Tyndale Open Study NotesJeremiah 18

The Lord involved Jeremiah in a lesson using objects. What Jeremiah saw at the potter's shop symbolized what the Lord planned to do with Judah.

Jeremiah watched the potter shape a clay jar. The potter then crushed it and began again.

The Lord compared himself to this potter. He could set high standards and decide to destroy or reshape his creations.

If a nation or kingdom rejected the one true God, God could decide to uproot, tear down, and destroy it (see Jeremiah 1:10). If the nation changed its evil ways, the Lord's anger would ease, and he would not destroy it.

The Lord intended to treat Judah and Jerusalem like a potter shapes clay (Jeremiah 18:4). However, they could avoid disaster by rejecting their evil ways and doing what is right.

The people of Judah ignored the Lord's message. They mocked it, refused to change, and boldly followed their own wrong desires.

The Lord said he would scatter his people because they left him.

Who has ever heard things like these?: In other nations, people did not abandon their national gods (Jeremiah 2:11–13), but Israel openly mocked the one true God.

• The answer to these two rhetorical questions was “No.” The snow and streams of the mountaintops of Lebanon were always reliable. In contrast, the Lord’s people were not reliable.

• The ancient highways represented a life of faithfulness to the covenant (Jeremiah 6:16), while the muddy paths symbolized a life of self-serving paganism.

• The Lord declared judgment on Judah and Jerusalem.

• They have made their land a desolation...I will scatter them: Between 605 and 586 BC, Judah and Jerusalem gradually lost their residents.

• like the east wind: In the summer, a strong hot wind from the east can blow sand and dust from the desert into Judah.

• I will show them My back: The people would no longer have a covenant relationship with the Lord.

Jeremiah passionately asked for revenge against those trying to undermine his work.

The people disliked Jeremiah because his strong messages opposed their leaders' messages, so they planned to silence him.

Jeremiah told the Lord about the unfairness of his enemies' actions against him.

In his prayer for vengeance, Jeremiah asked God to carry out the promised curses on those who broke his covenant (compare Deuteronomy 27:11–26; 28:15–68; see also the “Prayers for Vengeance” Theme Note).