Who Art Thou, O Man? (Remastered)

Devotional

Day 1: Clay Questioning the Potter’s Hands

The image of clay arguing with its potter cuts to the heart of humanity’s rebellion. God, as Creator, holds absolute rights over His creation, shaping vessels for honorable or ordinary purposes according to His wisdom. This truth confronts the pride that demands explanations for His choices. To dispute His sovereignty is to forget our place as formed beings, dependent on the Former’s intent. His authority isn’t subject to human approval—He defines justice, not the other way around. The Potter’s hands work eternally, undeterred by clay that strains against the wheel. [00:44]

Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? (Romans 9:20-21, KJV)

Reflection: Where have you subtly resisted God’s shaping in your life, as if your plans outweigh His purpose? How might humility before the Potter soften your heart to trust His design?

Day 2: Pharaoh’s Resistance Magnifying Divine Power

God didn’t create Pharaoh’s evil but harnessed his stubbornness to display unmatched glory. Each refusal to free Israel became a stage for miracles, proving no earthly power rivals heaven’s might. Even rebellion serves God’s plan—hardened hearts become backdrops for His victory. Pharaoh’s defiance, endured through plagues, ultimately broadcast God’s name across nations. What humans intend for harm, God ordains for eternal revelation. His sovereignty turns opposition into proclamation. [02:22]

And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. (Exodus 9:16, KJV)

Reflection: When has God used a season of resistance in your life or the world to reveal His strength? How does this shift your view of current struggles?

Day 3: The Arguing Spirit and Heaven’s Silence

Human logic stumbles at mysteries of election, demanding God justify His ways. Yet the Creator need not explain Himself to the created. To challenge His fairness is to assume equal footing, forgetting He is fire and we are dust. Questions born of contention, not humility, receive no answer but a rebuke: “Who are you?” True wisdom starts not with dissecting God’s choices but bowing at His holiness. [24:23]

Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? (Isaiah 45:9, KJV)

Reflection: What current circumstance tempts you to question God’s fairness rather than worship His sovereignty? How would kneeling before His “I AM” adjust your posture?

Day 4: Bare Feet on Holy Ground

Moses approached the burning bush with curiosity, but God demanded reverence. Removing sandals acknowledged the gap between Creator and creature—a boundary modern minds often ignore. Holiness isn’t a topic to dissect but a presence to fear. Every encounter with divine truth requires shedding self-assurance. Standing on holy ground means our arguments die before His “I AM.” [33:43]

And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. (Exodus 3:5-6, KJV)

Reflection: What “shoes”—self-reliance, intellectual pride, or control—do you need to remove to approach God with awe? Where have you prioritized analysis over adoration?

Day 5: Ashes and Acquiescence

Job’s complaints dissolved when God unveiled His majesty. Painful questions gave way to repentance—not because suffering made sense, but because God’s greatness overwhelmed doubt. True peace comes not in answers but in beholding the Answerer. To “abhor oneself” isn’t self-loathing but liberation from the lie that we deserve an explanation. Glory silences grievance. [37:53]

I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee… I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:2, 5-6, KJV)

Reflection: Where are you demanding answers instead of clinging to God’s character? How might laying down your “why” deepen trust in His unchanging nature?

Sermon Summary

Paul lays down the conclusion of his two examples: the Lord has mercy on whom he wills, and whom he wills he hardens. The text presses this through the history of Pharaoh. God did not make Pharaoh a sinner; God took Pharaoh as he was and, in judgment, aggravated his obduracy in order to show his own power and to publish his name in all the earth. Had Pharaoh yielded at the first request, the deliverance would have been a mere entry in a chronicle. Because he resisted, plague followed plague until every human boast and every Egyptian magician failed, and the Lord’s supremacy stood forth in light. Thus the Scripture speaks, and thus the conclusion stands: salvation is of him that calleth; hardening is likewise in his sovereign hand.

The objection rises at once: if none can finally resist his will, why does he yet find fault? That very objection, Paul argues, proves the doctrine is understood aright. It is not a scheme of foreseen faith, which would raise no protest, but the absolute freedom of God in election. Yet before any reconciliation is attempted, the spirit of the questioner must be rebuked. “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?” The issue is not honest perplexity but a contentious reply, a contradiction of God. Man is reminded of his place: the thing formed does not interrogate the former; the clay does not arraign the potter.

