Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay

2 Corinthians 4:7

            Jars of clay.  The most common container in biblical times.  Jars of clay were like plastic containers today:  they could be found everywhere.  These vessels could be used to hold all kinds of stuff—common, valuable, and, in some cases, invaluable. 

            It turns out that these jars of clay were also good for preservation.  In Egypt and other places some have been found that are thousands of years old.  The documents inside them have been perfectly preserved.  As long as the jar and the seal are unbroken, what was placed inside them all those centuries ago remains intact and in good condition.  Unfortunately, archaeologists have found more pieces of these vessels than intact ones, proving that they are not indestructible.

            Jeremiah speaks of a jar of clay—an earthenware vessel—in chapter 32.  God has told him to redeem a field from his near relative.  God uses that redemption of property to make the point that Judah will be redeemed from captivity.  In verse 14 God instructs Jeremiah to place the deed in an earthenware vessel for preservation.  This was common practice since there were no municipal buildings where legal transactions could be registered.  As long as the seal on the jar was not broken the deed remained valid.  It was proof that the field had indeed changed hands for the purchase price that had been set. 

            So a jar of clay, a common vessel made from dirt, became a symbol for the redemption of a nation from exile.  The container also became honorable because of the contents.  The most common vessel of the day was elevated to new importance because of what was inside.

            Paul knew this passage from Jeremiah, quite possibly by heart.  The writings of the prophets were part of his education.  He would have been intimately familiar with the Scripture, and also with the concept, for in the first century documents were still being preserved in jars of clay.  Perhaps he had this in mind when he wrote his second letter to the church at Corinth.

            “But we have this treasure in jars of clay,” Paul says, “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”  Paul has been talking about the gospel, specifically that God’s light has brought God’s glory to believers through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  This is the treasure of which he speaks. 

The “jars of clay” refers to the weakness of the human body.  Like jars of clay, our bodies are not indestructible.  Paul understood this weakness—the limitations that are part of every human being—through the weakness of his own flesh.  Paul had a “thorn in the flesh” which he asked God to remove.  God’s response was, “No.  My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 

            Elsewhere, Paul also demonstrated that he understood the emotional and spiritual weaknesses of his “jar of clay.”  He realized that he did not do the good things he wanted to do, but instead did things he did not want to do because of his human limitations.  Only through God’s power could he hope to accomplish anything of value.

            Like Paul, we are jars of clay.  We have physical weaknesses, the limitations of bodies that are imperfect and subject to decay.  We can’t escape these weaknesses.  We can only learn to live with them.  Still, this is not the worst of our limitations.  Our jars of clay are also subject to spiritual weakness.  We cannot live as we know we should because our spiritual weakness prevents it.

            But thanks be to God, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the power of God’s Holy Spirit at work within us that transforms our jars of clay into vessels of honor.  God does not transform our outer bodies, but instead changes our inner selves to become containers of God’s glory.