Hands of Marred Clay

Sometimes it seems like God works against himself.  Sure, the Lord said, “Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out” (Isaiah 48:9).  And yet any atheist worth their salt can list any number of terrible things in this world that make God look uncaring at best and downright evil at worst for allowing them.  Why does this happen?  Let’s consult the Bible and see with the Holy Spirit why at least there might be some of the darkness in the world.

When Jerusalem fell it must have been so confusing.  David once wrote,

I love you, Lord;
You are my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
My God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
And my place of safety.
I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
And he saved me from my enemies (Psalms 18:1-3).

And yet as he surveyed the wreckage of what was once the gleaming capital of Israel the writer of Lamentations penned,

He bends his bow against his people,
As though he were their enemy.
His strength is used against them
To kill their finest youth.
His fury is poured out like fire
On beautiful Jerusalem.
Yes, the Lord has vanquished Israel
Like an enemy.
He has destroyed her palaces
And demolished her fortresses.
He has brought unending sorrow and tears
Upon beautiful Jerusalem (Lamentations 2:4-5).

From our rock and protector to an overwhelming enemy- that’s quite the turnaround.  But why?  Well, according to Scripture it is because we become his enemy first.  We read,

You adulterers!  Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?  I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.  What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy?  But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires.  As Scriptures say,

“God opposes the proud
But favors the humble” (James 4:4-6).

And for sure, many of the nations that have felt the hand of the Lord were worldly.  Even after the desolation of their nation, many Jews continued to sin.  History records,

Then Jeremiah said to them all, including the women, “Listen to this message from the Lord, all you citizens of Judah who live in Egypt.  This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives have said, “We will keep our promises to burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven” and you have proved by your actions that you meant it.  So go ahead and carry out your promises and vows to her!’
      But listen to this message from the Lord, all you Judeans now living in Egypt: ‘I have sworn by my great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that my name will no longer be spoken by any of the Judeans in the land of Egypt.  None of you may invoke my name or use this oath: “As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives.”  For I will watch over you to bring you disaster and not good.  Everyone from Judah who is now living in Egypt will suffer war and famine until all of you are dead.  Only a small number will escape death and return to Judah from Egypt.  Then all those who came to Egypt will find out whose words are true – mine or theirs!’” (Jeremiah 44:24-28).

Note that God basically warned he would become their enemy- and that was after destroying everything they knew and loved!

It can’t just be punishment though, right?  The Lord spent centuries building Israel up, and then to destroy it so thoroughly?  We read,

He has broken down his Temple
As though it were merely a garden shelter.
The Lord has blotted out all memory
Of the holy festivals and Sabbath days.
Kings and priests fall together
Before his fierce anger.
The Lord has rejected his own altar;
He despises his own sanctuary.
He has given Jerusalem’s palaces
To her enemies.
They shout in the Lord’s Temple
As though it were a day of celebration.
The Lord was determined
To destroy the walls of beautiful Jerusalem.
He made careful plans for their destruction,
Then did what he had planned.
Therefore, the ramparts and walls
Have fallen down before him (Lamentations 2:6-8).

Surely there’s more to it than punishment, right?  There is.  Before everything fell apart God gave Jeremiah a visual to help the prophet better understand his God’s motives.  History records,

The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah.  He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.”  So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel.  But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over (Jeremiah 18:1-4).

As Jeremiah watched the potter at his work God started to explain,

Then the Lord gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay?  As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.  If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned.  And if I announce that I will plant and built up a certain nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would (Jeremiah 18:5-10).

That’s how pottery works.  The potter takes the clay and carefully forms it, but if it has imperfections it won’t be usable- so despite his work he will crush what is in his hands so he can once again reform it, hopefully better than before.  The Lord works in a similar fashion.  He allows things to tear us down so that we can be built back better than before.  Jesus explained,

I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.  You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me (John 15:1-4).

The Lord seeks to make us better.  If that means complete destruction so we can be rebuilt from the ground up, so be it.  In other cases we face hardships like a gardener prunes his plants, so they will grow better.  Even when we face very hard times, the Lord’s goal is ultimately for our good.  He noted,

I have refined you, but not as silver is refined.
Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.
I will rescue you for my own sake-
Yes, for my own sake!
I will not let my reputation be tarnished,
And I will not share my glory with idols! (Isaiah 48:10-11).

Although we can’t feel it in the moment, and outsiders may miss the point, God wants to strengthen us and our faith.

Paul brought up another benefit to this process as well.  He wrote,

Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery?  Of course not!  They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles.  But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves.  Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it (Romans 11:11-12).

Through their hardships we were able to see the power of God and he blessed those who came to Christ.  Paul explained,

I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles.  God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles.  I stress this, for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance would be even more wonderful.  It will be life for those who were dead!  And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy – just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy.  For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too (Romans 11:13-16).

This was to lure his own people back into a relationship- but to us gentiles, we were finally allowed into God’s grace through Jesus!  Paul continued,

But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree – some of the people of Israel – have been broken off.  And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in.  So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.  But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off.  You are just a branch, not the root.
      “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.”  Yes, but remember – those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe.  So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen.  For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either (Romans 11:17-21).

God is fair in his wrath, but ultimately that wrath has a purpose, the building up of the Lord’s people.

Sometimes God tears things all the way down to the foundations.  But unlike the mindless destruction of the Hulk he has a purpose and a goal.  Paul explained,

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have – Jesus Christ.
      Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials – gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or stray.  But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done.  The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.  If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.  But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss.  The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

My friends, make Jesus your foundation.  Do not suffer mindless destruction in your life because you have made an enemy of him who seeks to save you.  God can bring great sadness, but that isn’t his core.  No, rather we read,

Let all that I am praise the Lord;
May I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins
And heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death
And crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
The Lord gives righteousness
And justice to all who are treated unfairly (Psalms 103:2-6).

May we submit to Christ our redeemer and live in the Lord’s light rather than his shadow!