Finding Grace

by Tommy Peeler

I become more convinced with time that grace can be found on every page, in every chapter of the Old Testament. I acknowledge that in some places this mercy is easier to see than in others.

Jeremiah 19 shows grace at work, but you may have to look a little harder to find it. Jeremiah is told to go to a potter’s house and to buy a vessel (Jeremiah 19:1). He took leaders from among the elders and the priests and went to the Valley of Ben-Hinnom (Jeremiah 19:2). Jeremiah shattered the vessel and said this was a picture of what God would do to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 19:10-13). Jeremiah also preached this message in the temple court (Jeremiah 19:14-15). Jerusalem was going to fall because they forsook God, served idols, shed innocent blood, and did not listen to the word of God (Jeremiah 19:4-5, 15).

Where is any hope or grace in that? Jeremiah 19 comes right after Jeremiah 18, which shows the conditional nature of prophecy (Jeremiah 18:5-12). God may speak judgment against a nation, but if that nation repents and turns from their evil, the LORD will turn from bringing calamity on them (Jeremiah 18:7-8). This is illustrated in both the history of Nineveh (Jonah 3) and Judah (Jeremiah 26:17-19). The word "calamity" in Jeremiah 19:15 is the same Hebrew word translated "calamity" in Jeremiah 18:8 (NASB: disaster; ESV: calamity). Jeremiah’s preaching in Jeremiah 19 is all judgment without a ray of hope. However, through the lens of Jeremiah 18:7-8, Jeremiah’s preaching of judgment calls Judah to repent and turn from evil. If they turn, there is the assurance that the LORD will show them mercy. Grace is found even in Jeremiah 19.