Marred but Remade

This is painting #2 of the Potter’s House Collection.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:  “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 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.

Jeremiah 18:1-4 NIV

When Israel chose to walk in disobedience to the Lord, He spoke through his prophet Jeremiah that He would deal with Israel as the potter deals with a marred pot. He would crush it and remake it to serve His purpose. God as a Potter can reshape and remake any nation, any people group or person to accomplish His plans. When a nation goes astray, He will uproot it, crush it and reform it into something new. This is not done in revenge but with intentions to correct the flaws and to bring justice because He is just. 

The process of remaking something is often painful for the Maker. As an artist, there have been times I’ve had to start over. I do that when there is nothing else to fix the flaws. And it is never easy to start over. While it is an essential part of the process, it is never fun. God waits until the very last moment to crush something He formed with His hands. He is never rash about it. He is mindful.

The prophecy by Jeremiah ends this way: 

 “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 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.”