Why will the Lord relent from plucking and breaking down a nation if it turns from its evil, and relent from building and planting it if it does evil in his sight?

The Lord explains further what it means for Israel to be the clay in his hands as the potter. His explanation uses the terms pluck up, break down, and destroy that were used when he commissioned Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:10. Speaking of nations in general the Lord says that he will relent of the disaster that he intended to bring on that nation if it turns from its evil. In other words, the potter can do something different with the clay if it changes. The explanation continues with the opposite example. If the Lord declares that he will build and plant a nation, terms also used in Jeremiah 1:10, but that nation does evil in the Lord’s sight then he will turn from the good he intended to do. Again, the Lord’s actions are changed because the nation changes.

This explanation once again draws into sharp focus the covenant nature of Judah’s relationship with the Lord. The covenant always included the possibility of both blessings that flowed from obedience and curses that flowed from disobedience. What is made clear in these verses is that Judah should never see their covenant relationship with the Lord in isolation. It is the creator of the whole world who has entered into this relationship with them.

These verses also reveal something of how the Lord relates with his creation and with people in particular. He is the sovereign creator who is in complete control of his creation. But divine sovereignty is not heavenly tyranny. The Lord relates to humans as the intelligent and rational creatures that he made them to be. He seeks to persuade them with warnings and pleading, even though they are in rebellion against him. The Lord is prepared in long-suffering to lead them to repentance so that his people will willingly conform to what he desires (Romans 9:21;  Romans 11:26).¹ The implications of this explanation for Judah are made explicit in the following verse (Jeremiah 18:11), but what is clear from the Lord’s words in Jeremiah 18:7–10 is that he is giving Judah a very clear warning that they need to repent of their rebellion against him.