Reading Meditation: Potter
Derived from a meditation from a Scripture reading on the Lord's Day
Consider the following passage in the book of Isaiah:
1 Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
2 As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
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.
9 Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
Isaiah 64:1-9 (KJV)
We see here the prophet wishing that God would use His power against His enemies, who oppress the people of God, Israel, and also to save His people. Isaiah recognizes that God’s people are merely clay in the hands of a potter, formed to His liking. The context of this part of the book is the Servant of the Lord (which is introduced in Isaiah 42) who is the Messiah. Isaiah 60-62 says the promised Messiah, Servant of the Lord, will not only save Israel but bring peace and security to Jerusalem forever (compare Isaiah 60:19-20 to Zechariah 14:6-7 and Revelation 21:2-4, 21:23-24, 22:5). Our Lord Jesus Christ read from Isaiah 61 and said this was talking of Himself:
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Luke 4:17-21 (KJV)
Isaiah 63 then talks about a coming judgment on Edom. This was literally fulfilled of course, but we see a foreshadowing to the judgment in Revelation 14:14-20, 19:15 with the treading of the winepress in the Great Tribulation (a judgment on the nations and idolatrous Israel). Then Isaiah 63 recalls the mercy of the Lord throughout the history of Israel, specifically the redemption from Egypt. The chapter ends with a prayer for mercy because the enemies have destroyed the Temple and driven them from the land because of their hearts were hardened (this is looking prophetically to the first Temple being destroyed).
Finally arriving at our passage in the beginning of this article, Isaiah 64 begins with a prayer for God to show Himself mighty like in the days of old. That God would make Himself known to the nations. Notice that Isaiah recognizes that God acts in the real world for those who wait on Him. But as a people, we have sinned, therefore all our righteous deeds are like dirty rags, because God delights in a heart repentant than one who only is outwardly obedient (Joel 2:12-13). For those who have read the Scriptures, this should sound familiar to us, because indeed, we have all sinned and that is why we need a Savior.
God is the potter, all of us are the clay. He molds those of us in Jesus Christ into vessels of honor, as we read in Romans 9:21. If we read carefully, Isaiah 63:17 and 64:8-9 cover the same line of thinking as Romans 9:20-24:
17 O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
Isaiah 63:17 (KJV)
…
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.
9 Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
Isaiah 64:8-9 (KJV)
20 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?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
Romans 9:20-24 (KJV)
Isaiah asks God for mercy in this passage remembering God is in control of absolutely everything, the forces of nature, the enemies outside, the enemies inside and Israel.
This should be a great comfort to us in Christ, because although things look dire inside the Church and in our society as a whole, the Lord who is Sovereign over all creation, saved His people in the days of old, even in the days before Christ. And now that we are in Christ, the substance of the shadows have come and we can still trust that His righteousness and justice will reach the entirety of creation. Nothing is outside of His control and His promises to His Anointed (Messiah) stand forever.
If we were to continue reading on to Isaiah 65 we see what happens next, God answers the prophet. God will treat the vessels of dishonor with utter destruction, and His vessels of honor, His chosen (His Servant and those in Him) inherit the New Heavens and New Earth. Those who only worship outwardly (but inwardly reject God) have their sacrifices rejected and are worse than gentiles. But for those in Christ, a New Covenant age begins, where God will be worshipped by His people in the New Jerusalem forever (see Isaiah 66, compare Isaiah 65 to Revelation 21-22).