Southern Kingdom Defeated

Jeremiah 18:1-10, 15, 17

GOLDEN TEXT: “Come, and let us return unto the Lord.”—Hosea 6:1

THE two-tribe kingdom of Judah and Benjamin, sometimes referred to by historians as the “southern kingdom,” was finally overthrown during the reign of their last king, Zedekiah. Rehoboam was the first king of the southern kingdom, the ten tribes breaking away from the two tribes during his reign under the pressure of his dictatorial attitude of increasing their burdens.—I Kings 12:1-17

The southern kingdom was ruled intermittently by godly kings, but at times these two tribes, like the ten tribes, were led away from God by idolatrous rulers. Finally this two-tribe kingdom was overthrown and the people were taken captive into Babylon. This was in the year 606 B.C. Since then Israel has had no king, and will not have until in the time of “Jacob’s trouble,” their eyes are opened to recognize Jesus as their Messiah, the One “whose right it is” to reign over them.

The lesson which Jeremiah learned by watching the potter is very pertinent in connection with God’s viewpoint concerning Israel and the many wonderful promises He had made to them. As Jeremiah watched the potter work he noted that the vessel which was being made became marred in his hands; the clay did not respond properly to the potter’s touch. The prophet then noticed that the potter remolded the clay into a differently shaped vessel from the one he originally started to make.

After the prophet observed this he heard the word of the Lord inquiring, “O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter?” Then the Lord explained, “Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in Mine hand, O house of Israel.” In Romans 9:21 the apostle alludes to the lesson of the potter. From Paul’s remarks some have concluded that God arbitrarily changes the shape of the vessels, so to speak, and that His creatures are merely as clay in His hands, having nothing whatever to do with their own destiny.

But this is not the lesson which Jeremiah learned by watching the potter at work. God explains the import of the lesson. Verses 7-10 make it plain that He changes His mind concerning promises which He makes only when those to whom they are made do not comply with the conditions of the promises. The potter did not change the shape of the vessel which he started to make until the clay failed to respond as he expected. Undoubtedly the vessel which the potter finally produced from that particular piece of clay was of less value than the one he proposed to make.

It is evident from this that those whom God has created in His own image are free moral agents. They do have a part in the shaping of their destiny. By yielding humbly to the instructions of the Lord and seeking to conform their lives thereto, they are pleasing to Him, and are ultimately rewarded accordingly. But Israel did not do this. They were a stiff-necked people, often rebellious against God. God had made wonderful promises to them. They were to be a “kingdom of priests and an holy nation” on condition that they obeyed His law and kept His statutes; but they did not obey, so the good things which the Lord promised to them were given to others. While Israel will be saved, they will be vessels of less honor than they might otherwise have been. This will be accomplished when He shall have put within them a new spirit, and given them a heart of flesh in place of their former rebellious stony heart.

“Because My people hath forgotten Me, they have burned incense to vanity,” says the Lord. (Verse 15) It is because of this that the Lord withdrew His favor from them. In verse 17 He says, “I will shew them the back and not the face, in the day of their calamity.” This is a symbolism well known to the Israelites. By God’s instructions Moses pronounced a divine benediction upon Israel, saying “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”—Numbers 6:24-26

Because of Israel’s unfaithfulness, God ceased to lift up His countenance upon them. Instead, He showed them His back and not His face. We rejoice to know, however, that God’s disfavor will not be manifested toward Israel forever. They are again to see His face instead of His back. The Apostle Peter refers to this in Acts 3:19. Here he is speaking to representatives of Israel, and explains that “times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”

In the Greek text the expression “presence of the Lord” is “out from the face of the Lord.” Peter is saying, therefore, that “times of refreshing” will come to Israel “from the face of the Lord.” Yes, God will turn His face to Israel again. He will also turn His face toward all mankind. All lost His favor through original sin, but through Christ divine favor will be restored, and then will come “times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”—Acts 3:19-21

QUESTIONS:

Who was the last king of the southern kingdom of Israel?

What lesson did Jeremiah learn from watching the potter at work?

What did God mean when He told Israel He would show them His back instead of His face?

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