Daily Devotional
The Potter and the Lamb
The trumpet of the seventh month, the potter’s wheel, and the cross all summon us to the same thing: repentance that does not delay. Israel was given holy days, offerings, and the affliction of soul, not for display, but that the people might be turned back to God in obedience. Tertullian says, "as when, in Leviticus, the Lord enjoins upon Moses the tenth day of the seventh month (as) a day of atonement, saying, Holy shall be to you the day, and you shall vex your souls;" The appointed feast was a school of humility.
Jeremiah shows why such humility is needed. We are not self-made. Clay that resists the potter is not thereby freed; it is only spoiled. Yet the warning is not bare destruction. The vessel, once marred, may be made anew if it yields in the Maker’s hands. But if a nation hardens itself, the house becomes a ruin at which passersby are astonished. Therefore repentance must be more than speech. It must take form in amended deeds.
In the Passion, the true Lamb is offered. His kingship is published before the city in the tongues of the nations, and His body is not treated as that of a defeated man, but as the sacrifice long prepared by God. Origen writes, "but when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they broke not His legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and straightway there came out blood and water." If such a price has been given, let no one remain stubborn clay. Let us keep the feast by turning from sin, bearing the yoke of prayer, fasting, mercy, and steadfast obedience.
“as when, in Leviticus, the Lord enjoins upon Moses the tenth day of the seventh month (as) a day of atonement, saying, Holy shall be to you the day, and you shall vex your souls;”
— Tertullian, On Fasting
“but when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they broke not His legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and straightway there came out blood and water.”
— Origen, Commentary on John
For Reflection & Discussion
What act of self-denial will you keep this week to vex your soul before God—fasting from food, wine, or another lawful comfort—and at what hour will you pray?
Where have you resisted the Potter by persisting in a known sin, and what concrete confession or amendment will you make today?
Because the Lamb was offered for you, whom will you serve in costly mercy this week through almsgiving, a visit to the sick, or reconciliation with an enemy?
Start the One-Year Plan Today — Completely Free
Read or listen through the whole Bible in 365 days with audio that highlights every word, a progress calendar, streaks, friends — and a devotional like this one at the end of every day.