Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / The Broken Pot - The Book of Jeremiah
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Let us pray. And the vessel that he made of
- 0:04Speaker 1: clay was marred in the hand of the potter, so
- 0:08Speaker 1: he made it again in another vessel, as seemed good
- 0:11Speaker 1: to the potter to make it. Jeremiah 18.4 As the
- 0:17Speaker 1: words of today's reading echo deep in my ears, may
- 0:22Speaker 1: the truths be etched on my heart like tattoos. for
- 0:29Speaker 1: today is the day that I accept my call to
- 0:32Speaker 1: be set apart and consecrated to do great works for
- 0:36Speaker 1: your name, Heavenly Father. When doubts begin to arise in
- 0:41Speaker 1: my mind, like Jeremiah, I thank you that your word
- 0:46Speaker 1: will rise up within me like a flame and burn
- 0:50Speaker 1: all limiting beliefs that seek to hold me back. Your
- 0:56Speaker 1: word in Jeremiah 1.5 says that before I was in
- 1:00Speaker 1: my mother's womb, you had already called me. So I
- 1:05Speaker 1: thank you that no name, no words, no harmful lies
- 1:11Speaker 1: that were ever spoken over my life can bear any weight,
- 1:16Speaker 1: because before they spoke them, you already spoke blessing of
- 1:20Speaker 1: purpose over me. Whether I had people who believed in
- 1:25Speaker 1: me or people who doubted me, It doesn't take away
- 1:29Speaker 1: from my calling and my destiny. Therefore, like Jeremiah, I
- 1:35Speaker 1: will stand tall and speak what you tell me to speak.
- 1:41Speaker 1: I will build what you called me to build, knowing
- 1:44Speaker 1: that nothing can stop the momentum of my life, because
- 1:49Speaker 1: the potter of my life has me on his wheel
- 1:52Speaker 1: of destiny and in his hands. I am molded and
- 1:58Speaker 1: created for greatness. And I thank you, Lord, that through
- 2:04Speaker 1: you it shall be done. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank
- 2:15Speaker 1: you for making prayer a priority in your day. To
- 2:18Speaker 1: learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
- 2:22Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
- 2:26Speaker 2: Many choices in life can be scary, but your health
- 2:29Speaker 2: care shouldn't be one of them. Did you know that
- 2:31Speaker 2: traditional insurance isn't your only option to take care of
- 2:35Speaker 2: your medical costs? Christian Health Care Ministries is created for you,
- 2:39Speaker 2: believers who expect more from their health care. Embrace a
- 2:44Speaker 2: faith-based alternative that puts you in control. Plus, experience flexibility
- 2:49Speaker 2: to pick your provider of choice with programs as low
- 2:53Speaker 2: as $ 92 per month.
- 2:56Speaker 3: The Broken Pot In our last story, Josiah continued his
- 3:16Speaker 3: reform over the nation of Judah. He cut down all
- 3:19Speaker 3: the remnants of old idols and reinstated the Passover. to
- 3:23Speaker 3: remember the freedom in God. However, the people continued to
- 3:28Speaker 3: long after their corrupt ways. The Lord gave Josiah a
- 3:32Speaker 3: gentle warning. Judgment was coming upon Judah for all its
- 3:36Speaker 3: past sins. There would be a reckoning for all the
- 3:40Speaker 3: innocent souls that were led astray by past kings. Now
- 3:44Speaker 3: we peer into the life and calling of Jeremiah, who
- 3:48Speaker 3: was a prophet during the reign of Josiah. We learn
- 3:51Speaker 3: of Jeremiah's first call from God and the images that
- 3:55Speaker 3: were shown to him, inspired by the book of Jeremiah.
