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Jeremiah 19 · Grade 5

The Potsherd Gate

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Read and Think

Jeremiah 19 continues the potter imagery of chapter 18, but with a sharp change. In chapter 18 the clay was still soft on the wheel and could be remade. Now God told Jeremiah, Go, and buy a potter's earthen container, and take some of the elders of the people and of the elders of the priests. The location mattered. The valley of the son of Hinnom was where Judah had practiced the worst forms of false worship.

There Jeremiah announced judgment on the kings of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They had forsaken God, made the place foreign to him, and worshiped gods their fathers had not known. God said the valley would no longer be called Topheth or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of Slaughter. The coming siege would be so severe that its horror would make the ears of everyone who heard it tingle.

Then came the dramatic sign. Jeremiah broke the container in the sight of the men. God declared that he would break this people and this city as one breaks a potter's vessel, that can't be made whole again. The difference between the chapters is the difference between a heart still open to God and one that has hardened past repair. Jeremiah then preached the same message in the temple court, saying the people had made their neck stiff. That bold sermon led directly to his arrest in chapter 20.

Show What You Know

  1. How does chapter 19 change the potter imagery of chapter 18?

  2. Why did the location of the valley matter?

  3. What new name did God give the valley?

  4. What did Jeremiah's temple sermon lead to?

Crossword

43512

Across

  1. Kings of ____ and inhabitants of Jerusalem.
  2. And take some of the ____ of the people.

Down

  1. That this ____ will no more be called.
  2. That they may not hear my ____.
  3. Which is by the entry of the ____ Harsith.

Think About It

  1. The broken jar shows that repeated refusal can harden a heart. What helps keep a heart soft toward God?

  2. Jeremiah delivered a hard message in public. What courage does it take to speak an unpopular truth?

Memory Verse

“Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says, ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have made their neck stiff, that they may not hear my words.’”

Jeremiah 19:15 (WEB)

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Prayer

Dear God, thank You for speaking to me. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

  • Why was Jeremiah brave?
  • How do you respond when someone warns you?
  • What is one way you could live out this chapter this week?

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.