Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, 'This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.' – Jeremiah 18:11

Today's Scripture Reading (May 30, 2023): Jeremiah 18

I am always intrigued by the professional sports experts that attempt to change the course of the teams that they are responsible for shaping. Every franchise, except for maybe the Harold Ballard-run Toronto Maple Leafs, wants to win a championship. Many General Managers and team owners take over with a promise that they will work toward a parade, celebrating a title well won. But a team championship is often more than just who has the best strategy; players have to execute the plan along with a generous serving of luck to win over the stiff competition. This is why winning back-to-back championships can be such a rare achievement, let alone trying to win three or four championships in a row.

Jeremiah is directed to go to a Potter and watch him as he shapes the clay. And as Jeremiah watches the potter shape the clay, God reminds his prophet that he is the potter. Unlike a sports team, the potter can do whatever he wants with the clay, or maybe it might be better to say he can create whatever his talent will allow him to produce. God can do whatever he wants with his clay, which is Judah. He can protect or destroy them; the choice belongs to God.

The people disagreed. They held a false confidence that God would always come to their aid, regardless of their behavior. God needs Jeremiah to counteract that belief and tell them that God has the power, just like the potter, to do whatever he thinks is right with Judah, his lump of clay.

But that doesn't mean that the people didn't influence what God did. The disaster was coming because the people continued to rebel against God. But, despite God's declaration to Josiah and Jeremiah that Judah's destiny was already fixed, God still seems to be holding out a hope that Judah will repent of their sin. And if they would do that, God would relent just as he did during Jonah's days with Nineveh. Then Jonah had complained that "Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity" (Jonah 4:2). It was true when God sent his prophet to Nineveh. It was still true as Judah struggled through what would end up being its last days.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 19