Friday 31st July
Read Jeremiah 1:11-12
“The word of the Lord came to me: ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’
‘I see the branch of an almond tree,’ I replied.
12 The Lord said to me, ‘You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.’” (NIVUK)
The introduction to Jeremiah’s word, and words, concludes with three images that capture well the nature of his message. The first concerns an almond tree branch, the second a boiling pot and the third an impenetrable fortress.
One thing to observe is that the images have different messages, that they aren’t necessarily chronological and that we should not attempt to read Jeremiah’s prophecies necessarily as a consecutive narrative account of what he saw in order.
The first image reflects the promise that God will fulfil His word. In Palestine, the harbinger of spring is the almond tree. In other parts of the world it may be a different flower, but where Jeremiah and God’s people lived, escaping winter was signalled by the blossoming almond.
The Hebrew for almond is ‘shaqed’ (v11). The Hebrew for watching is ‘shoqed’ (v12). Using a clever Hebrew pun, the promise Jeremiah receives at the beginning of his ministry is that God is watching His people. All He promises, He will fulfil. He is not sleeping. He is not quiescent. He is not fickle so as to abandon His promises. He is waiting for the right time. So Jeremiah is to watch and wait also.
Ultimately springtime blooms with the arrival of Jesus. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Corinthians 1:20-23) (NIVUK)
