Jeremiah 1:11 – God is alert over His word

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, What do you see Jeremiah? And I answered, I see an almond tree-branch. Yahweh said to me, You have done well in seeing, for I am alert over My word, to perform it.

Purely based on a Bible translation, we miss the logic of the above conversation. The meaning only becomes clear when you follow the text in the original, i.e. in Hebrew. This is how it is:

The word for “almond” is the same word in Hebrew as for ‘alert’ or ‘watchful.’ The almond tree bears this name because it is the first to ‘wake up’ in the spring and bears blossom. This makes the almond a beautiful emblem of the firstfruits from the dead. Also think of the staff of Aaron who produced almond blossoms in the night. GOD thereby proved that Aaron was the high priest of his choice.

Or what about the menorah candlestick in the sanctuary? That was a stylized almond tree whose light shone day and night. The almond produces life when everything is still dead. And it produces light, while everything is darkness! In the night, when everyone is asleep, He is alert … over His word!

Delen: