Boi Kallah

Chapter 8-A Bo'i Kallah: The Weekly Rehearsal Rev. John Shane Vaughn The Potter's House "The word which came to Jeremiah from YAHWEH, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it." —Jeremiah 18:1-4 Most Christian churches completely misinterpret this parable. They make it personal—about how YAHWEH can restore a broken life. And while that application may have merit, it is not the primordial meaning of this prophecy. Look carefully at the scene. There is one Potter. There is one workshop. There is one lump of clay. Not two. YAHWEH is the Potter. The clay is the House of Israel. This parable is NATIONAL, not personal. It is about a nation. A people. The seed of Jacob. The First Vessel This people was first molded into a nation at Mount Sinai. They were given their constitution—the Torah. They were given their leader—Moses. All things were set in order for them. They received detailed instructions: what to eat, what to wear, what to do and what not to do. They were given the blessings for obedience and the penalties for disobedience. YAHWEH was their King. They were a true republic—ruled by Law. The Potter's hands shaped the clay. The nation began to take form. The Marred Vessel But then the clay was marred. For five hundred years YAHWEH molded the nation. At times it appeared to be taking shape—under David, under Solomon, under the righteous kings. But ultimately, the entire House of Israel forsook YAHWEH. The northern kingdom fell to Assyria. The southern kingdom fell to Babylon. The clay would not hold its shape. The vessel cracked and collapsed in the Potter's hands. What happened? The clay was cast away. Put away. Scattered among the nations. Divorced, as Jeremiah and Hosea declared. The Potter set aside the marred vessel. The Same Clay Now watch carefully what happens next. The Potter does not get new clay. He does not discard the House of Israel and start over with different material. He does not replace the seed of Jacob with some other people. He takes the same clay that He discarded—and He remolds it. Something completely new, and yet still the same. A different vessel, yet formed from the identical lump. "And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it." —Jeremiah 18:4 Another vessel. Not another clay. The same nation. The same people. Reformed. This time, the clay responds to His molding without the rebellion. This vessel seems good to the Potter. Returning to the Commonwealth Paul understood this. Writing to those who had been scattered among the nations—those who had forgotten their identity—he reminded them: "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." —Ephesians 2:11-13 They were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel—but now they are brought near. Not brought into something new. Brought back. Returned to where they belonged. Restored to the commonwealth they had been alienated from. The same clay. The same nation. The same bride. The Bride Is Not the Body Here we must make a critical distinction. The Bride of Messiah is not the Body of Messiah. They are completely separate. Just as Eve was not all of Adam, but a choice part—taken from his side while he slept—so it is with the Last Adam. Messiah was put to sleep on the cross. From His side came forth blood and water. And from that wounded side, the Bride is being formed—just as with the first Adam. The Body of Messiah includes all who are in covenant. But the Bride is a specific portion—Israel restored, the remnant who responds, the clay that finally yields to the Potter's hands. The Pliable Clay Why did the first vessel fail? The clay was stiff. Rebellious. It would not yield to the Potter's shaping. So YAHWEH sent His Son. Not to get new clay. Not to replace Israel. But to make this clay more pliable in His hands. Messiah came to soften the hearts of the House of Israel. To write the Torah on their hearts instead of tablets of stone. To fill them with His Spirit so they would finally respond to the Potter's touch. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." —Ezekiel 36:26 The same clay. But now softened. Now pliable. Now able to be shaped into the vessel the Potter always intended. The Second Vessel Is Israel Restored The second vessel is not a different nation. The second vessel is Israel restored. The same people who were marred, scattered, put away— now regathered, remolded, and formed into something that seems good to the Potter. This restoration is the restoration of the Bride. Israel has always been YAHWEH's covenant partner. Israel has always been His Bride. That will never change. The Potter did not find a new bride. He restored the one He had. Bo'i Kallah And this brings us to the weekly rehearsal. Every Friday evening, as the sun descends toward the horizon, something