Have You Been To The Beit Yatsar?

Jeremiah went… but have we been?

To The Potters House

בֵּ֣ית הַיּוֹצֵ֑ר

בֵּ֣ית  beit-house 

הַיּ

to the

יָצַר  – yatsar – yaw-tsar -potter

yatsar: to form, fashion

strongs 3335

יָצַר
Transliteration: yatsar
Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-tsar’)
Definition: to form, fashion Creator, earthenware. 

Before we allow ourselves to think that we know this story and the many sermons and teachings; let’s see what pearls we may have missed, and view it fresh from Hebraic thought, culture and language…

Genesis 2:7 
HEB: וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים
KJV: God formed man

2 Samuel 17:28 
HEB: וְסַפּוֹת֙ וּכְלִ֣י יוֹצֵ֔ר וְחִטִּ֥ים וּשְׂעֹרִ֖ים
KJV: and basons, and earthen vessels,

Psalm 2:9 
HEB: בַּרְזֶ֑ל כִּכְלִ֖י יוֹצֵ֣ר תְּנַפְּצֵֽם׃ 
KJV: thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Jeremiah 18:2 
HEB: וְיָרַדְתָּ֖ בֵּ֣ית הַיּוֹצֵ֑ר וְשָׁ֖מָּה אַשְׁמִֽיעֲךָ֥
KJV: and go down to the potter’s house,

ירמיהו

Jeremiah

can be either

Yirmeyahu or Yirmeyah.

 

What Happened on the Way to the Potters House?

Go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. (Jeremiah 19:1–2)

The Potsherd Gate is probably the same as the Dung Gate (Nehemiah 3:13–14) which exited out to a general dump heap of the city in the Hinnom Valley where, in the days of King Manasseh, child sacrifices took place (2 Chronicles 33:6).

DUNG GATE. dung (‘ashpoth, domen, peresh; skubalon, etc.): Nine different words occurring in the Hebrew have been translated “dung” in the Old Testament;

‘ashpoth, is the word used to designate the gate in Nehemiah 2:13; 3:14 as it’s more general than the others and may mean any kind of refuse. The gate was probably so named because outside it was the general dump heap of the city.

 

The potsherd gate was also the exit from the city to where everyone dumped their broken pottery outside the wall.

So Jeremiah would have seen all the broken pots/vessels as he passed by. 

Pictured here are thousands of pottery shards that are over 2000 years old at Beth Shemesh.

Here too there is a passing reference to the Hinnom Valley which may be more familiar to us as the field of blood in Matthew 27:9-10.

In Hebrew called Akeldama  חקל דמא   Ḥaqel D’ma.

The name Akeldama, Aceldama or Hakeldama occurs only once in the Bible, namely in Acts 1:19. The earth in this area is composed of rich clay and was formerly used by potters. The clay had a strong red color (Adam), it was for this reason the place was known as the Potter’s Field. 

Some verses in Jeremiah to look up.  Jer. 7:31-34 and Jer. 19:1-15.  Interestingly, these verses are talking about the Valley of Hinnom, which is the same area as the Potter’s field, which is also where Judas was thrown. The Valley of the Son of Hinnom was considered accursed. Those who were buried there, or rather who were thrown there without burial, were considered the worst of sinners and discarded there as a sign that they were considered to be cursed, and to be unworthy of burial.  The 30 pieces of silver purchased the field referenced in Matthew 27:9-10. Then was fulfilled what was SPOKEN (not written) by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me’

The Zechariah reference says the money was to go to the potter in the house of the Lord (i.e. the person in charge of making ceremonial pottery for the temple). 

Zechariah 11:13 And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”–this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

All misshapen pottery was to be thrown out as unclean and broken.  It was to be thrown into the Valley of Hinnom – the city dump – broken worthless and thrown there like the worst of sinners.

So on the WAY to the Potters House, Jeremiah passes by the place where a sum of 30 pieces of silver was involved and Messiah’s betrayer was thrown as a worthless, broken vessel into the valley of Hinnom also know as Gehenna/Hell!/The valley of the shadow of death!

Somewhat significant maybe?

 

 

What Happens at the Potter’s House?

18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

First, Jeremiah is told he will be given a message from the Lord.

So in obedience he went.

In our case, when we go to the potters house it is into the presence of the Master Potter and we too will hear from Him.

Jeremiah 18:3 
HEB: וָאֵרֵ֖ד בֵּ֣ית הַיּוֹצֵ֑ר [וְהִנֵּהוּ כ]
KJV: Then I went down to the potter’s house,

And What Did Jeremiah See?

and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

But What Did Jeremiah See?

Not the almond branch this time..

“Behold, the potter wrought his work on the wheels, and the vessel that he made of the clay was marred” – 

נִשְׁחַת Hebrew: shacath; to decay, ruin.

Here, the Septuagint Version has “fell”:

it is indicating a spiritual fall? – “in the hand of the potter.”