- 4:01Speaker 4: Hello and welcome once again to the Bible in a
- 4:04Speaker 4: Year podcast. This is Jack Graham. And in our last reading,
- 4:08Speaker 4: we heard how Josiah brought the people back to God,
- 4:11Speaker 4: reading the book of the law, the covenant to them,
- 4:14Speaker 4: and calling them to renew their faith in God. the
- 4:18Speaker 4: covenant that God had made with Israel in the days
- 4:21Speaker 4: of Moses. He then went through the land and destroyed
- 4:24Speaker 4: altars and shrines to honor God and protect people from
- 4:27Speaker 4: falling back into idolatry and spiritual bondage. Josiah had already
- 4:32Speaker 4: received word from God that his people would be judged
- 4:35Speaker 4: for their unfaithfulness. And today we'll see the beginning of
- 4:39Speaker 4: this time with the initial call of the prophet who
- 4:41Speaker 4: would have great significance in the story of God's people.
- 4:45Speaker 4: That prophet is Jeremiah. So Let's listen to God's word today.
- 4:51Speaker 3: In the days of King Josiah the righteous, Jeremiah was
- 4:55Speaker 3: walking in the temple courtyards. It was dusk and the
- 4:58Speaker 3: sky was a shimmering amber. Jeremiah watched the sun slide
- 5:03Speaker 3: behind the horizon. The west wind whistled gently and the
- 5:07Speaker 3: trees beside the temple swayed to the evening lullaby. Jeremiah
- 5:12Speaker 3: sat down as the daylight left the land. He was
- 5:15Speaker 3: a very young man. Often he sought the Lord in
- 5:18Speaker 3: the coolness of nightfall. As Jeremiah closed his eyes, he
- 5:22Speaker 3: could hear a quiet voice in the wind. Along with it,
- 5:25Speaker 3: a gentle warmth and presence. The Lord spoke to Jeremiah
- 5:29Speaker 3: as he sat beside the temple. Before I formed you
- 5:34Speaker 3: in your mother's womb, I knew you, Jeremiah. His voice
- 5:38Speaker 3: was firm and strong, but refreshing to the soul. Jeremiah
- 5:43Speaker 3: was equally mesmerized and afraid. Before you were born, I
- 5:48Speaker 3: set you apart for the nations. I have chosen you
- 5:52Speaker 3: as a prophet to them. You shall be the declarer
- 5:56Speaker 3: of my wisdom and judgment. The Lord spoke past Jeremiah's
- 6:01Speaker 3: mind and straight to his heart. Jeremiah quivered at the
- 6:05Speaker 3: Lord's call. He knew that the position of prophet was
- 6:09Speaker 3: a great responsibility. With it came trials, judgment and persecution.
- 6:17Speaker 3: My God, Jeremiah stuttered, I do not know how to
- 6:21Speaker 3: speak your truth. I am only a boy. How could
- 6:24Speaker 3: I do such things? Do not say to me, I
- 6:27Speaker 3: am too young, the Lord replied. Wherever I call you,
- 6:31Speaker 3: you will go. What I tell you, you speak. Fear
- 6:34Speaker 3: is for those who do not have my presence. A
- 6:38Speaker 3: bright light then burst through his mind's eye, and Jeremiah
- 6:42Speaker 3: was swept into the presence of God. He felt a
- 6:44Speaker 3: hand stretch out to him. and touch his mouth. Behold,
- 6:48Speaker 3: I have placed my words in your mouth. You are
- 6:51Speaker 3: to be set apart to watch over all the nations
- 6:54Speaker 3: and kingdoms. You shall witness the building and breaking of
- 6:58Speaker 3: all things before you. Jeremiah turned his mind's eyes forward.
- 7:03Speaker 3: He saw a budding almond branch slowly growing before him
- 7:07Speaker 3: and budding beautiful little flowers. He heard the Lord behind
- 7:11Speaker 3: him asking, Jeremiah, what do you see? I see an
- 7:17Speaker 3: almond branch, Jeremiah whispered. Yes, you see well. It, like
- 7:22Speaker 3: everything else, grows according to my word, the Lord replied.
