Jars of Clay

The following is a journal entry from my journal in July 1996.  Since we will be looking at 2 Corinthians 4 tomorrow I thought it would be worth sharing.

Last Sunday a friend of ours preached about jars of clay and once again I was reminded that is how the Apostle Paul refers to our bodies.


I took some time to look at the references to jars in the Bible.

In Genesis 24 Abraham's servant asks Rebekka to give him a drink of water. She takes her jar and not only gives him a drink but also waters his camels. To the servant this showed that she was being led by the Spirit of God.

In Exodus Moses instructed Aaron to put an omar of manna in a clay jar (Exodus 16:33). This manna was to become a treasure in the jar of clay. Manna speaks to us of the Word of God that we are instructed to hide in our hearts.

In Numbers 19:17 Moses again gives the instruction about cleansing an unclean person. The priest is to put ashes from the burnt offering with clean water into a jar and use that for cleansing the unclean person. John tells us that we are cleansed if we confess our sins. The confession is based upon the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ who became our offering for sin.

In 1 Kings 17 we are told how Elijah went to meet a woman from Zarephath who was gathering some sticks of wood to make a fire so she could cook a final meal for her and her son. When she obeyed Elijah she found that the jar that contained the flour did not run out and there was always food for Elijah, the woman and her son. God's Word does not fail. It will not return empty. We cannot exhaust the storehouse of the Word of God.

A similar circumstance took place in Elisha's day. In 2 Kings 4 we are told how the oil kept flowing from the jar until all other jars that were available were filled. The oil speaks of the Holy Spirit and the only thing that will slow the flowing of the spirit is the vessels that are to be filled.

Jeremiah had experiences with jars of clay. Not only was he taught the lesson of the potter but he was told to buy a jar which would represent the nation of Israel and break the jar in the presence of the elders. The broken jar could not be restored and neither could the nation of Israel if they forsook their God.

Ezekiel also used a jar as an object lesson when he was to pretend that he had Jerusalem under siege.

There is much more about jars of clay but we must remember that we have this treasure, the Spirit of the Most High in our jars.

1996 07 23