Earthen (3749) (ostrakinos from óstrakon = baked clay - English "oyster") is an adjective which literally means made of baked clay and thus describes pottery or earthenware (2Ti 2:20). Such earthenware was the least valuable in the ancient Greece household and when broken would not be repaired but cast out. The plural noun ostraca has been taken directly over into English for potsherds or broken pieces of pottery that are found in archaeological excavations. Ostrakinos is used figuratively in 2Co 4:7 to describe that which is fragile or lowly. Colin Brown comments that... There is little evidence of a metaphorical use of ostrakinos in antiquity until the second century A.D. when Artemidorus describes the body of a man as an earthenware vessel... The striking contrast between the splendour of the treasure and the commonness of the vessel in which it is stored directs attention away from the preachers to the glory of the message they proclaim. It was not unusual in the ancient world to conceal valuable treasures in earthenware urns. In this context ostrakinos refers to the whole man who is entrusted with the gospel. This description finds a parallel in rabbinic accounts of men as clay vessels containing the Torah or wisdom which God has bestowed, e.g. Sifre Deut. 48 (84a on Deut. 11:22): as it is not possible for wine to be stored in golden or silver vessels, but only in one which is least among the vessels, an earthenware one, so also the words of Torah can be kept only with one who is humble in his own eyes; cf. b. Taanith 7a, where “glorious wisdom in a repulsive earthen vessel” describes R. Jehoshua ben Chanaiah, whose appearance was unattractive. Paul’s detractors had described his bodily appearance as weak and dismissed his words as inconsequential (2Co 10:10; cf. 2Co 10:1; 11:6). His self-description as ostrakinos attests that human weakness presents no barrier to the accomplishment of the divine intention when it is undergirded by the transcendent power of God (cf. 2Cor. 3:5; 4:7; 12:9, 10; 13:3, 4).(Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan or Computer version) MacArthur adds that... The vessels Paul describes here were just common pots: cheap, breakable, easily replaceable, and virtually valueless. Occasionally they were used to hide valuables, such as gold, silver, and jewelry. The pots containing such valuable items would often be buried in the ground. In fact, the man in Jesus’ parable who found the treasure hidden in a field (Mt. 13:44) might have discovered it when his plow broke a buried pot. Clay pots were also used to store valuable documents; the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered stored in clay pots in a cave near Qumran. The only other NT use of ostrakinos is in Second Timothy... Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. (2 Ti 2:20-note). Comment: The idea here is that these vessels were used for dishonorable tasks. These clay pots had no value in themselves but only had value in regard to what they contained or the service they performed. . The vessels must be clean and emptied of self. W L Lane explains that this use of: Ostrakinos occurs in a context, where Paul urges Timothy to separate himself from false teachers like Philetus and Hymenaeus, who have subverted the faith of some Christians at Ephesus (2Ti. 2:14-19, 22-26). The appearance of false teachers poses the question as to why there are disloyal persons in the congregation. Paul responds by comparing the church to a large house in which it is normal to find vessels of differing material, which serve different, indeed opposite, functions (2Ti 2:20). Even as the presence of vessels of wood and earthenware (ostrakinos) devoted to disreputable use in such a house occasions no surprise, so the evidence of base leadership in the church can be anticipated. But 2Ti 2:21 makes the point that, whether a vessel is made of gold, silver, or earthenware, it may be clean in order to be ready for honorable service to the owner. By separating himself from the false teachers and cleansing himself from their disreputable actions, Timothy will be prepared for any task to which his Master is calling him. Comment: Picking up on the vessel imagery, believers are ordained of God to bear the water of life to a thirsting world (2Ti 2:21; 2 Cor 4:7) Ostrakinos -15x in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) - Lv 6:21; 11:33; 14:5, 50; 15:12; Nu 5:17; Is 30:14; Jer 19:1, 11; 39:14; La 4:2; Ezek 4:9; Da 2:33 34, 42. It is to note that in rendering the Aramaic portion of Daniel the translators chose ostrakinos to describe the great image seen by Nebuchadnezzar in a dream, whose feet were partly of iron and partly of clay (Da 2:33, 34, 42-note - Da 2:41 uses the related word ostrakon = earthen vessel, also describes the hard shell of certain animals - snails, mussels, tortoises). Below is an example of a figurative use in the Septuagint. The precious sons of Zion, weighed against fine gold, how they are regarded as earthen jars, the work of a potter’s hands! (La 4:2). Comment: The humiliated sons of Zion, who are “weighed against fine gold” are now considered to be of no more value than common earthenware by their captors. Marvin Vincent notes that... The adjective ostrakinos occurs only here and 2Ti 2:20-note. Herodotus says of the king of Persia The great king stores away the tribute which he receives after this fashion: he melts it down, and, while it is in a liquid state, runs it into earthen vessels, which are afterward removed, leaving the metal in a solid mass” (3:96). Stanley cites the story of a Rabbi who was taunted with his mean appearance by the emperor’s daughter, and who replied by referring to the earthen vessels in which her father kept his wines. At her request the wine was shifted to silver