Napoleon Bonaparte, at the height of his career, was asked by someone if God was on the side of France. He responded: “God is on the side that has the heaviest artillery.”
But then came the famous Battle of Waterloo when Napoleon lost the battle and his empire. Napoleon was sent into exile on the island of St. Helena, humbled. It is reported that he quoted a German theologian, Thomas a Kempis: “Man proposes; God disposes.”
Before we move into the text itself, let’s define the word “sovereignty:” “supreme power or authority.” Human beings have a great degree of “sovereignty.” When it comes to God, the Bible teaches that He is sovereign over the entire universe and everything in it. Jeremiah 18 illustrates this on the level of nations.
THE POTTER – 18:1-4:
Verse 4 is the key to the whole text: the potter did “what he pleased.” That is going to be the message God gives to Jeremiah for Israel.
THE MESSAGE TO ISRAEL – 18:5-6:
At this point, with this object lesson in front of him, God gives the message to Jeremiah which he is to share with Israel. “Like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.”
God can do with Israel as He pleases. If Israel is complaining about being taken over or punished by the Babylonian nation, it is God’s sovereign right to do that. He has a plan to accomplish.
THE MESSAGE TO ALL NATIONS – 18:7-10:
Verse 8 lets us know that this destruction is entirely contingent on the free will choices of the people of those nations. IF they relent of their evil, if they repent of their wickedness, then God will not destroy them. The city of Nineveh, at the preaching of the prophet Jonah, is a great example of this point.
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On the other hand (verse 9), if a nation is being blessed by God but then chooses to do evil (please observe the word “obeying” – vs 10), God has the sovereign right to change what He had planned to do with the nation. America is a great example of this point (cf. Psa. 115:3).
JEREMIAH’S MESSAGE TO ISRAEL – 18:11:
The conclusion to Jeremiah’s message, as far as our study is concerned, is found in verse 11. There is still hope, as there always is, verse 11b. Repentance. Restoration.
The apostle Paul makes reference to this passage, specifically verse 6, in Romans 9. Many of our religious friends read Romans 9 and believe it teaches that in God’s sovereignty, He chooses which individual people will be saved and which will be lost. But Paul’s point in Romans 9 is not about individual salvation.
Paul’s point in Romans 9 is the same as Jeremiah’s point in Jeremiah 18. The theme of Romans 9 is: “What is the situation with Paul’s ‘kinsmen according to the flesh’ since Christ is God’s chosen vessel of salvation today?” Where does the Israelite nation stand today in God’s eyes? What good was it to be an Israelite if God was going to save the world through Christ and faith, and not Israel and the Law of Moses?
God has the sovereign right to do with Israel as He pleases. The role of Israel was to bring Jesus into the world (verse 5). Israel fulfilled her purpose. If she wants to be saved, then she’ll believe and accept Christ. But God has the right to do with Israel what He pleases.
Now, what about today? I have already indicated that God can and will do with the United States of America what He pleases. Every church of Christ, as the body of Christ, also falls within the promise and warning of chapter 18 of Jeremiah. God can do with us as a body what He chooses. We may feel like He is blessing us. The only way to know if God is blessing us is to make sure we are obeying what Christ commands of His people.
Let us be faithful to God and trust His decisions. He will do what is right.
–Paul Holland
