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Almonds and the Promises of God · Traveler’s Tales

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  Waiting is one of life's greatest tests.
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  We wait for answers. We wait for healing. We wait
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  for open doors. Sometimes we even wait for God to
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  do what he has promised. But what if the delay isn't
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  because God has forgotten? What if
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  God has been faithfully working to accomplish His word all
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  along? That's exactly what an almond branch taught the
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  prophet Jeremiah. Welcome to Traveler's Tales, brought to you by
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  Enjoying the Journey. I'm your host, Greg Dowdy.
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  One of the joys of studying the Bible is discovering
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  that every detail has meaning. The people
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  who first heard God's Word lived in a world filled with
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  similar sights and sounds that carried spiritual
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  significance. And as we learn about that world,
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  the message of Scripture often becomes even more vivid.
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  Special thanks to John Buckner, whose research
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  continues to help us to understand the lands,
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  customs, and culture of the Bible. Listen to these words
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  from Jeremiah chapter 1. Moreover, the word
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  of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou?
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  And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
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  Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen,
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  for I will hasten my word to perform it.
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  At first glance, that exchange seems unusual.
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  Why an almond tree? To understand
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  the answer, we have to travel to Israel. Long before most other
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  trees awaken from winter, the almond tree bursts into
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  bloom. While the landscape may still appear cold and
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  lifeless, the almond announces that spring is already on
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  its way. It is the earliest messenger of a new season,
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  But there's something even more beautiful hidden in the Hebrew language.
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  The Hebrew word for almond is shoked.
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  The word translated I will hasten sounds very
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  similar— shoked. It carries the
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  idea of watching carefully,
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  remaining awake, or staying alert until something
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  is accomplished. God was using a word picture.
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  Jeremiah, just as the almond tree is the first to awaken,
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  I am watching over my word. I am awake,
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  I am attentive, and what I have spoken I will surely
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  bring to pass. What an encouraging truth!
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  God never forgets a promise he has made.
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  He never loses sight of his purposes. He never speaks empty
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  words. He is always watching over his word to perform
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  it. Jeremiah didn't simply see an almond tree;
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  he saw an almond rod, a branch that had been cut
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  from the tree. That detail points us back hundreds
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  of years to another remarkable event. The nation of Israel
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  had rebelled against the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
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  They questioned whether God had truly chosen them.
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  So, the Lord instructed the leaders of each tribe to place
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  a rod before Him in the Tabernacle. Each rod was
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  nothing more than a dead stick, a branch that had been cut
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  from a living tree. By every human standard,
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  nothing should have happened. Yet the next morning,
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  Aaron's rod had done the impossible. It had budded.
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  It had blossomed. It had produced ripe almonds.
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  One night, 3 miracles.
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  Life where there had been only death.
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  God was declaring to the entire nation, the man I have chosen is
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  the one I have confirmed. That rod was
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  later placed inside the Ark of the Covenant as a lasting
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  testimony that God's choice and God's word could both
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  be trusted. Now think about what Jeremiah was seeing.
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  The same God who once caused a dead branch to blossom
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  was assuring his prophet that his promises and his
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  warnings would also come to pass. The vision was
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  not merely about a tree; it was about the certainty of
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  God's Word. Sadly, Jeremiah's generation
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  refused to listen. Again and again,
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  the prophet pleaded with the people to repent.
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  God graciously offered mercy if they would return to Him.
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  But they hardened their hearts, And eventually, the judgment
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  God had promised arrived just as he had said.
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  That truth still speaks today.
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  We live in a world where promises are easily broken.
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  Contracts are violated. Commitments are abandoned.
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  Words often mean very little. But God is
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  different. If he promises salvation,
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  he will save. If he promises forgiveness, He will
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  forgive. If he promises grace,
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  he will give grace. And if he warns of judgment,
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  we should never assume those warnings are empty.
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  The almond branch reminds us that God is always
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  watching over his word. So perhaps the question is not
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  whether God will keep his promises. The question is whether
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  we will respond to them. Is there an area where God has
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  been speaking to your heart? Perhaps he has been calling you
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  to trust Christ. Perhaps he's been urging you to forgive
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  someone, to obey his leading, or to turn away from a sin that you've
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  tolerated for far too long. Don't ignore his voice.
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  The God who watches over his word is also watching over
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  your life, and his desire is not merely
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  to correct you but to draw you closer to
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  himself. The next time you see an almond tree,
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  or even a handful of almonds at the grocery store, remember Jeremiah's
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  vision. Remember Aaron's rod. And remember this simple
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  but powerful truth: our God always keeps
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  his word. Thank you for joining me today for this edition of Traveler's
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  Tales. If these journeys through the world of Scripture have
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  encouraged you. You'll find many more Bible study resources,
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  articles, and tools that are designed to help you to
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  know God's word and share it with others. Visit us at etj.bible.