jeremiah: profile of courage chapters 18-20 “the potter, pot, and fire”

Jeremiah:Jeremiah:Profile of CourageProfile of Courage

Chapters 18-20Chapters 18-20

““The Potter, Pot, and Fire”The Potter, Pot, and Fire”

Jeremiah - Spring 2013 Week Topic

Mar 6 Dark Prophecies: Introduction and Jeremiah 1-6

Mar 13 Dark Prophecies: Jeremiah 1-6 continued

Mar 20 False Worship: Jeremiah 7-10

Mar 27 Broken Promises, Shattered Pride: Jeremiah 11-15

Apr 3 Sin Carved on the Heart: Jeremiah 16-17

Apr 10 The Potter, Pot, and Fire: Jeremiah 18-20

Apr 17 A Scattered Flock: Jeremiah 21-24

Apr 24 God’s Law on the Heart: Jeremiah 25-33

May 1 Broken Covenants: Jeremiah 34-35

May 8 God’s Indestructible Word: Jeremiah 36-38

May 15 Judgment and Justice: Jeremiah 39-45

May 22 God’s Justice Among Nations: Jeremiah 46-52

May 29 Summary of Jeremiah

Today’s Objectives

• Review last weeks lesson, including historical setting

• Learn how Jeremiah used the pottery making process to illustrate Judah’s situation

• See how faith and discouragement were mixed in Jeremiah’s attitude toward his ministry

• Our individual and group ministries, though hard, are important

Review of Chapters 16-17

• Historical setting

• Understanding of why Jeremiah withdrew from common societal practices

• Developed a deeper understanding of why judgment was coming on Judah

• Appreciate the subtleties of self-deception

• Identify sources of water that strengthens your faith

Historical Review• Prophecy in Chapter 16-17 placed around 605 B.C.

• Political background– Temple had been rebuilt for about 16 years– King Josiah had died at Megiddo in the hands of the

Egyptians, replaced by his son (Jehoahaz), then grandson (Jehoiakim)

– Battle of Carchemish (605 B.C.): Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) defeats Egypt (Necho II) and changes the balance of power in the region.

– 601 B.C. Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) attacks Egypt (Necho) and is driven back to Babylon

– Judah’s shifting alliances: Egypt then Babylon then Egypt

Nebuchadnezzar's Attacks on Jerusalem

Date Extent Result

605 B.C. Quick strike Sons of noble families deported for civil service (including Daniel)

597 B.C. Major Attack King Jehoiachin deposed; leading families and skilled workers deported (Ezekiel included)

588-586 B.C. Total Destruction City and temple destroyed; King Zedekiah blinded; all but the poor deported

Key People• Jeremiah

– Served the last five kings of Judah

– Confidant of King Josiah (639-608 B.C.), King Jehoiakim (608-597 B.C.), and King Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.)

– Member of a priestly family and was from Anathoth

– May have descended from Abiathar, a distrusted priest

– Fled to Egypt with Beruch upon destruction of Jerusalem

• King Josiah – “Great Reform” (2 Ki 22-23, particularly 2 Ki 23:3)– 639-609 B.C.

– Foremost among all the kings for unswerving loyalty to God

– Rebuilding of the temple

– Discovery of the law of Moses (Book of Deuteronomy)

Key People• King Jehoiakim

– King of Judah, 608-597 B.C., corrupt and wicked

– Carried off in first Babylonian captivity (2 Ch 36:6)

• Nebuchadnezzar– Babylonian King from 605-652 B.C.

– Military commander that defeated Egypt in 605 B.C.

– Conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

• Pashur– Son of Immer

– “Chief Governor in the house of the Lord” i.e. “deputy”

– Seraiah was Governor of the temple at that time (2Ki 25:18)

– Persecuted, imprisoned Jeremiah

The Shaped Clay (18:1-12) 1 of 2

• Perilous times for Judah (605 B.C.)– Allied with Egypt after Carchemish

– Babylonian Army invades

– Many taken captive

• God directs Jeremiah to the Potter’s house– To receive a message (vss. 1-2)

– Jeremiah watches the Potter’s work

– The potter reshapes the clay (vss. 3-4)

– God applies the metaphor to Judah (vss. 5-6)

• Using the metaphor of a potter molding clay, what did God mean?– He held the future of Judah in his hands– He would change their future based upon what he saw– God’s blessing or judgment would come depending on

the nation’s deeds (vss. 7-10)

• What did God decided to do?– Strike Judah with a disaster (vs. 11)– Each would follow the stubbornness of his evil heart (vs.

12)– Other uses of clay in the bible as a metaphor?

The Shaped Clay (18:1-12) 2 of 2

• Poetic indictment (vss 13-17)– Jeremiah contrasts the predictability of certain

facts of nature with Israel’s undependability• Snow, streams are constant

• Call, again, to get rid of Jeremiah (vs 18)

• Jeremiah’s prayer (vss 19-23)– Jeremiah’s seeks God’s revenge upon those who

threaten him

– Justice served upon those who opposed God’s message

Israel’s Behavior (18:13-23)

• Second trip to the Potter’s house (vs. 1)– With a delegation of elders and priests

– Purchased a Potter’s clay bottle

• Delegation travels to the East gate and into the Valley of Ben Hinnom fires of the city dump– Jeremiah delivers God’s message (vss. 2-3)

– Describes new horrors (vss. 7-10)

– Jeremiah shatters the clay bottle (vss. 11-12)

– Jeremiah repeats the message in the temple (vs. 14)

The Smashed Pot (19:1-15)

• King Jehoiakim had Jeremiah arrested (vss. 1-3)– Pashur: priest who was the chief governor, also describe

as head of the security force– Orders Jeremiah beaten and shackled– Occurs in the 21 year of Jeremiah’s ministry– Could expect nearly 20 more years of physical

persecution before Judah would fall

• Jeremiah renames Pashur (vss. 3-6)– Pashur means “prosperity everywhere”– Jeremiah renamed him “terror on every side”– Prophesy about the doom of Pashur

Physical Persecution (20:1-6)

• Jeremiah feels deceived by God (vss. 7-8)– Physical abuse– Mocking, shame, ridicule– Although God had warned him (vss. 1:17-19)– Life was getting much worse than he had pictured

• Jeremiah felt overcome by God’s power – Despite persecution, could not hold God’s word in (vs.

9)– God instills hope against persecutors (vs. 11)– Fluctuating emotions causes continued struggels (vs.

13-18)

The Suffering Prophet (20:7-18)

Review

• Reviewed last weeks lesson, including historical setting

• Learned how Jeremiah used the pottery making process to illustrate Judah’s situation

• Saw how faith and discouragement were mixed in Jeremiah’s attitude toward his ministry

• Our individual and group ministries, though hard, are important

• Next week Jeremiah 21-24