Read: Isaiah 63.7-64.12
Verses chosen for meditation: Isaiah 64:8-12
But now, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Be not so terribly angry, O Lord,
and remember not iniquity forever.
Behold, please look, we are all your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful[d] house,
where our fathers praised you,
has been burned by fire,
and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
12 Will you restrain yourself at these things, O Lord?
Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?
Reflect:
The prophet Isaiah (or whoever wrote the scroll) pleaded with God to stay his hand in afflicting Israel. While God was merciful and patient, Israel strayed time and again. The writer knew this and was desperately praying to God to be merciful. He was appealing to God's compassion and promises. Hoping that God would once again, give hope to a dying people.
In his cry for restoration and hope, the writer acknowledged that God is the Potter and Israel was but clay in his hands. The writer knew that God has the authority and power to do what He wants with Israel. He has all the right to destroy Israel for her sins. For all of Israel's wickedness and rebellion, she remains the clay. Helpless, powerless and totally at the mercy of He who moulds all men.
Yet, for a long time and even up till today, Israel (generally speaking) did not seem to get this truth. With all of her military might, economic powers, tenacity of the people and enormous backing from the United States; the truth is that she is the clay. The clay who should bow not to the favour of the Americans, but rather to the God who brought them out of Egypt and of the many near-death situations that came after.
Relate
As we pray for the Israeli government to do the right thing and be merciful in Gaza, we pray for ourselves too. We pray for ourselves that we do not forget that God is the Potter and we are the clay. We are dependent on the Potter to mould and shape us into better people. And so we cling on to the Savior.
We might have been a Christian for a long time and forgotten that God is the Potter and we are clay. We might have forgotten on the days when we pleaded with God and He stayed His hand. We might have forgotten our identity in Christ and live a life without any reverence for God. We might have forgotten on how we were so dependent on His word and Spirit. And now we live according to what the world thinks of us; instead of having our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Or our faith might be young and yet we cannot seem to get it going with our spiritual disciplines. We cannot seem to get past what we have been doing for the past months. We seem to be falling backwards to the old self. The new self seems so difficult to put on. So challenging to be living the new life. It does not seem to be what Jesus said as the yoke is easy and burden light.
Today's passage serves as a reminder; no matter our spiritual maturity. God is the Potter and we are the clay. We need Him. We need Him to keep us going in the faith. His yoke is indeed easy and burden light for He promised to give grace and strength to live the new life. He even promised the gift of the Person of the Holy Spirit.
At any time we think that we are self sufficient, we lose sight of the Potter because we no longer behave like the clay. We try to become the Potter instead. And fail miserably.
So yes, God is the Potter and we are the clay. We are suppose to cling on to the Potter because He is the One who gives directions and we obey. We obey not because the Potter is just the Almighty. But He is Love. We obey because the Potter held out the best way for us in His love. And when we become clay that bends according to His moulding, we will become the best pottery that is meant to be. And then we will be of good use to the Master.
Rest
Lord, keep us close to You. You are the Potter and we are the clay. Shape us, mould us. Change our heart. Make it ever true. We need Your spirit so that we can become more like You. Amen.
Jason
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