Jars of Clay, ordinary containers holding valuable contents.
We looked yesterday at the woman who poured out the ‘very expensive’ perfume from the alabaster jar onto Jesus body, in preparation for His burial. Mark 14:3 says she ‘broke the jar’ to pour the perfume onto Jesus.
The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, while confined(imprisoned) in the courtyard of the guard awaiting the Babylonians to enter Jerusalem and deport the people into exile. He was told his cousin, Hanamel, was coming to sell him a field at Anathoth in Benjamin; silver would be more useful than land after they were captured. So Jeremiah bought the land as he’d been told by the Lord;
In their presence(witnesses to the sale)I gave Baruch these instructions: This is what the Lord almighty, the God of Israel says: take these documents,… And put them in a CLAY JAR so that they will last a long time. For this is what the Lord almighty, the God of Israel, says: houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land. Jer 32:13,14,15
God had decreed disaster for Jerusalem, but just before it happened He gave His Word that in the future, people would return from exile and once again buy and sell property in Judah. The Clay Jar was to be the container keeping God’s Word intact, during the seventy years of exile. That jar held the Promise of Almighty God for the future of the Jews and all mankind, through the Messiah.
Paul, when speaking to the Corinthian Church also refers to the new believers as ‘Jars of Clay’.
But we have this treasure(the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in our hearts) in Jars of Clay(the jar just contains the treasure) to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Cor 4:7
We too contain something which is of great value, God’s own Spirit living in us. Paul continues;
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that THE LIFE OF JESUS may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus sake, so that HIS LIFE MAY BE REVEALED in our mortal body. 2 Cor 4:10
The anonymous woman broke her jar to release the perfume and anoint the Lord for burial. We too are ‘Light Carriers’ for the Lord, but the Jar of Clay(outer life) has to be broken for His light to be seen. We can tell the Lord we’re willing for Him to break this Jar of Clay.
God bless and keep you today.