XVIII. Clay in the Potter’s
Head.—Jeremiah is driven by a divine impulse to the house where he had
often watched the potter at his wheel. As he reflects upon the skill and method
of the potter a message from God flashes through the prophet’s mind. The potter
is free to mould clay according to his purpose; clay which does not yield to
his design is not cast away, but fashioned again as the potter wishes. So does
God deal with His people; for nations and individuals He has a purpose; He does
not utterly cast away the intractable or rebellious; for such there is hope in
repentance and response to the guiding hand of Providence. Judah prefers to go
her own way and will not repent; Jeremiah reaffirms the warning of judgement,
to which the people respond by plotting against his life. Jeremiah lays his
cause before the Divine Judge and prays that the truth of his message may be
established. (B. M. Pickering, "Jeremiah," in A New Commentary on
Holy Scripture, ed. Charles Gore, H. G. Goudge, and A. Guillame [New York:
The Macmillan Company, 1929], 499)
For more on the potter-clay analogy and how it is not evidence of Reformed theology, see:
An Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed Theology