Jeremiah 18:11-12

C. The Proclamation to the People Jeremiah 18:11-12

TRANSLATION

(11) And now speak please unto the men of Judah and unto the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the LORD! Behold, I am about to form calamity against you and I am about to plan destruction against you. Turn now each man from his evil and amend your ways and your deeds. (12) But they say, It is hopeless; for after our thoughts we will walk and we will do every man according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.

COMMENTS

Great theological truths are not to be jealously guarded but freely shared with all who will receive them. So it is that Jeremiah is told to proclaim the great truth that he has discovered at the potter's house. The Lord is in the process of forming (Hebrew participle) and planning the destruction of the nation. The verb translated form is identical with the word translated potter in the preceding verses. No doubt the verb has been deliberately selected here to suggest the connection between what is now said and the episode of the potter just described. Just as the potter crushed the marred vessel in his hand and began anew, so God is about to destroy Judah and start all over again. In view of this impending disaster God pleads through his prophet for the people to repent (Jeremiah 18:11). It is not too late if they will only turn to God. The men of Judah respond to this last-ditch effort to secure their repentance in the same language which they used in Jeremiah 2:25. It is hopeless, they say. The mood here is not one of despondency but one of defiance. The leaders are warning the prophet that it is useless for him to continue trying to convert them. They are saying in Jeremiah 18:12, We have chosen our path and we will continue to walk in it regardless of what you say the consequences will be.