- 7:27Speaker 3: Now what do you see? Jeremiah felt the whistling wind
- 7:32Speaker 3: pick up as he was shown the image of a
- 7:34Speaker 3: pot facing north. The pot was over a fire and
- 7:38Speaker 3: the water was simmering into a boil. Jeremiah watched as
- 7:42Speaker 3: the boiling water grew heavier. eventually spilling over onto the
- 7:46Speaker 3: fire below. I see a boiling pot, Jeremiah answered God.
- 7:51Speaker 3: It is facing away from the north. The Lord continued.
- 7:55Speaker 3: This time his tone was intense and filled with warning.
- 8:00Speaker 3: Out of the north disaster is boiling. Soon the kingdoms
- 8:03Speaker 3: of the north will boil over onto the land of Judah.
- 8:07Speaker 3: They shall come, and it will be with my permission,
- 8:09Speaker 3: for I am allowing them to come into the land
- 8:12Speaker 3: as judgment for Judah's past sins. They will burn and break,
- 8:17Speaker 3: but they shall not destroy, for I am still a
- 8:20Speaker 3: merciful God. Jeremiah still struggled to completely understand the will
- 8:25Speaker 3: of God, although he was meant to be a messenger
- 8:28Speaker 3: of the Lord that did not mean he was particularly
- 8:30Speaker 3: equipped to give it. The Lord was gracious to Jeremiah
- 8:34Speaker 3: and showed him several images of his plan to help explain.
- 8:38Speaker 3: Arise and go down to the potter's house in Jerusalem.
- 8:42Speaker 3: There I will show you my will. So Jeremiah packed
- 8:45Speaker 3: his things and made his way to the potter's house.
- 8:49Speaker 3: It was dawn by the time Jeremiah made it, and
- 8:51Speaker 3: the potter was already hard at work. The room smelled
- 8:55Speaker 3: like clay and campfire. Jeremiah watched as the potter worked
- 8:59Speaker 3: at his wheels. The clay spun fast on the wheel,
- 9:02Speaker 3: tamed by the potter's guiding hands. Jeremiah watched as the
- 9:07Speaker 3: potter gracefully worked his hands up and down the clay,
- 9:10Speaker 3: molding it into a tall and thin shape. The vessel
- 9:14Speaker 3: continued to spin on the wheel, however it began to
- 9:17Speaker 3: wobble and lose its thin frame. The top began to
- 9:20Speaker 3: sag and its edges became sloppy. Jeremiah became worried that
- 9:24Speaker 3: the pot was ruined and expected the potter to throw
- 9:27Speaker 3: away the clay and start over. Instead, the potter pressed
- 9:30Speaker 3: his fist down on the top of the clay. It
- 9:33Speaker 3: continued to spin and form into a round and wide bowl.
- 9:37Speaker 3: Jeremiah's eyes widened as he saw the potter form a
- 9:40Speaker 3: pot far more beautiful than the one before. The potter
- 9:44Speaker 3: meticulously designed the handles and spun the pot into a
- 9:48Speaker 3: marvelous work of art. Jeremiah did not realize it, but
- 9:52Speaker 3: he was crying watching the potter work. The Lord then
- 9:56Speaker 3: spoke to Jeremiah's heart. Can I not do the same?
- 10:00Speaker 3: thing that the potter has done? God said softly. The
- 10:04Speaker 3: clay in the potter's hand was unruly and unbalanced. It
- 10:08Speaker 3: had to be broken down to make something more marvelous.
- 10:11Speaker 3: Jeremiah watched the potter as he listened to the Lord.
- 10:15Speaker 3: I am shaping disaster so that something more splendid may
- 10:19Speaker 3: be made. Jeremiah was filled with purpose after this. He
- 10:24Speaker 3: left the potter's house and began to call out the
- 10:26Speaker 3: declarations of God in the temple courtyards and the city streets.
- 10:31Speaker 3: Amen your ways, Jeremiah declared. Turn from your evil ways
- 10:36Speaker 3: and embrace your Savior. Much of Jeremiah's words fell on
- 10:40Speaker 3: deaf ears. People passed and paid no attention. In fact,
- 10:44Speaker 3: many of them began to grumble at his words. Yet
- 10:48Speaker 3: Jeremiah continued to speak. We have turned our backs on God.
