The Busted Bottle

Jeremiah 19:10 says, “Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee…”

I never thought there was much use for old bottles until I learned that a friend of mine actually hunted for them. It was an interesting hobby. He would find an old, deserted farmhouse and get permission to dig there. He studied the situation and tried to figure out where the outhouse would have been—maybe it was still there. He would pound an iron rod into the ground until it hit an old bottle. He could tell it was a bottle by the way the rod felt. He would then dig down and find all kinds of interesting things that people had thrown into the outhouse when it ceased to be used because of indoor plumbing. One unmarred bottle of a certain type would actually be a collector’s item and worth a little money. 

The Lord told Jeremiah to get a brand new bottle from the potter and take it, along with the elders of Jerusalem, and go to the East gate and break it before everyone as an object lesson. Jeremiah got the bottle from the potter. This was a new bottle, formed with care. It represented Jerusalem. God had formed the Jewish people in miraculous ways. He took they who were not a people and made a great nation of them. As long as they walked with God He continued to bless them. They had, however, broken the covenant God had made with them.

The breaking of the bottle had a message to go with it. The message was for the ancients of the people and the ancients of the priests—the old people. After breaking the bottle before them, Jeremiah was to say, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.”

As I look at America today I see a great resemblance. We are a nation miraculously formed by God. We have turned from our heritage. God has tried to warn us with World War II and the Twin Towers; both “busted bottles” so to speak. The next busted bottle could be nuclear war, from which we would never be made whole again. The word “Tophet” has one meaning that is “hell.” If the U.S. were to be wiped off the face of the earth in one hour, how many of us would be buried forever in hell? That should be our biggest concern today. 

There may be a Jeremiah here or there proclaiming this message. They stand alone like Jeremiah, speaking to a people who would not listen.

God does not delight in destroying people. He is not quick to bring judgment. The busted bottle was a warning. World War II and the Towers did bring death. However, they were also a warning.

In America we have sinned against God for a long time without being destroyed. II Peter 3:9-10 states, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

Thank you, Jesus, for coming down into this stinking outhouse of a world. Help us to listen. Thank you for the warning of the busted bottle.