Vaso
A metáfora do vaso é uma das mais belas da Bíblia. Assim como o oleiro molda o barro, Deus nos forma segundo seus propósitos, fazendo de nós vasos úteis para sua glória.
Nas mãos do oleiro
Deus é o Oleiro e nós somos o barro. Ele tem autoridade e sabedoria para nos moldar conforme sua vontade perfeita, e não devemos questionar sua obra.
And now, Lord, thou art our father; forsooth we be clay, and thou art our maker, and all we be the works of thine hands.
The word that was made of the Lord to Jeremy, and said,
Rise thou, and go down into the house of a potter, and there thou shalt hear my words.
And I went down into the house of a potter, and lo! he made a work on a wheel.
And the vessel was destroyed, which he made of clay with his hands; and he turned it, and made it another vessel, as it pleased in his eyes to make.
And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,
Whether as this potter doeth, I may not do to you, the house of Israel? saith the Lord. Lo! as clay is in the hand of a potter, so ye, the house of Israel, be in mine hand.
O! man, who art thou, that answerest to God? Whether a made thing saith to him that made it, What hast thou made me so?
Whether a potter of clay hath not power to make of the same gobbet one vessel into honour, another into despite, [or low office]?
Woe to him that against-saith his maker, a tilestone of [the] earth of sands. Whether [the] clay saith to his potter, What makest thou, and thy work is without hands?
This thought of you is wayward, as if clay think against a potter, and the work say to his maker, Thou madest not me; and a thing made, say to his maker, Thou understandest not.
Vasos para honra
O cristão é chamado a ser um vaso de honra, purificado e preparado para toda boa obra. Nosso valor está em quem nos formou e no que carregamos.
But in a great house be not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of tree, and of earth; and so some be into honour, and some into despite.
Therefore, if any man cleanseth himself from these, he shall be a vessel hallowed into honour, and profitable to the Lord, ready to all good work.
And we have this treasure in brittle vessels, that the worthiness [or the highness] be of God’s virtue, and not of us.
The noble sons of Zion, and clothed with the best gold, how be they areckoned into earthen vessels, into the work of the hands of a potter?
Moldados pela graça
Mesmo quando nos sentimos frágeis e imperfeitos, o poder de Deus se aperfeiçoa em nossa fraqueza. Ele nos restaura e nos renova continuamente.
Thine hands have made me, and have formed me all in compass; and thou hast cast me down suddenly.
Lord, I pray thee, have thou mind, that thou madest me as clay, and shalt bring me again into dust.
As if thou wouldest adorn a vessel of earth with the dross of silver, so be swelling lips fellowshipped with a full wicked heart.
Yell, ye shepherds, and cry, and, ye principals of the flock, besprinkle you with ashes; for your days be [ful] filled, that ye be slain, and your scatterings be[ful]filled, and ye shall fall as precious vessels.