Chapter Eighteen

1–12. The potter and the clay. 13–17. The faithlessness of the Jews toward God. 18–23. Their schemes against the prophet.

Jer 18:1-12 God, as the Supreme Lord, has every right both to give promises and to revoke them, just as a potter can dispose of the clay in his hands as he wishes. When the state of one nation or another changes, so does God’s relation toward that nation. Yet this admonition, delivered by the prophet to the people, met with complete opposition from the people.

Jeremiah 18:1. The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Jeremiah 18:2. “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you. “Go down.” The potters lived below, outside the city, where they could obtain clay for themselves—perhaps near the valley of Hinnom.

Jeremiah 18:3. And I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he was working at his work on the wheel. The wheel—a potter’s lathe consisting of two disks and operated by foot (among ancient Egyptians—by the left hand). The potter shaped the outer side of the vessel with his right hand while gradually expanding its interior with his left hand.

Jeremiah 18:6. Can I not deal with you, O house of Israel, as this potter does? declares the Lord. Behold, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. The image of God as a potter is found frequently among other Church writers (Job 10:9; Isa 29:16; Wis 15:7; Sir 36:13; Rom 9:21). Jer 18:13-17 The faithlessness of Israel toward God, their Benefactor, is utterly unnatural and brings grave consequences for Israel, for the Lord will turn His face from them and abandon the Jews to the control of their enemies.

Jeremiah 18:14. Does the snow of Lebanon ever leave the rocky crags of the field? Do the cold flowing waters ever run dry? The snow on the highest crags of Lebanon never melts, even in the scorching summer. —“The cold flowing waters...” These are waters flowing from the regions of Lebanon, from Syria—hence foreign to Palestine. Lebanon sustains them with its snow and they constantly flow from its peaks. The prophet clearly contrasts these foreign, foreign waters with the waters of Canaan, that is, the people of Israel, which resembles a Canaanite stream that dries up in summer.

Jeremiah 18:17. Like an east wind I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them My back and not My face in the day of their calamity. The east wind in Palestine is distinguished by its exceptional force and drying heat (Ps 47:8; Job 27:21; Jer 13:24). Jer 18:18-23 In view of his enemies’ schemes against him, the prophet asks God to punish them according to strict justice. These enemies are the priests, wise men, and prophets, who considered themselves the legitimate and capable leaders of the chosen people.

Jeremiah 18:18. And they said: “Come, let us devise schemes against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us smite him with the tongue and let us not listen to his words. The priests were the guardians of the Law of Moses among the people, the wise men were counselors to the rulers and leaders of the people, and the prophets transmitted divine revelations. —“Smite him with the tongue” means to bring a serious accusation against Jeremiah (compare verse 23 and Jer 19:2, verses 11 and following).

Jeremiah 18:20. Is evil a fit return for good? Yet they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before You to speak good things for them, to turn away Your wrath from them. Compare Ps 34:1-2. Special remarks. The parable-speech of the prophet contained in this chapter was said, most likely, during the reign of Jehoiakim. This is demonstrated by its similarity with the speech of Chapter XIX, which by all evidence was delivered precisely during the reign of that king.