The clay is MARRED/FALLEN in the hand of the Potter;

IN not out of the hand.

It never falls out of the hand of the Potter: it is marred in it. 

So is it possible it is referring to not just

a mark or a dent, a bump or a slight imperfection

but a fall?

However, it is fallen in His hands –

when we fall stumble in sin,

we are in the Master Potters hands

and He will hold us until

we turn around/teshuavah/repent;

and then He remolds us.

We have a big part to play in the creative process because the potter can only work within the limits of clay:

a flaw, a rebellious, inflexible mingling of contaminations,

a hard opposition to the molding process,

and…. the vessel is marred/fallen!  

God has left it to each of us to decide whether we shall be

a vessel unto honor, 

or

a vessel unto dishonor. 

In 2Tim. 2:1-23 Paul says:

 “If a man purge himself from these” –

these what?

cowardice; want of faith; 

a controversial spirit; 

wrong handling of Scripture; 

ungodliness; error on resurrection; 

retention of old sins –

“he shall be a vessel UNTO HONOUR” (2 Tim. 2: 21).  

The scriptures remind us that we are the clay

in

His capable hands.

Jeremiah 18:6 
HEB: כַחֹ֙מֶר֙ בְּיַ֣ד הַיּוֹצֵ֔ר כֵּן־ אַתֶּ֥ם
KJV: Behold, as the clay [is] in the potter’s hand,

Isaiah 64:8 
HEB: הַחֹ֙מֶר֙ וְאַתָּ֣ה יֹצְרֵ֔נוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יָדְךָ֖
KJV: we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work

Jeremiah was facing difficult times and the Lord wanted to teach him a special lesson, so that He could understand why such hard times were coming upon the nation of Israel.

So, He sent Jeremiah to the house of the potter where Jeremiah started to understand God’s truths.

 Jeremiah 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay [is] in the potter’s hand, so [are] ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 

What Will We Find at the Potters House?

The potter makes pots of all sizes and shapes for all kinds of uses.

The potter has a process for preparing the clay, and we probably all know it; many sermons have been preached on it. We think it is a very nice analogy and we go on our way. We may even be suffering from sermon fatigue having heard the same thing over and over and it has become boring and we have lost interest…

BUT…

have we been to the potters house ourselves?

Have we actually allowed the process to be done in us?

Have we truly submitted this vessel of clay to be reworked and remolded by the divine potter?

The re-making is a painful process; so it can be a temptation to side step and take a diversion/another path along the WAY…to see if we can avoid it…  

The clay has to be crushed back into mud again; and the Potter has to knead it on his bench, until it is plastic enough to take a fresh shape.

Our Heavenly Father uses this picture for a word of tremendous, warning to the unsaved.  

There are limits both to the will and to the power of the potter.

In the English Potteries they enamel a vessel with black; then put it into an oven; and the scorching heat turns the black to gold: it is the only way they can make the gold.

 Some clays are very pure, and rich, and pliable; almost white, so that they can be made into the finest porcelain: others are too soft – the technical term is fat – to be used as they are; others have such an excess of iron/red in them, that they can be used only for colored earthenware; other clays will form, but then they will twist or crack in the firing.  

Cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord.  

Yes, is the answer, but only as the potter can:

“as in the potter’s hand, so in Mine.”  

So long as the clay is plastic, it will take any shape:

let it once be fired, and it is not plastic, shapeable clay anymore:

its’ mold can now never be altered.  

It is possible for a heart and a life to grow so hard that it is only fit to be destroyed?

“and he shall break it as a potter’s vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing: so that there shall not be found among the pieces thereof a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the cistern” (Isa. 30: 14) 

We must be molded into the Holy will of The Master Potter, or else all that can be done, is a total breaking apart- leaving only shattered fragments that can never be put back together again –

“everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”

This indeed is spiritual death…

I AM/ANOCHI the Potter and you are the clay.

Have we allowed Him to break us up His WAY,

and take up the broken pieces of our lives

and bring together a new vessel

worthy of the Master Potters mark/signature?

Every potter marks their work, sealing it so others may know who that craftsmen was and seek them out to gain a worthy vessel. One that can be trusted, depended upon to perform the duty to which they were assigned, to be and to fulfill the function they were designed for. Can people see the mark/seal of the hand of the Lord on us?

Have we been to the Master of ALL potters’ House yet?

Following is a look at the potters vessels from a middle eastern, Hebraic mind set in Jeremiah’s time; and it reveals how those listening to the references in Yeshua/Jesus’ day, to various pots and vessels, would have understood the concepts and the message.

While our Heavenly Father is not explicitly called a potter in Beresheet/Genesis, the presence of the verb:

yasar – to form, fashion

which is the root of yoser – potter,

does suggest that He is viewed as a potter. 

YaHoVeH/The Lord’s message to Jeremiah for the nation was that He had the right to deal with Judah as the potter dealt with his clay.

