me into a writer and preacher—not my plan, but what the house required.
Shattering the Vessel
Even useful things can outlive their purpose. We no longer need ashtrays. In Jeremiah 19:10–11, God tells Jeremiah to smash a jar in front of the leaders—not crack it for repair, but break it beyond restoration. Time was up.
Shards in the Garden
This world is nearing the same moment of judgment. Sin persists; obedience falters. Even the faithful struggle to live what they read. Once shattered, the pot cannot ask for reshaping. It becomes part of the soil. Like the shards we find in our garden, it serves no further purpose.

But before that moment—there is grace. There is Jesus Christ. While the clay still turns, while the wheel still spins, we can repent. The Potter still works.
Tomorrow, we will read Jeremiah 22-24.
Proverbs 16:9, quoted in The Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011.