vessels, whereupon it turned sour. Then the Rabbi observed that the humblest vessels contained the highest wisdom. The idea of light in earthen vessels is, however, best illustrated in the story of the lamps and pitchers of Gideon, Jdg 7:16. In the very breaking of the vessel the light is revealed. (Vincent, M. R. Word studies in the New Testament 3:312) Adam Clarke has an interesting note regarding earthen vessels The original, ostrakinos skeuosin , signifies, more literally, vessels made of shells, which are very brittle; and as the shell is the outward part of a fish, it is very fit, as Dr. Hammond observes, to resemble our bodies in which our souls dwell. THE GOSPEL IS GOLD WE ARE BUT JARS OF CLAY Jars of clay is a figurative description of human weakness (cp Ps. 31:12; Isa. 30:14 - but neither of these examples are the exact phrase used by Paul). Figuratively skeuos is used of the human body as formed of clay (cp Ge 2:7 3:19) and thus is frail and feeble. JONI EARECKSON TADA - God is a Master Artist. And there are aspects of your life and character—good, quality things—he wants others to notice. So without using blatant tricks or obvious gimmicks, God brings the cool, dark contrast of suffering into your life. That contrast, laid up against the golden character of Christ within you, will draw attention . . . to him. Light against darkness. Beauty against affliction. Joy against sorrow. A sweet, patient spirit against pain and disappointment—major contrasts that have a way of attracting notice. You are the canvas on which he paints glorious truths, sharing beauty, and inspiring others. So that people might see him. Doug Goins - In 1989, I helped lead a number of our college and university students on a 3-week study tour of Egypt and Israel. There was one event that at the time seemed relatively insignificant, yet it came back to me while working on this sermon. Our tour guide, a Christian Armenian man named Diko, and I were walking together around the base of the wall of the old city. While we were talking and walking, he kept watching the ground. We got down around the low point of the wall, near an excavation. Diko kept watching the ground and then ran up a little hill and grabbed something to bring back down to me. It was a small handle for a rough earthen clay cup. Diko, an amateur archeologist, told me that there are a lot of those around, probably from the first or second century. He said this one looked like it was Roman, probably from a Roman soldiers' camp. I was thrilled and still have the artifact. The fact that these kinds of pottery shards are everywhere is absolutely true. In virtually every archeological dig in the Middle East, there are innumerable pieces of clay pottery from the earliest civilizations. Clay pottery was the material of the common people. It was used to make everything from pitchers and oil jars and bowls, to griddles and washbasins and pots. Items of value like money or jewelry were often hidden in them. Clay jars were used to store liquids because the clay didn't let the liquid evaporate and it tended to stay cool. Broken pieces of pottery or shards were used for writing material for notes or receipts....Earthen vessels are a very good description of basic humanity. God is the potter, and we are the clay. He shapes us and molds us into any kind of utensil or implement that he desires. The noun, "vessel," refers to a container serving a very specific purpose like a jug, cup, pot or pan. And again, when it's used of people in the Bible, there is always a sense that we are an implement that God can use; an instrument to live out a lifestyle of ministry, loving people. Before we continue on, don't miss the marvel of Paul's definition of our humanity. As people of a new covenant lifestyle, as vessels that are created for God's use, all of us are made from the same basic stuff. We are made of earthen, common, run of the mill clay, fragile and easily broken. No matter how sophisticated, how physically healthy and robust, how financially secure we are, underneath we are all just ordinary people. (EXERCISING THE POWER OF GOD) John Piper writes... The third reason you should use your gift (Click to read other reasons) for the good of others and the glory of God is that your ordinariness is no reason not to. Too many people say, "I'm so ordinary, so average and undistinguished. I can't do anything significant." 2Corinthians 4:7 shows that this argument is wrong and why. It says, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels (or clay pots!) to show us that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us." God's concept of ministry is so different from the world's concept. The world stresses the classy container, not the glory of God in human weakness. If there is one thing that we are coming to learn together in this church, it is that God's purpose to get the glory in all things determines how we do all things. Here God's purpose is to make sure that we see that the surpassing power belongs to Him and not to us. How does He do it? He puts the treasure of His gifts and His gospel in clay pots like you and me. Your ordinariness is not a liability; it is an asset, if you really want God to get the glory. No one is too common, too weak, too shy, too inarticulate, too disabled to do what God wants you to do with your gift. (Calling All Clay Pots) Kent Hughes has an excellent description of jars of clay in ancient times writing that they... were the throwaway containers of the ancient world, so that their life spans were generally a few years at the most. They were used to store and transport water and olive oil and wine and grain and even family treasures. Earthenware jars were an anonymous part of everyday living as they were used for cooking and eating and drinking and