No failure in our lives need be fatal or final, although we certainly suffer for our sins. God gave new beginnings to Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah, and Peter when they failed, and He can do the same for us today. They had so hardened themselves against the Lord that all hope was gone. In the Near East in that day, kings and generals often smashed clay jars in a special ceremony before they went out to battle, symbolic of their total defeat of their enemies. Yes, they can.
Judgment is the only response to willful apostasy.
The Northern Kingdom of Israel refused to repent, and the Assyrians took it captive. Now the Southern Kingdom of Judah was resisting God s truth, and Babylon would destroy the land and deport the people. So, the answer is to stay pliable and workable in the hands of the Potter, allowing Him to mold and shape us into the vessel that seemeth good unto the potter.