Chosen by God: Lip, Heart, and the Potter’s Hand

The Twelve Voices (Trei Asar תרי עשר)

Amos 5:4–8

4 Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel:
“Come back to me and live!

5 
Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel;
    don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba.

For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile,

    and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”

6 
Come back to the Lord and live!

Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire,

    devouring you completely.

Your gods in Bethel

    won’t be able to quench the flames.

7 
You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed.

    You treat the righteous like dirt.

8 
It is the Lord who created the stars,
    the Pleiades and Orion.

He turns darkness into morning

    and day into night.

He draws up water from the oceans

    and pours it down as rain on the land.

    The Lord is his name!

Main Text: Isaiah 29:13–16

13 
And so the Lord says,

    “These people say they are mine.

They honor me with their lips,

    but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me

    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.

14 
Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites

    with amazing wonders.

The wisdom of the wise will pass away,

    and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”

15 
What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord,

    who do their evil deeds in the dark!

“The Lord can’t see us,” they say.

    “He doesn’t know what’s going on!”

16 
How foolish can you be?

    He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay!

Should the created thing say of the one who made it,

    “He didn’t make me”?

Does a jar ever say,

    “The potter who made me is stupid”?

Chiastic Structure: Isaiah 29:13–16

A. False worship – Lips honor, hearts are far; empty religion (v.13)
 B. God will overturn human wisdom – wonders confound the wise (v.14)
  C. Hidden schemes in darkness – “The LORD doesn’t see us” (v.15)
 B’. God’s sovereignty as Potter – creation cannot outthink Creator (v.16a)
A’. Foolish denial – Clay rejecting Maker = ultimate false worship (v.16b)

Old Testament | Devarim (Deuteronomy) 18:1-5

1 The Levitic priests—the entire tribe of Levi—must have no portion in the spoils of war nor any land-inheritance with the rest of Israel. They must eat God’s fire-offerings and His inheritance.

2 They must have no land-inheritance among their brothers. God is their inheritance, as He spoke concerning them.

3 The following must be the priests’ entitlement from the people: From those who slaughter, be it a work-bull or a sheep, he must give the priest the foreleg, the cheeks, and the stomach.

4 You must give him the first of your grain, wine, and oil; and the first of the fleece of your flock.

5 For God, your God, has selected him out of all your tribes to stand and serve in the name of God—he and his sons—for all time.

Chiastic Structure: Devarim (Deuteronomy) 18:1-5

A. No earthly inheritance (v.1)
 B. God Himself is their inheritance (v.2)
  C. Priestly dues from offerings (v.3–4)
 B’. Levite chosen to serve in God’s name (v.5a)
A’. Eternal inheritance: service “for all time” (v.5b)

PARDES Reflection (Four Levels of Study)

Peshat (Simple / Surface Level):

Isaiah condemns superficial worship; Deuteronomy ordains Levites to live fully devoted to God without earthly inheritance.

Remez (Hint / Symbolic):

The “disappearing wisdom” hints that human systems—whether clever philosophies or national defenses—cannot stand before God’s astounding acts. Only covenantal devotion lasts.

Drash (Inquire / Interpretive):

The Levites embody a life without fallback—no land, no spoils—trusting entirely in God’s provision. Do we live as if God is enough, or do we cling to backup inheritances?

Sod (Secret / Mystical):

The Potter/clay mystery reveals that chosenness is not static but dynamic. Each reshaping is a secret act of love—breaking false forms so that divine likeness may emerge.

Hebrew Word Study

Yatzar (יָצַר) – “to form” (Is. 29:16): same verb used in Genesis 2:7 when God formed humanity from the dust. To call God the Potter is to confess He holds not only our creation, but our destiny.

Nachalah (נַחֲלָה) – “inheritance” (Deut. 18:2): often used for land. For Levites, inheritance was God Himself. Spiritual inheritance transcends property; it is presence.

Kavod (כָּבוֹד) – “honor, glory” (Is. 29:13): the people offered lip-honor, but not heart-honor. True kavod weighs heavy; it cannot be faked.