JEREMIAH’S TWO SYMBOLS Prior to Jeremiah’s message to Judah and the Gentile nations, God gives him two symbols of his ministry. They are a section of an almond tree and a boiling pot. The first represents the early-budding blossom , the almond tree being the first to come out of winter and bloom in the spring. It was known as a “watcher” or a “waker”, giving those who observed the a sense of the seasons, a timetable. God comments that “He will hasten His word to perform it”(KJV)/”I am watching to see that My word is fulfilled” (NIV). You see both aspects of the almond tree in the way those passages were translated. With regard to Jeremiah’s ministry, it seems to say that the coming judgment is near and it is orchestrated by God. Jeremiah will spend the rest of his life warning people and urging repentance and obedience, only to have his words fall on deaf ears. The second symbol represents where that judgment will come from, physically speaking, and that was from Babylon, located north of Israel. How would you like a ministry warning people that won’t listen? Noah had one. Lot had one. The Apostle Peter warned that there would be scoffers in the last days, mocking coming judgment. Despite the scoffing, Jeremiah was true to his mission and it’s my hope that we, you and I, are true to ours also. 11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” 12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.” 13 And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.”
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 09:16:34 +0000
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