God Speaks Through Clay

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Usually when I pick up a Bible, it is to research a particular verse or topic, or to read what goes along with the devotion for the day. Occasionally, I will pick one up, close my eyes, open the Bible, and point to a particular verse. By using this "surprise" method, I sometimes come across just what God wants me to see at that moment. Such is the case with the Scripture for this week's blog. When I tried it this week, I pointed to Jeremiah 18:1, so I started reading through the whole chapter. In this chapter, God is giving Jeremiah another word to Israel and God begins by sending Jeremiah down to the local potter's shop. God tells him that once he is there, God will reveal His word to Jeremiah. So Jeremiah saunters on down to the potter's wheel and notices that the potter is making something. He begins to watch and observe. Let's compare here several versions of the same verse that describe what Jeremiah observes (vs. 4):

"And whenever the clay would not take the shape he wanted, he would change his mind and form it into some other shape." (CEV)

"But the jar that he was forming didn’t turn out as he wished, so he kneaded it into a lump and started again" (Living)

"And as I watched, the clay vessel in his hands became flawed and unusable. So the potter started again with the same clay. He crushed and squeezed and shaped it into another vessel that was to his liking." (The Voice)

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While I enjoy all three of these versions, I like The Voice best in this case. This version adds some additional comments (italicized words) to passages to help them be a little more understandable. In this case, they have added the words unusable, crushed, and squeezed and this formed a meaningful picture for me. 

We have often heard the idea that God is the potter and we are the clay in His hands, but as I really read these verses, especially verse 4, God began to reveal a little bit more. Not only does God mold and make us as a potter makes a pot, but just as a potter does, God must crush and squeeze us (or allow us to be) and cause us to become unusable before we are fit to be re-made. Maybe this involves changing our attitudes, changing our hearts, changing our circumstances or changing something else. Whatever that change may be, it causes us to become pliable again and allows us to be molded into something usable. Looking at the CEV and Living Bible versions of this verse, it also reveals that perhaps when we are headed in the wrong direction, we didn't turn out the way He wished, or did not take the shape He wanted, it was at this time that the Master Potter crushed and squeezed us and we became unusable for a time, allowing Him to re-mold and re-make us into a usable vessel once more.

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The other point that God wanted to make to Jeremiah and Israel through this passage is more clearly eluded to in the CEV version above.  The fact that the potter would change his mind was something God wanted Israel to know. God, as the Master Potter, can and will, change His mind from time to time. Further in Jeremiah 18, God explains how He deals with some of the neighboring people. (Jonah would have benefitted from reading this passage). God sometimes changes His mind in how he deals with people. Verses 6-10 say, "People of Israel, I, the Lord, have power over you, just as a potter has power over clay. If I threaten to uproot and shatter an evil nation and that nation turns from its evil, I will change my mind. If I promise to make a nation strong, but its people start disobeying me and doing evil, then I will change my mind and not help them at all." He wanted the people of Israel to understand why He may decide NOT to destroy a nation or why He may be inclined TO destroy a nation. 

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With this in mind, in verse 11, God lays down His next announcement, "So listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem! I have decided to strike you with disaster, and I won’t change my mind unless you stop sinning and start living right." Rather than belabor a long story, Let's cut to the end. Israel (at least in chapter 18), does not make efforts to change and in fact, look for ways to kill God's messenger, Jeremiah. I suspect Israel is about to be crushed, squeezed, and rendered unusable. Read Jeremiah 19 and beyond for the rest of the story.
So, what points can we take away from Jeremiah 18? First, understand that God is the Master Potter and we are the clay. God will mold us into His desired creation. If we mess up, we may be crushed and squeezed and become unusable (by God) until we repent and he remakes the vessel. Second, if we are not Christians, we are headed for disaster; an everlasting sorrow, guilt, and sadness once we die our earthly death. God has said that we are not worthy to spend life with Him on our own graces. However, if we try to stop sinning AND accept that Jesus took our penalty and created a worthy pathway for us, God will change His mind and save us from eternal misery. 

For more information about this Worthy Pathway that Jesus created, please contact me, or go here: Peace with God

    

God Speaks "YET"

Kari Farnell

In the last post, I shared with you one of my favorite Bible passages. I will do the same on this post. Both of these passages come from the “minor” prophets. If you’ve never read through them, I encourage you to do so.

Today’s verse is Habakkuk 3:17-18. I use Bible Gateway often to look at these verses in different translations. This excerpt was no different and I’d like to share it from a couple different translations.

The Contemporary English Version describes it this way, "Fig trees may no longer bloom,or vineyards produce grapes; olive trees may be fruitless,and harvest time a failure;sheep pens may be empty, and cattle stalls vacant—but I will still celebrate because the Lord God saves me."

The Voice (which is typically my favorite) says, "Even if the fig tree does not blossom and there are no grapes on the vines, If the olive trees fail to give fruit and the fields produce no food, If the flocks die far from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls;Then I will still rejoice in the Eternal! I will rejoice in the God who saves me!"

