Isaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD, thou
[art] our father; we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the
work of thy hand.
Genesis 2:7
And the LORD God
formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Isaiah 29:16
Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed
as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me
not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no
understanding?
Romans 9:20-22
Nay but, O man, who
art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that
formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus?
2 Timothy 2:20
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and
of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to
dishonour.
Considering YHWH as our potter and us as the clay can make
clear to us that it is YHWH who forms and shapes us. Yet if we only consider
the relationship of the potter and clay as it is formed into a vessel of the
potters choosing we will miss much of the understanding that can be found in
this allegory given us from YHWH.
The relationship between potter and clay begins long before
the potter makes a vessel.
1)
The first thing a potter does is to choose a
suitable piece of earth. “…God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul”
when Adam fell he lost the breath of life in him and became only animated clay.
When he had children the also where of the earth, animated clay. The earth does
not choose the potter, it does not volunteer, and it performs no work. It is
the potter who looking upon the earth finds that which by His own labor will
become usable clay.
2)
The potter then digs out and removes the earth
from the earth around it and places it in his own vessel. When YHWH draws us
out of the earth and gives us faith to be in His vessel of His Son, Yeshua His
Messiah, we do not vary in appearance and substance from the rest of the earth.
Yet we are very different for we have entered a relationship with the Master
Potter.
3)
The potter now takes the earth in his vessel and
begins to add water mixing the water into the earth until it becomes about the
consistency of thick soup. Water in the scripture is often used to symbolize
both the word and the Spirit; which is reasonable since Yeshua said the words I
speak are Spirit and truth. So it is that YHWH teaches us His word and reveals
His truth until we become filled and saturated by it. Yet still the stones and
sticks and dead foliage and debris make us unsuitable as clay. This thinned
version of earth is called a slip and it is a necessity for the next step to
occur.
4)
The potter will now be able to screen away those
things that are unsuitable as the clay he is working to form. Yeshua tells us
we are sanctified by the washing of the word. He gives us His word that we will
give Him those parts of us that we can by the light of His word see are not
usable in us. Our self-produced ways, thoughts, desires, and actions all
crucified in Him that we may live unto our Father. Step three and four may be
repeated with a smaller and smaller screen if the potter feels it is needed
5)
The potter will now set the clay to the side and
allow it to set until it matures to his desired consistency. We as conscience
clay may at many points in this work of the potter in us not understand why we
are not yet a vessel or even usable clay. This setting aside is often the most
vexing part of the potter’s process for the clay. With many of us as John
warned us may feel condemned in our heart but as John also promises us YHWH is
greater than our heart.
6)
The potter now begins to form the vessel that
has been in his mind and heart to make since he first set out to find the
earth. The scripture tells us that in a great house are many vessels some for
honor and some for dishonor. To some this is perplexing because why would YHWH
make a vessel of dishonor? The short answer for His own needs. In way of explanation
I have a lot of vessels in my own house; some my wife has displayed in a
cabinet for those who see them to see their beauty, others are used to eat from
and prepare food, others for household uses and to accomplish certain task, still
others such as a toilet or a bathtub have an important function but I have as
yet to ask someone to come and admire my toilet. Consider for a moment though
which vessel is most needed by me and those of dishonor are the most needful
for my house to function as I desire.
7)
When the vessel is finished it must be strengthened
to the end that it keep its shape and therefore its usefulness. Many times in
steps one through six we feel persecuted and as if we are in trials the purpose
for those things is to remove the earthly things from us and make us usable.
The persecutions that attend to step seven are not to remove from us but
because of what we have been formed to contain…His righteousness, His inheritance,
His living word, His love, His life, in short Him.
When the Spirit drew me to look into the full relationship
between the potter and the clay I was greatly blessed and encouraged. It was in
my heart this morning to share these things with you so I do so with expectancy
that it will do the same for you.