remarkable happens in Torah- observant homes around the world. Candles are lit. The table is set. The home transforms into a sanctuary. And then the words are spoken: בואי כלה. בואי כלה . Bo'i kallah. Bo'i kallah. (Pronounced: BOH-ee kah-LAH — "Come, bride. Come, bride.") These ancient words carry prophetic weight. They are not merely tradition. They are rehearsal—preparation for a moment yet to come. The Spirit Calls Alone In this present hour, the Holy Spirit is calling the bride. Not the nations. Not all mankind. Not "whosoever will"— not yet. The Spirit is issuing a specific call to a specific people: the scattered House of Israel. The marred clay that was cast away. Ephraim among the nations. The bride who forgot her identity, forgot her Sabbaths, forgot her Husband. And what is the vehicle of this call? The Sabbath. Every seventh day, the appointed time arrives. Every seventh day, the sign of the covenant appears. Every seventh day, the Spirit uses the Sabbath to summon the scattered bride back to the house of Israel. This is why people are awakening. This is why men and women raised in Sunday-keeping Christianity are suddenly drawn to Torah, to the feasts, to the seventh day. The Spirit is calling them—not to a religion, but to an identity. Not to a church, but to a family. Not to a denomination, but to the House of Israel. The Potter is regathering His clay. Come Out of Her "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." —Revelation 18:4 Notice: the call is to "my people"—not to all mankind. This is the Spirit's present call. Come out of Babylon. Come out of her calendar. Come out of her system that knows no rest. Every seventh day, the Spirit uses the Sabbath to call YAHWEH's people out. The scattered clay is being regathered. The marred vessel is being remolded. Come out of her, my people. Bo'i kallah. When the Bride Is Complete Revelation 22:17 describes a future moment: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." —Revelation 22:17 Notice carefully: the Spirit AND the bride say Come. This is not the present. In the present, the Spirit alone calls the bride. The clay is being regathered. The vessel is being formed. The bride is not yet complete. But when the full bride has been gathered—when all the scattered tribes have been brought into the barn—when the two sticks have become one in YAHWEH's hand— when the Potter's second vessel is finally complete—then the bride herself will become the voice. The Spirit will no longer call alone. The Spirit and the bride will call together. And the call will no longer be Bo'i kallah—come, bride. The call will be to all the thirsty. Whosoever will. The Seven Thunders When the bride is complete, she becomes the instrument through which the Spirit speaks to all mankind. The Spirit and the bride in perfect harmony—like the seven thunders of Revelation, speaking with one voice, issuing the final invitation to all creation. No longer calling the bride to come home. Now calling all men to come to the water of life. The scattered must be gathered so that the gathered can call the nations. The bride must come home so that the bride can invite the world. The Weekly Rehearsal This is why we say Bo'i kallah every Sabbath. We are not the ones calling—not yet. The Spirit is calling. We are responding. We are the scattered clay hearing the call and returning to the Potter's hands. But every time we speak these words, we are also rehearsing. We are practicing for the day when we will no longer be the called—we will be the callers. Bo'i kallah is our training. The Sabbath is our practice. And one day, on the Great Jubilee Sabbath, the bride will rise—complete, gathered, unified—the second vessel finally formed—and join the Spirit in crying out to all the earth: Come. Come and take the water of life freely. Bo'i BeShalom When the bride responds to the Spirit's call and enters the Sabbath rest, she comes in peace. בואי בשלום Bo'i beShalom. (Pronounced: BOH-ee beh-shah-LOHM — "Come in peace.") The bride is called: Bo'i kallah. The bride arrives: Bo'i beShalom. She enters YAHWEH's rest. She enters His shalom. She returns to the Potter's house—no longer scattered, no longer marred, no longer cast away among the nations. Until That Day Until the gathering is complete, we respond to the call. Every Sabbath, we hear the Spirit say: Bo'i kallah. Come, bride. Every Sabbath, we answer: We come. Every Sabbath, we enter the rest, rehearsing the day when we will no longer be the called but the callers. בואי כלה. בואי כלה . Come, bride. Come, bride. The Spirit calls. The bride responds. The Potter works. The gathering continues. Until the bride is complete. Until the seven thunders speak. Until the Spirit and the bride cry out together to all the thirsty. Until He comes.