What do Almonds have to do with God watching over His word?
Let's start out with a conversation God had with the prophet Jeremiah... turn to Jeremiah 1:11 The word of the Lord came saying Jeremiah what do you SEE? Jeremiah answers, " I SEE the rod of an Almond tree. God says, "You have SEEN well for I am ready to watch over my word to perform it. WHAT? In our English translations, it makes no sense, but in Hebrew, it is the same root word, let's look at an interlinear bible to see what I mean. mateh = rod, branch, Saqed = of an Almond tree soqed = I am ready - over my word to perform it This particular rod , though, is an almond branch. Gesenius suggests the significance of the almond branch is connected to the fact that almond trees are the first to wake up after winter. They are "watching" trees , i.e. trees that watch for the approach of spring. So, the branch will be a "watching" rod . Well, David, that's a cute wordplay ...