by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
Jeremiah had been to the potter’s house. In Jeremiah 18, he saw the craftsmanship the potter exercised in creating and then reshaping his work. I’m sure he saw the pleasure in the artisan’s face as the vessel took the shape he intended.<\/p>\n
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In chapter 19, the persecuted prophet is told to buy a new pot. I sometimes wonder if the pot he purchased was the one he’d seen the potter make before. God tells Jeremiah to take the pot, now hardened and ready for use, and shatter it in the presence of the people whose attention He’d been trying to get. To be sure, it was a vivid object lesson, and by the events in the next chapter, it wasn’t too well received.<\/p>\n
The broken pieces of the pot seem to represent the people’s brokenness as they continually defied God’s intended purpose. So, He got their attention with a broken pot.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, you’ve got to break some jars to get people’s attention. Everywhere we look, we see broken and shattered lives. People live in constant rebellion against God because, for most, it’s all they know. You’ve got to get their attention to help people understand the radical life adjustment they must make. Sometimes, it comes from a major traumatic life event; other times, it’s the simple yet sudden realization that there must be a better way. Whatever you have to do to get someone’s attention, do it. You may have to “break some jars,” but isn’t their eternal soul worth the disruption?<\/p>\n
“Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you and say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Just so will I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired”‘<\/em>” (Jeremiah 19:10-11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores Jeremiah had been to the potter’s house. In Jeremiah 18, he saw the craftsmanship the potter exercised in creating and then reshaping his work. I’m sure he saw the pleasure in the artisan’s face as the vessel took the shape he intended. In chapter 19, the persecuted prophet is told to buy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1015,179],"class_list":["post-68513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-jeremiah","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88343,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-the-hands-of-the-potter\/","url_meta":{"origin":68513,"position":0},"title":"In the Hands of the Potter","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Cleve Stafford \"Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel\" (Jeremiah 18:6). If you have ever watched an artisan potter at work, I think you will agree that it is mesmerizing. Those hands are so powerful, and yet they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/potter2-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20871,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-who-makes-the-broken-beautiful\/","url_meta":{"origin":68513,"position":1},"title":"God Who Makes the Broken Beautiful","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne Fancher I. The Earth from Without Form and Void to Beautiful Genesis 1:2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:31 Then God saw everything\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9125,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-medicinal-products\/","url_meta":{"origin":68513,"position":2},"title":"Notes on Medicinal Products","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Oils and ointments were used to treat wounds Isaiah 1:6 \"From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment.\" Jeremiah 8:22 \"Is there no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55546,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-does-matthew-quote-zechariah-but-attributes-it-to-jeremiah\/","url_meta":{"origin":68513,"position":3},"title":"Why does Matthew quote Zechariah but attributes it to Jeremiah?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello brother, I have a question about Matthew 27:9. A brother from church pointed out this verse where it says that it references Jeremiah, but I can't find that reference anywhere. Instead, I found it in Zachariah. Do you know why this is? Answer: \"Then that which was spoken\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10266,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-think-about-a-woman-who-smokes-pot-while-pregnant\/","url_meta":{"origin":68513,"position":4},"title":"What do you think about a woman who smokes pot while pregnant?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm interested in a girl, interested enough to get serious about her. She's pregnant with another boy's baby (he dumped her), but that's all right with me, I've made similar mistakes. But she smokes -- mostly cigarettes, but sometimes pot. I'm not certain, but I really like her. What\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38733,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-john-ever-put-in-a-boiling-pot-of-oil-and-came-out-still-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":68513,"position":5},"title":"Was John ever put in a boiling pot of oil and came out still preaching?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was John ever put in a boiling pot of oil and came out still preaching? Answer: Tertullian in A.D. 200 wrote, \"at Rome, the Apostle John, having been immersed in hot oil, suffered no harm at all from it\" (The Prescription against Heretics, chapter 36). 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