Rod of An Almond Tree
“Jeremiah, what seest thou? . . . I see a rod of an almond tree…….. Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.” JEREMIAH 1: 11, 12
What does an almond rod have to do with the Lord “hastening” to fulfill his word? It is evidently a play on words in the Hebrew. In Nelson edition of the American Standard Version the footnote gives shaked for “almond tree,” and shoked for “hasten” (rather, “watch” in ASV).
(Footnote – How is it that the two words are so similar? Rotherham’s footnote: “‘The watcher’ – ‘so called from its early blossom, as being the first of the trees to wake from the sleep of winter.’- Davis’ H.L.” His translation is “a twig of an almond tree…………….. Thou hast rightly seen, for keeping watch am I, over my word to perform it.”)
The use of sound-alike words to emphasize a point appears also in Isaiah 5: 7. In Rotherham’s translation, “And he waited for equity but lo! murderous iniquity. For the rule of right, but lo! The cry of the wronged.” His footnote: “N.B.: the striking assonance-‘And he waited for mishpat, but lo mispah; for zedhakah, but lo zeakah.'”
But there is a notable difference between the word play of Jeremiah and that of Isaiah. In Isaiah the meaning of the words convey a direct thought, in addition to the “assonance,” In Jeremiah, there appears to be little direct relation between an almond tree and the accomplishment of God’s word.
Symbolically, however, there is a connection. The rod of an almond tree represents the manifestation of God’s election of the Church class. This comes from its use in the Tabernacle to show that Aaron and his tribe were to serve the priestly and ceremonial duties. (Numbers 17) A representative of each tribe provided a rod; these were collectively laid up in the tabernacle by Moses. “And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels . . . ”
But what particular manifestation of God’s election of the church is represented in Jeremiah 1: 11? We think it is the resurrection of the sleeping saints, (Footnote – The other possibility which comes to mind is the completion of the church in glory. But against this is that Jeremiah represents the harvest saints in the flesh.) investing them with judicial authority and power (Rev. 11: 15) to actually accomplish the words of Jeremiah 1: 10 –
” . . . over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to, destroy and to throw down, [and, concerning Christ’s kingdom] to build, and to plant.”
Jeremiah, who spoke these words, pictures the saints in the flesh. They are God’s spokesmen declaring the necessary replacement of present institutions with the incoming Kingdom of Christ.
Our mouths have been “touched” and the Lord says to us “I have put my words in thy mouth.” (vs. 9) (Notice a similar mention respecting Isaiah who had his mouth purged to cleanse him for service-another picture of the saints in the flesh.-Isa. 6: 5-7)
Among other scriptures which show a close relationship between the raising of the saints and the judgments of Christendom, note Obadiah 21, and Ezek. 43: 2, 4, 5 cf. Rev. 18: 1, 2.