Rom. 9:20-21.

Judah was like clay in Yahweh’s hands.

Yahweh/YaHoVeH was also like a potter (Heb. yoser) in that He created and shaped (Heb. yasar) His people.

Brief Picture History of the Potters Wheel:

Several types of vessels made by ancient potters are mentioned in scriptures.

For example:

a vessel of honor (2 Timothy 2:20-21),

an abominable vessel (Isaiah 65:4),

a clean vessel (Isaiah 66:20), and

a holy vessel (Isaiah 52:11).

When we examine these vessels, represented in the context of Middle Eastern pottery making, we can gain a fuller understanding of their symbolism.

The word for vessel in Hebrew is:

כלי or כְּלִי

Strongs #3627 keli

(kel-ee’)
Definition: an article, utensil, vessel

A container of liquid, such as:

a glass, goblet, cup, bottle, bowl, or pitcher

 jar (2), jars (1), jars* (pots (1),

pottery vessel (28), vessels (37), vessels of kinds. 

Hebrew words for the different vessels:

Vessel of Honor: כלי של כבוד

Vessel of Dishonor: כלי של קלון

Dishonor:

qalon

ignominy, dishonor

Strongs# 7036

 קָלוֹן
Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-lone’)

Mercy:

Romans 9:23

Ra-chem

כלי הרחמים

Wrath:

קְצַף

qetsaph

kets-af’

Strong’s Hebrew: 7109. 

What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: Romans 9:22

Clean:

כלי נקי

Isaiah 66 :20

 

Chosen: כלי שיט נבחר

Chosen: in Hebrew can be either:

Bahar: to be chosen, preferred, desired, appointed, to be joined, made excellent.

Bahir: chosen one as the above but singled out for a specific task.

or

Barar: to be chosen to be pure, clean, polished, sharpened in an appointed position of service.

Ephesians 11

Holy: כלי קדוש

Strong’s Hebrew: 6918. קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh) — sacred, holy

KJV: [himself] unto the LORD, he shall be holy,

קָדוֹשׁ

qadosh – kaw-doshe

Exodus 27:19 
HEB: לְכֹל֙ כְּלֵ֣י הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן בְּכֹ֖ל
KJV: All the vessels of the tabernacle

In the New Testament/B’rit Chadashah

בְּרִית

(ber-eeth’)

berith: a covenant

New = Chadashah or Hadashah – khad-aw-shaw’-חֲדָשָׁה

Strong’s Greek: 4632. σκεῦος

(skeuos) — a vessel, implement .

 (skyoo’-os)

Definition: a vessel, implement, pl. goods.

Usage: a vessel to contain liquid; 

The word skenos, vessel, is used in Mark 11:16,

and vessels of earthenware in Revelation 2:27.

What Did The Potters House Look Like?

The home of a potter back in Jeremiah’s day may have had a bench about 4 feet high with three holes in it behind the door as you enter. This is the water jar stand and it is called the holder of jars. Here we would see two large jars each able to hold 4 or 5 gallons beside a small vessel for drinking.

As you enter the house the potter would offer you that small vessel and you would be invited to fill it to the brim from the first jar, called the vessel of honor.

What is a vessel of honor?

The answer can be found when you ask the potter if you can buy a vessel; because he will ask you:

do you want to carry it to the fountain?

Then you must be a vessel of honor. 2Timothy 2:20,21

What does that mean?

It is a vessel that will give out

pure water

to quench the thirst of the stranger and the weary traveler.

You would buy the vessel of honor

which holds about 5 gallons. It has two handles and is beautifully shaped.

Then you place it on your right shoulder or your head and go to the fountain to get water.

If you meet a stranger he will see your jar filled with cold clean refreshing water and most likely he will ask for a drink.

This is the mission of

a vessel of honor.

Giving free water, the gift of God to passers by.

It seems to be nothing but an earthen vessel but nevertheless,

it is a vessel of honor

because of its

giving out nature

and

it fulfills the expectations of the master potter.

This is the first large vessel on the bench behind the door,

next to that is another vessel;

it looks just like in the vessel of honor but it is not of the same nature.

We would not be able to tell the difference but the potter is able to explain to you the difference between the vessel of honor and the vessel of dishonor in Hebrew culture.

Conclusion to the deeper Hebrew meaning behind the different vessels made in the Potters House in Part 2

 

May His true Shalom/Peace

rest upon each one in Jesus/Yeshuas’ Name.

‘Mishpachah’ ‘Family’

משפחה

Mish-pa-KHa Mish-pa-KHa

you are greatly loved and prayed for daily..

NOT SURE if you are part of His Family?

YOU CAN BE..

Say the following and mean it from your heart…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He came in the flesh and He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life.

Because your word is truth, I say that I am now forgiven and born again in my spirit and by faith I am washed clean with the Blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.