Dwight is getting emptier and emptier. Today, after turning in the last of my discrete math problem sets at Soda Hall, I went home and drove Sean and Aaron to Oakland international. The trip was supposed to take 20-30 minutes each way, but I ran into some pretty heavy traffic on the way back to Berk.

I think I spent about two hours on the road, but it was okay because I had finished my discrete math. The only thing I had left to do was study for my music final tomorrow.

Back at dwight, we had a big dinner with the people who are still around, including apartment 7. It's the first time I've hung out with that apartment (A2F guys).

After dinner, Sang and I went down to my apartment, and we studied intensely for the music test. I went to sleep at 5:30 in the morning and woke up at 7:30. Our final was at 8. Cya in tomorrow's entry, even though it's today!

Jeremiah 18

What is my response to God’s question “can I not do with you as this potter does?”

Because he was the one that formed us and gave us both matter and form, he has every right to do with us as he pleases. For us to rebel against his will for us would be like clay rebelling against the potter. I am called to offer myself to God as clay for him to use for his purposes, so therefore I should not object to however God may wish to use me.

In what ways is the statement “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,” a source of security or fear?

It is more a sense of security for me, knowing that whatever my life may become in the future, I do not need to fear because I know that God is the potter that is shaping my life. He is an able potter that will shape us and mold us according to his plan and purpose for us, and will protect us, preserving us both physically and spiritually.

What does God hope for even in the midst of pronouncing judgment?

Even as he is declaring judgement, he makes it clear that if only the nation repents of its evil, he would relent and not inflict the disaster that he had planned. In the midst of destruction, he continues to offer hope and a way out, but the stubborn and evil hearts of the people simply wouldn't repent.

Reflect on the people’s response in v. 12, especially the dissonance between “It’s no use” and “We will continue with our plans; each of us will…” What does this reveal about the self-serving rhetoric and deceptive mindset of a person caught up in sin, who refuses to respond to an offer of forgiveness?

The people seemed to recognize their own stubbornness and the fact that what they were doing was wrong, but even despite this they refused to change. It's self-serving and self-defeating, and pretty much a self-fulfilling prophecy. If I say I cannot lift something heavy, but do not put any effort into lifting it, then I never had a chance to lift it in the first place. In this situation, the people claimed that they had no hope in changing, though they most definitely could have.

How is v.15 an apt description of what is involved in idolatry?

The path on which God has instructed us to walk protects us and guide us, while the path of idols is likened to a bypath, and a road not built up. These roads offer no protection, and cause those who walk on them to become lost and confused. Such is the path taken by those who follow deceptive idols in life, who pursue and follow things that cannot guide or protect them.

What was the reaction of the people when they heard the judgment of God from Jeremiah? How did they justify defying Jeremiah?

Thoughts omitted here.

What is my response to God’s messengers? In what ways have I “repaid with evil” and “dug a pit for” them?

Thoughts omitted here.

Reflect on how Jeremiah must have felt betrayed by the very people that he “stood before God and spoke in their behalf.” In what ways have I experienced the heart of God through trying to be a prophet to my generation?

Thoughts omitted here.