The passage then sets the bounds. Scripture shows how far reason may go and where it must stop. God’s sovereignty and human responsibility will both be upheld, but here the accent falls on sovereignty. The key to hearing it rightly is posture. Holy ground requires shoes off. Moses must not investigate the bush as a phenomenon; Joshua must bow before the Captain; Job must abhor himself; Isaiah must cry, “Woe is me.” God is in heaven and man upon earth. Only the humble will be taught. Hence Paul insists that what is resisted here is not his opinion but God’s own word about himself. To object is to object to God. Therefore let man remember he is but plastic in the hands of the potter, and approach the doctrine as worship, not as debate.

Key Takeaways

1. God freely shows mercy and hardens God stands as absolute Lord over salvation and judgment. He does not author sin, yet he judicially gives sinners over, heightening what they already are, in order to display his name. The ground of mercy is in God alone, not in foreseen works or faith. Bowing to this is the beginning of wisdom. [03:49]
2. Pharaoh’s hardness magnifies divine glory Pharaoh’s refusals became the stage on which God’s power was made public. When the magicians failed and the tyrant yielded against his will, every idol fell flat. God writes his fame upon the resistance of proud empires. Judgment becomes a dark canvas for sovereign light. [06:51]
3. The objection unveils a wrong spirit “Who hath resisted his will?” can be asked as revolt or as reverence. Paul rebukes the contentious reply that contradicts God and imputes injustice to him. Honest perplexity is welcomed; arrogant cross-examination is not. Posture is part of the answer. [24:23]
4. The potter and clay humble man The image is severe and saving. Man is the plastic thing formed; God alone is the former with right over the lump. This does not erase responsibility; it silences presumption. Theology ripens when self-importance withers. [42:24]
5. Theology begins upon holy ground Moses removes his shoes, Joshua bows, Job repents in dust, and Isaiah trembles. The Lord’s Prayer starts with hallowed be thy name before any petition. Illumination is given to babes, not to the wise in their own conceit. Reverence is the doorway to understanding. [47:33]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:44] - Potter and clay read
[02:22] - Raised up Pharaoh
[03:49] - Sovereign mercy and hardening
[05:27] - Why the miracles multiplied
[06:51] - Dictator humbled under God’s hand
[09:36] - The new objection in verse 19
[14:08] - Objection proves divine election
[20:06] - How far one may go
[21:46] - Structure of Paul’s reply
[24:23] - Who art thou, O man
[33:43] - Take off thy shoes
[37:08] - Job repents in dust and ashes
[42:24] - The plastic thing formed
[47:33] - Approach Scripture as holy ground

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Romans 9:18-24 (ESV)
So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Observation Questions

According to Romans 9:18, what two actions does God sovereignly exercise?
How does Paul use the analogy of a potter and clay to explain God’s authority (Romans 9:20-21)?
In the sermon, what was the ultimate purpose of God hardening Pharaoh’s heart? [06:51]
What examples from Scripture (like Moses, Job, Isaiah) illustrate the proper posture for approaching God’s sovereignty? [33:43]

Interpretation Questions

Why might Paul use Pharaoh’s story specifically to highlight God’s sovereignty in judgment and mercy?
How does the potter-clay analogy address the objection, “Why does God still blame us if no one can resist His will?” (Romans 9:19)?
The sermon emphasizes that objections to God’s sovereignty reveal a “contentious spirit.” What makes this attitude incompatible with biblical humility? [24:23]
Why does the Bible repeatedly use imagery like “holy ground” (Exodus 3:5) or “dust and ashes” (Job 42:6) when people encounter God’s presence?