- 10:52Speaker 3: He says to us, My people have forgotten me like
- 10:55Speaker 3: a bride running away from his groom. As Jeremiah spoke
- 11:00Speaker 3: the words given to him by God, his heart began
- 11:03Speaker 3: to break. He could feel the hurt in the Lord's words.
- 11:07Speaker 3: He loved his people, and year after year, since freeing
- 11:10Speaker 3: them from slavery, they had found new ways to turn
- 11:13Speaker 3: away from him. Sorrow filled his heart, so he continued
- 11:17Speaker 3: to proclaim the warnings of God unashamed This caused some
- 11:22Speaker 3: elders to conspire against Jeremiah and sent him threats. He
- 11:26Speaker 3: did not cease preaching. He leaned on God for courage
- 11:30Speaker 3: and pressed on. It was midday, and Jeremiah was outside
- 11:34Speaker 3: the temple gates proclaiming the word of the Lord. He
- 11:37Speaker 3: spoke with the love and intensity of God, warning people
- 11:41Speaker 3: to repent and turn back to their first love. Pashur,
- 11:45Speaker 3: the chief officer and priest, watched Jeremiah from afar. He
- 11:49Speaker 3: could not stand the man speaking as though he was
- 11:52Speaker 3: the only mouthpiece of God. Jealousy dug its roots down
- 11:56Speaker 3: deep into his heart. Eventually, hatred boiled over in him.
- 12:01Speaker 3: He picked up a club that was often used to
- 12:03Speaker 3: protect the priests in case of a robbery and stormed
- 12:06Speaker 3: towards Jeremiah. The prophet could barely see the shadow of
- 12:10Speaker 3: Pashur before the club struck him over the side of
- 12:13Speaker 3: his face. Jeremiah fell onto the floor and smacked his
- 12:17Speaker 3: head on the cobblestone floor. Disoriented, Jeremiah stumbled to his knees,
- 12:22Speaker 3: only to be kicked in the jaw. Blood dripped from
- 12:25Speaker 3: his mouth. He finally glanced up to see Pashur looming
- 12:29Speaker 3: over him. Before Jeremiah could say a word, he received
- 12:32Speaker 3: a swift kick in the ribs. He could feel them
- 12:35Speaker 3: crack on impact. Writhing in pain, Jeremiah managed to open
- 12:39Speaker 3: his eyes, only to see the club descending down once again,
- 12:43Speaker 3: knocking him unconscious. Jeremiah woke up the next day. The
- 12:48Speaker 3: sun was beating down on the back of his neck.
- 12:51Speaker 3: He tried to move his hands to rub it, but
- 12:53Speaker 3: could not. Regaining consciousness, Jeremiah discovered that his head and
- 12:57Speaker 3: hands were bound in the stalks outside the temple gates.
- 13:01Speaker 3: People passed by him, giving him grim looks of disapproval
- 13:04Speaker 3: or hatred. Jeremiah hung there all day, receiving the spitting
- 13:09Speaker 3: and ridicule of passerbyers. He did not stop praying the
- 13:13Speaker 3: entire time. Although many of his prayers were asking God
- 13:17Speaker 3: to release him, He maintained his mission to preach repentance.
- 13:22Speaker 3: The day was drawing to a close and Jeremiah could
- 13:24Speaker 3: hear the footsteps of Pashur behind him. Without a word,
- 13:28Speaker 3: Pashur released him from the stocks and began to walk away.
- 13:31Speaker 3: Jeremiah cleared his throat. His head was throbbing due to
- 13:35Speaker 3: dehydration and the beating from the day before. He stood
- 13:39Speaker 3: to his feet and stuttered out a few words. The
- 13:42Speaker 3: Lord no longer calls you, Pashur, Jeremiah said. The officer
- 13:47Speaker 3: turned his head in curiosity. Jeremiah looked him deeply in
- 13:51Speaker 3: the eyes. You are no longer called Pashur, but terror
- 13:56Speaker 3: on every side. Pashur reached for his club to give
- 14:00Speaker 3: Jeremiah another beating. But Jeremiah continued, this time with the
- 14:05Speaker 3: full intensity of God behind his words. Thus says the Lord,
- 14:10Speaker 3: I will make you a terror to yourself and to
- 14:12Speaker 3: all who love you. Pashur froze, listening to Jeremiah intently.
