Daily Truth: But now, O LORD, you are the Father; we are the clay, and you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8
What an incredible picture! God is our Creator and the potter. We are his vessels or pottery. He shaped and molded us.
When a child understands the way in which pottery is made there is a better understanding about the verses in the Bible which use the words clay and potter. The clay begins as just a lump of matter (which is made up of elements known as silicates along with water, oxygen, and trace minerals) on the potter’s wheel. The clay is carefully molded by the potter’s hands into a masterpiece.
I find it interesting that water must be added to the clay to aid in the transformation. Without water we are unable to live. Water is cleansing too. In John 4:10 Jesus is the living water. In John 5:12 “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Just as clay needs water to be molded we too need “living water” to be cleansed and transformed.
A valuable experience that would lead to a clearer understanding of the clay and potter relationship is to have your child make their own piece of pottery or to plan a visit in which he or she can watch pottery being made. The following video shows how a potter makes pottery. (click here to watch video)
It is interesting in the video when the potter blows into the vessel. The breath from the potter gives shape and form to the clay. It reminds me of the verse in Genesis 2:7 “then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and then the man became a living creature.”
Job 33:6 “Truly I am as your spokesman before God; I also have been formed out of clay.”
God’s Word is truly amazing. God gives us word pictures to aid in our understanding of His Word.
Until the next “Truth” sharing moment,
Cathy Jo Johnson
