Jeremiah Learns Lesson from a Potter

Once upon a time, there was a man named Jeremiah. He was a prophet of God.

God had a lot of important things to say, and He chose Jeremiah to be His messenger.

Jeremiah had a very important job. He would gather all the people in a big square and tell them God’s messages.

Now, not everyone liked what Jeremiah had to say. Sometimes, the people were doing things that made God sad.

Jeremiah would tell them, “Hey, friends, you need to stop being bad. God is not happy with all this wrong doing.”

He warned the people, “If you don’t stop being bad, something bad might happen to our beautiful land.”

One day, God told Jeremiah, “Head on over to the house of a potter.”

A potter is an artist who makes things out of clay. They create bowls, lamps, plates, and all sorts of fantastic dishes from that squishy clay.”

The potter would take a blob of squishy, soft clay and place it on a little spinning table. And here’s the fun part – the potter used their feet to make the table twirl and twirl like a spinning top!

With skilled hands, the potter would give the clay a gentle hug and mold it into something fantastic. They shaped and squeezed it until it was just right. 🌀🏺✨

The potter had a super-hot oven called a kiln. They carefully placed their clay creation inside and baked it until it turned hard and tough.

Once the clay was baked and strong, it couldn’t change anymore. But when it was soft, the potter could turn it into anything they dreamed of!

Jeremiah’s eyes were wide with wonder as he watched the potter do his work.

The potter made the wheel spin, and his hands danced on the clay like a graceful ballet.

The clay was like a lump of playdough that wanted to become something amazing.

And it did! In no time, it turned into a shiny dish, just like the ones you eat your favorite cereal from.

But, oh dear, something went wrong!

Right there in the middle of its transformation, the clay had a surprise hidden inside. Maybe it was a sneaky stone or some stray bits of straw. Whatever it was, it made the potter frown and sigh. 😕🪴

After trying and trying to fix the clay, the potter finally said, “Well, we gave it our best shot, didn’t we?”

With a shrug, the potter decided to let go of the clay and start fresh with a new blob of clay.

God had a special message for Jeremiah, and His message was like a potter’s workshop.

You see, God was the master potter, and the people of Judah were the clay. God wanted them to be mold them into a wonderful and lovely nation.

But oh, there was a problem.

Just like those pesky stones and straw in the clay, the people of Judah kept doing bad things, called sin. It was like a bump in the road, stopping God from making Judah as beautiful as He wanted.

God whispered to Jeremiah. “Tell the folks in Judah that if they don’t stop their bad ways, I might have to let them go, just like the potter tosses out the clay that can’t be fixed. It’s time for them to choose goodness or risk getting into trouble.”

On another day, God gave Jeremiah another exciting mission.

He said, “Jeremiah, go visit that friendly potter’s shop again. This time, buy a clay jar, just like the ones people use to keep cookies or candies.”

Jeremiah did just that, clutching the clay jar in his hands.

God had a special plan in mind. He told Jeremiah to stand in front of the people and talk about being good and kind.

Then, after he was done talking, God said, “Jeremiah, take that jar and smash it!”

Now, you might wonder why in the world would God want a perfectly good jar to be broken?

God’s message was like this: “Hey, everyone! If you do what I say and be good, I’ll keep you safe, just like this jar. But if you don’t listen, your country might be in trouble, just like this jar is now.”

And here’s a secret: Even though we have prime ministers, kings, or presidents, God is like the big boss of all the countries in the world. He keeps an eye on them and helps them when they’re good and kind. 🌍👑🌈