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clay yielded to the pressure of the potter’s hand, (6) the importance of the clay, (7 the marring of the clay and (8) the remaking of the vessel. 2. “So he made it again another vessel" (v. 4). Before he could make another vessel out of the marred clay, the potter had to remove the defects that had spoiled the first effort. If some foreign substance had become mixed in the clay, it had to be re moved. If a faulty impression had been made on the material, it must be obliterated. It is the same in the realm of God’s grace. Before, He can make human vessels through which He can bring His blessings to a needy world, He must purge out the foreign material of sin and selfishness. He must take away the impressions which the world, the flesh, and the devil have made upon the life. God is thus able to make out of the material, marred by sin and rebellion, new creatures fit to manifest the glory of the Lord, No power less potent than Christ’s blood, Christ’s Word, and Christ’s Spirit can accomplish this. 3. "Behold, as the clay is in the pot ter's hand, so are ye in mine hend. . . 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" (vs. 6, 8). The two fold idea of the sovereignty of God and the free will of man is set forth in these words. There is a sense in which God is independent of all the actions of men. He does as He pleases. He is like the potter with the clay, and the clay is utterly helpless to resist or cooperate. On the other hand, we learn from verse eight that God’s treatment of Israel is deter mined by Israel’s attitude toward evil. Man is free to do evil, or to refrain from doing evil. Man’s choice in this matter determines God’s treatment of him. There needs to be a proper bal ance assumed between God’s sover eignty and man’s free will. The Scrip tures teach both. Golden Text Illustration H osea 6:1 Are we working with God to root out the weeds in our lives? In the early days of the Keswick convention a clergyman got up and said, “I want to be conformed to Christ in the will of God. I have a habit—it is an en slaving habit, and I feel I ought to give it up. But I cannot; it would kill me. What shall I do?” The chairman said, “Die!” And he added, “It is not necessary that any one should live, but it is necessary that any and every man should put away anything whatever that hinders his fellowship with God.” -—Adapted from Best Modern Illustra tions, by Hallock.
LESSON FOR MAY 20 Into Babylonian Exile 1 K ings 12 :1-17; 2 K ings 11 t o 25; J eremiah 18 to 39
LESSON T E X T : Jer. 18:1-10, 15a, 17a. GOLDEN T E X T : “ Come, and let us re turn unto the Lord” (Hos. 6:1);. DEVOTIONAL READING: 2 Chron, 6i36- 39; 7-14. Outline and Exposition L T he T hreat o f E xile (1-10) J EREMIAH was told to watch a potter working with clay on the wheels. He saw that the vessel b e c a m e marred, or spoiled, in the hands of the potter who used that spoiled lump of clay to fashion an other vessel. From this picture Jere miah was to give a message to Israel, reminding them that the Lord could, and would, do with them as the potter had done with the clay. Had Israel been able at that time to express truly the sentiment of the song, “Make me and mold me, after Thy will,” all would have been well (vs. 1-6).. The people of Israel were told that there was still time for them to re pent and turn from their evil. If they did thus repent, the Lord also would turn from the threatened judgment, and they would be preserved (vs. 7, 8 ). On the other hand, even though the will of the Lord was for the good of “ a nation, and concerning.a kingdom, to build and to plant it,” His intention would be reversed if that nation should turn to disobedience (vs. 9, 10). Although God had specially Chosen Israel to be His peculiar peo ple, they must not presume upon that fact. If they did, they would be spoiled as the clay in the hands of the potter, and God would adopt other measures for fulfilling His purpose. As it is with nations, so it is with individuals. The grace that saves is the grace of God who is always, and first of all, righteous. God cannot overlook iniquity in His people today any more than He could in days long past. Trifling with the grace of God is a dangerous matter. His discipline of His own is sometimes more severe than His judgment of the unsaved, and it is the path of wisdom for Chris tians to take heed how they act in this world (cf. 1 Cor. 10:11, 12; Rom. il:17-22). It. T he C ause o f E xile (15 a ) “ Because my people hath forgotten me,” was the cause of their rejection by the Lord and their going into exile from their own land. Their exile still continues; in all nations they are de spised and scorned; they are fearful and weary; they continue to know the rigors resulting from their disobedi ence.
But however severe their punish ment, they are still His chosen peo ple, and one day they will be cleansed from all their wickedness and become the channel through which God’s glory will be established among all peoples (cf. Zech. 8:13, 20-23; Ezek. 36:22, 23; Deut. 28:12, 13; Psa. 67). III. T he C haracter of E xile (17 a ) “I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy.” This pre diction has been fulfilled literally in the history of Israel. One of the strik ing proofs of the truth of God’s Word is the present lamentable condition of His people, Israel. And His promises of future blessing are as sure of ful fillment as are His warnings of pun ishment. He is not a God who either forgets or is unfaithful to His own Word. This portion is not merely a bit of history concerning an ancient people with whom we have nothing to do; in it there are lessons for us today. There were many events in Israel’s history which were not recorded in the Bible, but those that are recorded have been preserved for a purpose that relates to us (cf. 1 Cor. 10:11), That purpose is that we, seeing what God has done in the past, and know ing why He acted as He did, may find comfort in understanding that He will surely keep His Word, and may pos sess the patience we need in these trying days (cf. Rom. 15:4). God is the “same yesterday, and today, and forever,” and, while His methods may change from dispensation to dispen sation, the underlying principles upon which He acts are the same. While He is the God of all grace, He is first- of all the righteous God with whom we have to do. Points and Problems 1. “Arise, and go down to the pot ter's house" (Jer. 18:2). God often teaches the greatest truths through object lessons. Sunday school teach ers would do well to employ the same method. Because eighty-five percent of all we learn is learned through the eye-gate, teachers should use pic tures, chalk talks, flannelgraph, and other means by which to rivet atten tion and impress truth. Note eight things which the prophet saw at the potter’s house, each of which has a significance of its own: (1) a potter, (2) a wheel revolving in answer to the movement of the pot ter's foot, (3) clay kept in motion by the moving wheel, (4) the hands of the potter upon the clay, (5) the man ifestation of the potter’s thought as the
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