Jeremiah 18:5-10 - Can I not do with you what I will?

18:5,6

So the key points from the incident are: (i) the pot went bad, becoming misshapen; (ii) the potter reformed the clay and started again; (iii) the potter did as he saw fit. The message is that God can do what He likes with Israel (and, indeed, with the whole world). Jeremiah was appalled at what was going to happen to Judah, and God is trying to get him to understand. Note that Jeremiah is still fulfilling God’s command, even while he is learning. God often teaches us “on the job”, and not just in terms of equipping us to do the work, but in giving us godly understanding, making us more Christlike.

18:7-10

These verses set out very clearly the principles on which God’s justice operates, and His mercy. First, nations are appointed by God. Success of failure of a nation is ultimately dependent upon the Lord, not on human power. This does not mean that it doesn’t matter what nations do, the whole context of this section makes it very clear that it does matter. God will warn nations, and if they repent then God will relent from the judgement upon that nation. Nineveh in Jonah 3 is a prime example of this. Likewise, if a nation is destined for success but then commits evil, it will be uprooted. And these “rules” applied to Israel as well.