Isaiah 45:1-16: a reflection

1The LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their armor, to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut: 2“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth. I will break the doors of bronze in pieces and cut apart the bars of iron. 3I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, who calls you by your name, even the God of Israel. 4For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called you by your name. I have given you a title, though you have not known me. 5I am the LORD, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me, 6that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is no one besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no one else. 7I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create calamity. I am the LORD, who does all these things. 8Rain, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, that it may produce salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it. 9Woe to him who strives with his Maker— a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’ or your work, ‘He has no hands’? 10Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What have you become the father of?’ or to a mother, ‘What have you given birth to?’” 11The LORD, the Holy One of Israel and his Maker says: “You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons, and you command me concerning the work of my hands! 12I have made the earth, and created man on it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens. I have commanded all their army. 13I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward,” says the LORD of Armies. 14The LORD says: “The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you, and they will be yours. They will go after you. They shall come over in chains. They will bow down to you. They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely God is in you; and there is no one else. There is no other god. 15Most certainly you are a God who has hidden yourself, God of Israel, the Savior.’” 16They will be disappointed, yes, confounded, all of them. Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together.

In this passage, God asserts his sovereignty in the strongest terms. He calls Cyrus, a king who does not even know him, to accomplish his purposes; he declares that he alone is God, who forms light and creates darkness. And then he warns against quarreling with him: Woe to him who strives with his Maker, a clay pot among the pots of the earth! Shall the clay say to the potter, What are you making? God is the potter, and we the clay; and it is folly for the clay to quarrel with the one who shapes it.

Notice the image God uses: the potter and the clay. He is the Maker, the potter, who shapes as he wills; we are the clay, shaped by his hand. And just as it would be absurd for a clay pot to quarrel with the potter, demanding to know what he is making, or telling him he has no skill, so it is folly for us to quarrel with God about how he has made us, or how he orders our lives. The clay is not wiser than the potter; God's wisdom in shaping is greater than our judgment of it.

That image is a needed check on our tendency to quarrel with God about his ways. We can find ourselves striving with our Maker, questioning how he has made us, resenting our circumstances, demanding to know why he does what he does, as though the clay knew better than the potter. But God is the potter, wise and good, who shapes as he wills; and it is folly for the clay to quarrel with him. When you are tempted to quarrel with God about how he has made you or ordered your life, remember the potter and the clay. Do not strive with your Maker, as though you knew better than he how you should be made or your life ordered. Trust the wisdom of the Potter who shapes you; his purpose in your making and your circumstances is wiser than your judgment of it. Yield to the Potter's hand, rather than quarreling with him as clay that thinks it knows better than the one who shapes it.

Lord, in this passage you assert your sovereignty: calling Cyrus who did not know you, declaring you alone are God who forms light and darkness, and warning, woe to him who strives with his Maker, a clay pot among the pots of the earth. Let the image of the potter and the clay be a needed check on my tendency to quarrel with you about your ways. I can find myself striving with you, my Maker, questioning how you have made me, resenting my circumstances, demanding to know why you do what you do, as though the clay knew better than the potter. But you are the potter, wise and good, who shapes as you will; and it is folly for the clay to quarrel with you. When I am tempted to quarrel with you about how you have made me or ordered my life, help me remember the potter and the clay. Keep me from striving with you, as though I knew better than you how I should be made or my life ordered. Help me trust the wisdom of you, the Potter who shapes me; your purpose in my making and my circumstances is wiser than my judgment of it. Help me yield to your hand, Lord, rather than quarreling with you as clay that thinks it knows better than the one who shapes it.