The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 456

might be. It is, perhaps, a -little to be wondered at that they should have gone with the prophet at all. And yet, although none might have quite the right lnotivo for going, each would have his own motive, and so au acquiescent assembly be formed. God knows how to subdue and blend the motives of men for his own purposes. In some minds there would be a superstitious regard for the prophetic office; in others, curiosity would operate; and in a few there might be somewhat of the hearing ear and ·under- standing mind. \Ve are, then, to imagine this company going forth; and they do not go forth at random. It is not for mere seclusion they go out of the city. They are led to the Yery place which, because of the abon)ina.tions practised in it, is to be one of:the principal causes of future woe. Thus we see how carefully God arranges the·circum- stances in which his truth is to be proclaimed. •• II. Tms BREAKING RAD A REASON, The thing was not done in mere wantonness and thoughtlessness, nor in passion, nor in carelessness. The prophet <lid not draw his lesson from a jar which some one else had happened to break. He got the vessel '\\"ith the deliberate purpose, divinely put into his mind, of breaking it. This was far enough away from the purpose with which it was made, and the vessel, once shattered, could be of no further use for this first purpose; but in its destruction it served a far nobler end than if it bad been carefully kept to carry water for many long years. Rightly considered, indeed, the vessel was not destroyed, but only its service divinely and wisely changed. So, looking from the symbol to the reality behind it, we must bear in mind that the capture of Jerusalem and the conquest of the.land of Israel served certain purposes of God. He did not separate this people and give them this land that. at last they might be scattered, even beyond the usnal scattering of a conquered people. But when the scattering did come, he sought to make it evident that it was from his hand. It was not a mere chance of war, but sometl,ing prepared for and prophesied- something to teach and warn the thoughtful among all nations. Ill. THE REASONS WRY THIS VESSEL WAS T_HUS SHAT'.J:ERED DEFO,RE THESE SPECTATORS, 1. To show the ease with which God can shatter any constr1{,ction of man. One 1esson bad already been drawn from the potter's vess~l (eh. xviii. 1-.10). That l~ssbn was drawn from the plasticity of the raw material. Now .another lesson has to be drawn from the fragility of the finished article. This fragiliLy was part of the nature of tho article. The potter could not be blamed because the.result of his work was so fragile. Fragility, indeed, is a relative quality. An insect could no more ·have broken this vessel than men by a single blow could level a {orest tree. Men talk of their pc;iwer lo do and their power to resist; but this is only in ignorance of the immense, exha11stless power which God in mercy hidesii:om the eyes of man .. A pott~r's vessel may be pre- served for millenniuIDS if it is sufficiently guarded; .but it has no strength in itself. These people of Jerusalem were reckoning on tb\l natural position and artificial securities of their city. Yet these very things WOllld only heighten their calamities an<l miseries. For they would persist in defence, ever hoping against ·hope, l!nUI, in theiL· extremity, they were forced to devour their very children. 'fie need. to bear in mind that, however great our natural advantages, our :prudence and foresight; we, as far as 01fr natul':1L life is concerned, are but as this fragile vessel iri the prophet's band. 2. To show _the impossibi?ity of man retrieving· the disaster. " That cannot be made whole again " (ver. 11). This vessel was not merely cracked. It was more than simply broken. It not only fell but was dashed to the ground with special force and determination. These people of Israel, once scattered,· could not gather themselves together again. Go<l could do it, but only God. And God would not do it; because that would only have b_een to reconstitute the fragile. The breaking of this vessel is only one of many lessons by which God would teach man his natural weakness. He destroys the old and the fragile, that he may pu~ in its place the new a~d _the iI)destructib.le. Our :wisdom i~ not to waste time in trying to strengthen wha:t 1s _rnhcrentlf weak; but to nccept .with glad thankfulness that real mercy of God which, Ill destroying the old Jerusalem; makes·way for the new and .heavenly Jerusalem, that city of God based on the tmly everlastiog hills.-Y, •  •11, x..x:. 1-18.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. 163