- 14:17Speaker 3: They shall all fall by the sword of Babylon. All
- 14:21Speaker 3: of Judah will be given into the hand of the
- 14:23Speaker 3: great northern kingdom. Your friends shall be carried away as
- 14:26Speaker 3: captives and all the wealth of the city shall be
- 14:29Speaker 3: taken and you, Pashur, will be carried away as a captive.
- 14:33Speaker 3: You shall die as a captive like many. Pashur fled
- 14:37Speaker 3: from the prophet and Jeremiah fell to his knees and wept.
- 14:41Speaker 3: He lamented that he was given the role of warning
- 14:44Speaker 3: Judah He wanted to stop. He wanted to cease preaching
- 14:48Speaker 3: the word of the Lord. However, as Jeremiah prayed to
- 14:51Speaker 3: the Lord, he knew that he must continue. If I
- 14:54Speaker 3: did not preach your truth, there would be a fire
- 14:56Speaker 3: in my bones to speak. I cannot help but proclaim
- 15:00Speaker 3: your name. I would be weary if I held it in.
- 15:03Speaker 3: Jeremiah felt the heart of God. He would preach to
- 15:06Speaker 3: people who would not listen. He would love people that
- 15:09Speaker 3: would hate him in return. This was the burden and
- 15:13Speaker 3: calling of a shepherd.
- 15:19Speaker 4: Today's reading begins with a calling. God's voice goes out
- 15:23Speaker 4: to a young man in the courtyard of God's temple. Jeremiah,
- 15:26Speaker 4: that man, wasn't expecting this, but God had planned things
- 15:30Speaker 4: for him since before he was conceived, even in his
- 15:34Speaker 4: mother's womb. If there was ever any doubt how God
- 15:37Speaker 4: views the unborn, the words he speaks to Jeremiah leaves
- 15:42Speaker 4: us no doubt. There was a prophet in the womb
- 15:45Speaker 4: of this woman, his mother. God knew him and had
- 15:48Speaker 4: a purpose for him before his life began, and that
- 15:52Speaker 4: life began when he was conceived. A calling from God
- 15:56Speaker 4: is a privilege, and it should not be taken lightly.
- 16:00Speaker 4: Jeremiah seemed to understand the depth and gravity of this call.
- 16:05Speaker 4: This would be costly and often uncomfortable. People would even
- 16:08Speaker 4: hate him and want to take his life. And his
- 16:11Speaker 4: first reaction is to object.' I am too young to
- 16:15Speaker 4: speak for you,' was his reply. but God was not
- 16:18Speaker 4: interested in Jeremiah's objection or excuses. Still, he encouraged the
- 16:23Speaker 4: young man, saying in Jeremiah 1.8, Do not be afraid
- 16:27Speaker 4: of them, for I am with you to deliver you,
- 16:29Speaker 4: declares the Lord. God was reminding Jeremiah what we also
- 16:34Speaker 4: need to hear, that he who calls us is greater
- 16:38Speaker 4: than any obstacle that we face, that if God be
- 16:41Speaker 4: for us, who can be against us? We should always listen.
- 16:45Speaker 4: to the still small voice, to the word of God
- 16:48Speaker 4: that calls us to his service. The Lord then gave
- 16:52Speaker 4: Jeremiah a vision. A pot filled with water over a fire.
