Jehovah Hoseenu

What I Learned in Class

Pastor Grace began her lesson by making an important distinction. You may remember in the beginning of our study on the names of God we learned about Elohim, God Mighty Creator. This week we studied Jehovah Hoseenu, The LORD our Maker.  She explained that a creator is a person that brings something into existence (i.e. an architect). She gave us the definition of a maker as one who makes or produces something (i.e. a construction worker). An architect creates out of nothing while the construction worker builds from something already created.  So how does Jehovah Hoseenu fit into this?  He is the Maker who takes what has already been created and molds and shapes it.

Pastor Grace brought us back to the beginning of Genesis where we saw Jehovah Hoseenu at work,  “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).   The LORD took the dust that had already been created and formed man and then breathed His life into us. Truly, God is the Potter!

Throughout the year we have looked at the LORD’s relationship with Israel. Pastor Grace reminded us how God called Israel out of Egypt. While they were in the wilderness for 40 years God tried to reshape and remold His people.  There were many who rejected His molding hands and quarreled against Him.  "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'?” (Isaiah 45:9).  Pastor Grace pointed out that the remolding process can be a rough one.

She then brought us to Jeremiah 18:1-8.  In this passage Jeremiah goes to the Potter’s House and speaks with the LORD, the Potter.  The LORD tells Jeremiah, "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel “ (Jer. 18:6).  Pastor Grace pointed out that as God can shape and reshape a nation, He will also do this with us. He takes us as we are, in our carnal ways and shapes us into a vessel He can use. It says in Romans 9:21,: “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?”.  Sometimes God will mold us to meet the need of a moment. He may fashion us for a certain time, with a specific task in mind. Our part is to walk in obedience for that moment that He has called us to.

What I Learned from the Homework

In the homework we also studied the difference between ‘Maker’ and ‘Creator’, using the original Hebrew to make an important distinction. We were reminded that Creator comes from the word bara, which means to create out of nothing. The word for Maker comes from asah, which is similar to bara but emphasizes the fashioning of created objects.

God has Fashioned You 

We began by looking at Psalm 139:13-16 (NASB): “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me together in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”

We learned that before we were even born that God had formed our innermost being – our spirits, hearts and minds. The psalmist (David) expressed that he was fearfully and wonderfully made. David was looking at himself even before he was born.  When we were fashioned by our Maker we were wonderfully made, yet, life happens.  We are hurt and bruised; our hearts are broken; what the LORD had originally intended becomes marred. 

God is Refashioning You

In our class lesson we looked at Jeremiah 18 where we saw the LORD as a potter, reforming a marred pot.   In the homework we looked at how the refashioning process is worked by the LORD in our own lives. The Maker takes that what was marred and reshapes it to be the beautiful vessel He intended. That’s what He does with us!!

The homework pointed out that many of us have had pasts that have steered us off the course of the Maker’s original intention. We looked at Romans 8:28-29, which gives us hope. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,  who  have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:28-29).  God can take all things, all those things that have marred us as we have walked through life, and use them to transform us into the image of Jesus.  We were encouraged to know that our pasts do not need to dictate who we become. How freeing is that!!!

God’s Work Never Goes out of Fashion

“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10).  

What does it mean to you when you read that you are God’s workmanship?  Remember, we are the clay in the hands of the Potter. The word for workmanship comes from the word poiema.  Can you see it? We are God’s poem. It can also mean we are His masterpiece!  Something key to keep in mind, this word also conveys that we are a work in process. This process can be uncomfortable and confusing but remember, submitting to the loving hands of the Maker will bring about beauty and wholeness.

Wrapping It Up

I pray that as you read through this post that the truth of God’s Word has penetrated your hearts. It is easy to forget or take for granted that the LORD really is our Maker. We can see ourselves through critical eyes. He sees us through eyes of love and compassion.  As we learned, we are a work in process. Be patient with yourself as the Potter reshapes your broken places. You can trust that what He is doing is a beautiful thing!

 “The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” (Psalm 138:8)