storing leftovers. Every domestic archaeological excavation site contains their remains, called ostraca, from the Greek word for pottery. No one took note of clay jars any more than we would of a fast-food container. They were simply there for convenience. It was no great tragedy when such vessels were broken. They were cheap and easy to replace. As such, jars of clay provided Paul with a penetrating metaphor for his and his followers’ humanity. Indeed Adam was formed out of the dust of the ground, and to dust he returned (cf. Genesis 2:7; 3:19). As clay jars we are all frail, weak, transitory mortals. (Hughes, R. K. 2 Corinthians: Power in Weakness. Preaching the Word. Crossway or Logos or Wordsearch) JARS OF CLAY GIVE GOD THE GLORY Why does God often choose the weak or those who are cognizant of their weakness and who cry out in their hearts “Who is sufficient for these things?” Part of the answer is given in 1 Corinthians 1:26—31. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, 29 that no man should boast before God. In short, God chooses the weak (in the eyes of men) so that “no flesh should glory in His presence” (1Co 1:29KJV). God will not share His glory with another. As Jehovah says through His prophet Isaiah... I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images. (Isaiah 42:8, cp Is 48:11, Ex 34:14) The great Puritan pastor and author Richard Baxter (1615-1691) understood the Paul's concept of frail "jars of clay". As he lay on his deathbed, someone encouraged him with a reminder of the good so many had received from his preaching and writings to which Baxter replied... I was but a pen in God’s hand, and what praise is due to a pen? Thomas Watson wrote that... Ministers are earthen pitchers. 2Cor 4:7. But these pitchers have lamps within them, to light souls in the dark. Read Charles Haddon Spurgeon's Personal Testimony about how God used a simple man, a nameless "jay of clay" (nameless on earth and in time but renowned in heaven and for eternity) to preach a simple message on Isaiah 45:22 which the Spirit used to save the man who would go on to be heralded as the "prince of preachers". How awesome are the "paradoxes" of God, Whose "foolishness...is wiser than men, and (Whose) weakness...is stronger than men." (1Co 1:25) Jamieson... God often allows the vessel to be chipped and broken, that the excellency of the treasure contained, and of the power which that treasure has, may be all His (2Co 4:10, 11; Jn 3:30). Jim Elliot martyred at age 29 clearly understood Paul's description of precious treasure in mere jars of clay when he described himself and his co-workers as a "bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody." Francis of Assisi when asked how he was able to accomplish so much answered that... This may be why: The Lord looked down from heaven and said, ‘Where can I find the weakest, littlest man on earth?’ Then he saw me and said, ‘I’ve found him, and he won’t be proud of it. He’ll see that I am only using him because of his insignificance.’ John Piper in his book "Brothers, We Are Not Professionals- A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry" asks a convicting question... wonder of wonders, we were given the gospel treasure to carry in clay pots to show that the transcendent power belongs to God (2 Cor. 4:7). Is there a way to be a professional clay pot? We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus (professionally?) so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested (professionally?) in our bodies (2Co 4:9—11). Rob Morgan writes that... in Bible times, when they didn’t have banks or safe repositories, they would bury their precious possessions in the earth or hide them in caves. They would often use clay jars for doing this. Have you ever read about the Dead Sea Scrolls? These priceless manuscripts date back 2000 years and were discovered in caves near the ruins of the village of Qumran, in the desert South of Jerusalem. They were stored in clay jars. Of course, clay jars break easily. They are fragile. They are easily damaged. In fact, that’s the way the scrolls were found. An Arab goat herder threw a rock toward the cliffs, trying to scare his goat back down the hill. The rock sailed through the opening of a cave, and the boy heard the sound of a jar breaking. The Dead Sea Scrolls were stored in jars of clay, but jars of clay are fragile. They break easily. And Paul is using that as an illustration of you and me. We are God’s depositories for His treasure, yet we are fragile and breakable and easily damaged. Every one of us can identify with that. I don’t need to spend much time on this point. No matter how strong we think we are or how stoic we try to be, we are fragile people and we break and are easily damaged. That’s true of us physically and it’s true of us emotionally. Some of you right now feel like a jar of clay that’s been chipped or cracked or broken. Someone has thrown a rock, and it’s shattered something inside of you. Well, the benefit is that it keeps us humble. In fact, the rest of the verse makes this quite plain and that brings us to the third word—power. (Read the entire sermon - Jars of Clay) Wiersbe rightly reminds us that... We must focus on the treasure and not on the vessel. Paul was not afraid of suffering or trial, because he knew that God would guard the vessel so long as Paul was guarding the treasure (see 1Ti 1:11; 6:20). God permits trials, God controls trials, and God uses trials for His own glory. God is glorified through weak vessels. The missionary who opened inland China to the Gospel, J. Hudson Taylor, used to say, “All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on Him being with them.” (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary - New Testament. 1989. Victor or Logos or Wordsearch)