Verse 12
JUDAH REFUSES TO REPENT
"But they say, It is in vain; for we will walk after our own devices, and we will do everyone after the stubbornness of his evil heart."
"Alas, it was too late; they had gone too far in following the stubbornness of their evil heart; they could only reply, We will follow our own plans."[12]
The clay simply would not conform to the Potter's will; and the only options he had were: (1) to cast them off altogether, or (2) design them as a vessel unto dishonor. It was an act of mercy that God chose the second option.
Why will men deliberately reject God's call to repentance? The obvious answer lies in their unwillingness to be restrained in any manner. They will live free lives, they say; but, like the prodigal son of the parable, they will inevitably find that there are restraints also in that evil world they have chosen, where some evil master will assign them their portion in the swine pens of this world. How free are they? "They call it liberty; but the man who is slave to his lusts and appetites is held in the worst of slaveries!"[13]
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