Application Questions

When have you struggled to accept God’s sovereignty in a difficult situation? How might the truth of Romans 9:18-21 reframe your perspective?
The sermon warns against a “contentious spirit” when questioning God’s ways. How can you discern whether your doubts stem from honest seeking or prideful resistance? [24:23]
What practical steps can you take to cultivate a posture of humility (like Moses removing his sandals) when reading Scripture or praying? [33:43]
In what areas of your life do you need to trust that God’s purposes—even in hardship—are meant to magnify His glory, as with Pharaoh?
How might recognizing yourself as “clay in the Potter’s hands” change the way you respond to God’s discipline or direction? [42:24]
The sermon says, “Judgment becomes a dark canvas for sovereign light.” Where have you seen God’s power revealed through brokenness or resistance in your community?
How can you encourage others to approach God’s mysteries with reverence rather than debate? [47:33]

Sermon Clips

There's only one way to approach the scripture. It is to listen to the injunction that God gave to Moses and to Joshua. Take off the shoes from off your feet. The ground whereon you're standing is holy ground. When you discuss this or any item in the whole of this book, always remember that you are discussing the word of God, the revelation of God, and therefore God himself. [00:47:02]

The trouble with men, when he objects with violence to any teaching in the scripture is that he doesn't realize the truth about himself. Who art thou? Realize your smallness. Realize your insignificance. Realize your finite character. Realize your mortality. Realize your sinfulness. Realize your perversion. Realize the smallness of your mind and understanding. [00:29:48]

Now, that's the whole point. What the apostle is rebuking here is the spirit of contention. He's not rebuking a man who is in a genuine difficulty and who really wants light and wants help and wants understanding. The Bible never rebukes that. The Bible has never got anything to say against a genuine perplexity and difficulty. [00:26:22]

my dear friends, as I've been trying to say every single Friday night we've been dealing with this great subject. Nothing is more important here than your spirit. That's the thing the apostle starts with, and it's absolutely essential and absolutely vital. We have no right to go on considering this matter at all unless our spirits are right. [00:27:34]

This passage shows us how far we can go in this matter of understanding God's ways. It shows us how far we are meant to go, and we need to be shown that. It does show us, I say, how far we can go, but it shows us the sign which says no further. [00:20:12]

God is free to carry out his own sovereign will in his own way and whenever he pleases and chooses. But you see, the teaching can be put like this. It's there implicit, really, in that 17th verse. God is overall and being almighty and all powerful and sovereign, he can even use evil to display his own glory. [00:04:04]

Well, now, though, there is the statement which the apostle makes, that God in his sovereign greatness and glory can even use an evil men like Pharaoh, and can harden his heart in order that through that and by means of that, his glory and his power and his name may be declared throughout all the earth. [00:08:52]

What is he rebuking here? Well, he is rebuking the spirit in which the question is put. That's what he is rebuking. And this is something that is always vital. We need to be reminded that in looking at and discussing a subject such as this, we are not just looking at a subject of abstract academic or theoretical philosophy. [00:24:37]

Thirdly, we cannot but comment on the honesty and the thoroughness of the great apostle. He raises the problem. He puts it before us. Before you ever thought of this objection, he's put it into your mouth. I say this in order that we may thank God for the scriptures. There is nothing that men can ever think of, but that it's already been dealt with and answered here. [00:16:51]

This objection is, of course, a proof that our exposition of the previous passages is the right one, and that Paul is teaching in the previous passages that God, and God alone determines the salvation of every man. [00:13:50]

And the great argument is this, that not all are Israel who are of Israel. That's the fundamental proposition. They are not all Israel which are of Israel. Israel is a special spiritual people inside the visible Israel. These are the seed, not your Ishmaels, but your Isaacs, not your Esaus, your Jacobs. And all this is something that God works out by his great process of election. [00:11:16]

The thing I say, the trouble with most of us in all our difficulties with biblical truth is that we don't know first the truth about ourselves. And then, of course, the second thing we're ignorant of is the truth about God. [00:31:09]

How can we reconcile the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man? Doesn't this teaching of the apostle seem to be doing away with man's responsibility? Is there any way of reconciling the sovereignty of God and human responsibility? [00:18:44]

There is nothing new in this objection to this doctrine. This isn't a 20th century objection. They were objecting to the same doctrine in the first century. They've been objecting to it ever since. It's got nothing to do with modern learning, modern knowledge, modern science, nothing at all. [00:16:26]

The apostle having stated so clearly in chapter eight that God's got a great eternal purpose and that nothing can frustrate it, the assurance which every Christian should have about his ultimate glorification is an absolute one. Nothing, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, et cetera, et cetera, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It's absolute. [00:10:09]

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