- 16:57Speaker 4: The pot was pointing north and the fire brought the
- 16:59Speaker 4: water to a boil. God then gave Jeremiah understanding of
- 17:03Speaker 4: what it meant. God's judgment was coming from the north
- 17:07Speaker 4: to punish Judah for its past sins. This would only
- 17:11Speaker 4: happened with God's permission, a reminder of the Lord's total
- 17:15Speaker 4: sovereignty and supremacy. God would use a foreign enemy for
- 17:19Speaker 4: his purposes to correct and cleanse his own people. And
- 17:23Speaker 4: though the enemy would invade, burn, and break Judah, they
- 17:27Speaker 4: would not destroy the people. Jeremiah was beginning to understand,
- 17:31Speaker 4: but he still needed more. The Lord showed him many
- 17:34Speaker 4: things that were going to happen, and yet he struggled
- 17:36Speaker 4: to grasp God's plans. We then heard how God sent
- 17:40Speaker 4: him to the house of a potter. It was time
- 17:43Speaker 4: for an object lesson. He watched as the potter worked
- 17:46Speaker 4: the wheel, spinning the clay and shaping it into a pot.
- 17:50Speaker 4: But the clay lost its shape and all seemed lost.
- 17:54Speaker 4: But rather than toss out the clay, the potter began
- 17:56Speaker 4: to work it again. God used this to explain how
- 18:01Speaker 4: he can use brokenness in our own lives to shape
- 18:04Speaker 4: his people. Jeremiah was filled with confidence and went about
- 18:08Speaker 4: speaking God's words and warnings to all who would listen. Unfortunately,
- 18:13Speaker 4: not many did. They turned away from God and His Word.
- 18:18Speaker 4: And just like the prophets who had come before him,
- 18:20Speaker 4: Jeremiah faced opposition, hatred, and even physical harm. We heard
- 18:26Speaker 4: the story of Pashur, the chief of priests, who was
- 18:29Speaker 4: so angry he beat Jeremiah and placed him in stocks
- 18:32Speaker 4: to be ridiculed by those who passed by. But just
- 18:36Speaker 4: as God had promised, in the end, those like Pashur
- 18:39Speaker 4: did not prevail against Jeremiah, and he continued working for
- 18:43Speaker 4: God's purposes. Speaking God's truth is not always easy, but
- 18:48Speaker 4: we should surely always speak God's words. Whether in ancient
- 18:52Speaker 4: Judah or in our culture today, when we speak God's truth,
- 18:57Speaker 4: it can be costly. It can be tiring. It can
- 19:02Speaker 4: be frightening. But as Jeremiah testified, he had no choice
- 19:06Speaker 4: but to cry out with God's word. Holding it in
- 19:09Speaker 4: was not an option. And even when we speak to
- 19:11Speaker 4: people who do not listen, it is our calling as
- 19:14Speaker 4: Christians to be witnesses of the good news, the gospel
- 19:18Speaker 4: of Christ, and to reach as many people as we
- 19:21Speaker 4: can with God's truth. This was what God was doing
- 19:24Speaker 4: through Jeremiah and what God wants to do through you.
- 19:29Speaker 4: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We pray
- 19:33Speaker 4: that you would give us strength and courage to always
- 19:36Speaker 4: stand for you and your truth, even when people don't
- 19:39Speaker 4: listen or are even hostile. Give us the resolve and
- 19:43Speaker 4: the resilience, the courage and the bravery to speak your
- 19:47Speaker 4: words with clarity and conviction. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank
- 19:53Speaker 4: you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
- 19:56Speaker 4: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download
- 20:00Speaker 4: the Pray.com app and make Bible study and prayer the
- 20:03Speaker 4: priority of your life. If you enjoyed this podcast, please
- 20:07Speaker 4: share it with someone you love. because the Word of
- 20:10Speaker 4: God will make a tremendous difference in people's lives. And
- 20:15Speaker 4: if you want to know more as to how you
- 20:16Speaker 4: can grow in your Christian life and faith, how you
- 20:20Speaker 4: can develop as a follower of Jesus into a strong,
- 20:23Speaker 4: dynamic witness, then be sure and visit jackgraham.org. We have
- 20:28Speaker 4: multiple resources there available for you. Again, that's jackgraham.org. God
- 20:34Speaker 4: bless you, and good day.