Kari Farnell

The New King James Version states, "Though the fig tree may not blossom,nor fruit be on the vines;Though the labor of the olive may fail,and the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,and there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

And lastly, the Amplified Bible declares, "Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines,though the yield of the olive fails and the fields produce no food,Though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls,Yet I will [choose to] rejoice in the Lord;I will [choose to] shout in exultation in the [victorious] God of my salvation!"

Verse 18 is the focus here, but it really needs verse 17 with it to get its full value. Verse 17 reminds me of Job. You may recall that Job suffered physically, emotionally, and mentally as a test to prove His allegiance to God. Despite all of his losses, he continued to serve God. That is what verse 18 is all about. Verse 17 speaks of all types of loss and sorrow, and then verse 18 responds that even with all of this, Habakkuk will still praise God. The translations I enjoy most are the ones that use the term “Yet”. 

Flaming Text

Isn’t it amazing how such a small word can just change the whole focal point of the sentence or phrase? That is the function of some conjunctions. The word “but” is one example. The day was warm, but the wind was cold. He was ill, but he went to work. The stick was thin, but it was strong.

The word “yet” is a similar conjunction; used to change the heart of the passage in Habakkuk. In today’s passage, Habakkuk is lamenting a message he has had from God in a vision. In verse 16, he begins to describe his feelings from the vision. He goes on, in 17 and 18, to basically say that no matter what happens, and even if these bad things DO happen, he will YET rejoice in the God of his salvation because He knows that God’s way and plan are perfect. Habakkuk must go on in faith that God will be in charge, no matter the outcome.

Just as Job did and Habakkuk did, we should remember that through our bleak times, God is watching out for us. When the way seems long and dark and frightening, we should still praise God for He is the God of our Salvation. We can rest assured that He is in control and He will take care of us and our situation.

Kari Farnell

God Loves to Sing

Kari Farnell

The local Christian radio station touts “the right song at the right time”. Often that is true; they just happen to be playing “just the right song” to meet whatever need I have at the time.  Music, as the saying goes, hath charms to soothe the savage beast.  Even David used music to soothe King Saul in his bouts of depression. 

Have you ever been sad or in a bad mood and turned on the radio just in time to hear music that touches your soul? That touches your very being? Sometimes it’s the actual music; sometimes it’s the lyrics that appeal to us. Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to learn something if you put it to music and how quickly you can learn the words?  If I mention the following brands, you will likely start singing the song in your head.  Empire flooring, Liberty Mutual, Mattress Warehouse, Farmer’s Insurance; there are many others.

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Deuteronomy 31:19 (The Voice)--”So I want you to write down this song and teach it to the children of Israel. Teach them to sing it, so it can be a witness for Me against them.”

Music and singing are an important to God and a big part of the Bible.  As is seen in the verse above, God instructs the Israelites to teach songs to the children and these songs are ones that will be a witness for God.  It was a convenient way to remember some of the laws and teachings of God. The entire book of Psalms is songs written mostly by David. Some ask for help, some give praise to God and still others are reflections. 

Throughout time, songs have been used to memorize things, and to rouse soldiers and villagers to arms and bravery, among other things. God has often been the architect of the music and musical occasions.  Remember Joshua and the Battle of Jericho?  God instructed the Israelites to march around the city for seven days with the first six days being led by the trumpeters sounding their horns.

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An article I read recently entitled, “The Godly Purpose for Music” by David F. Maas, concludes with these thoughts:

God's Word has shown us the following things about music:

1. Music is a gift and blessing from God.

2. Music is a powerful, mood-altering agent.

3. Music is used to praise God and to create an atmosphere to receive God's Spirit.

4. Music involves sacrifice.

I’ve gone down this long, winding path and now get to the point of this “episode” of the blog.  One of my very favorite verses in the Bible is Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)--”The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with SINGING. 

Knowing how God has used music throughout the Bible and how He feels about music adds so much more excitement to this verse.  God takes delight in us and He rejoices over us with singing.  He sings to proclaim His love for His own creations. 

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Let’s examine how the four points mentioned by David Mass, above, fit into this verse. 

Point 1—“Music is a gift and blessing from God”.  When God is singing over us, He is blessing us; giving us a gift.  We may not always be aware of the gift at first, but it is there!

Point 2—“Music is a powerful, mood-altering agent”.  God is singing over us to help us find peace; to calm our spirits and if needed, alter our moods.

Point 3—“Music is used to praise God and to create an atmosphere to receive God’s Spirit”. By singing over us, God is proclaiming His love for His creation and is creating in us an atmosphere to receive God’s Spirit, if we but ask for it.

Point 4—“Music involves sacrifice”. God made the ultimate sacrifice when He sent Jesus, His son, to bear the burden of our sins. God is singing over us to prepare us to receive this sacrificial gift of His Son’s death. It wasn’t our physical death (because we each will go through that), but it was our spiritual death that He took on and all of the darkness, sadness, and grief for which we are destined without acceptance of His sacrifice.

So I leave you with a mental image. When your days are rough and the road is weary, think of Zephaniah 3:17 and imagine God, sitting on His golden throne, singing YOUR name in His song!