Promise Keeper

“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”” (Jeremiah 1:11–12, ESV)

In life, we are disappointed many times by people who say one thing and then do something else. They do not keep their word. The ultimate reason for this is that of man’s fallen sinful nature. Even believers are not immune to this problem.

I pastored a church once where one of the parishioners spoke to me with great conviction about a ministry that she thought we should start. My response to her was that I would take the steps to open that door if she would coordinate the ministry. So, I talked to some people and began a ministry in a nursing home occurring every other week. We began the ministry and the young woman showed up the first week. However, she never showed up for the ministry again and did not coordinate the work as promised. It is the way it goes at times.

I am glad that the Lord our God never goes back on His word. Here in Jeremiah’s call to be a prophet, the Lord gives the prophet a word of guarantee. He does so in the way of a vision and then explains what He is about to do. Jeremiah’s first vision is that of an “almond branch” and the second is that of a “boiling pot.”

The “almond branch” is a harbinger of that which that Lord will bring to pass, represented by the “boiling pot, facing away from the north (v13).” This refers to judgment. The Lord explained that He was “watching over” His “word to perform it.” Here He stated that a judgment will come from the north (v13) upon Judah and Jerusalem because they had “forsaken” Him (v14-16). Moreover, He was actively and continually at work to make what He had predetermined happen.

Here we have a major point to understand. It is that the Lord God always keeps His word. He keeps His promises. There are many things written in the Bible which are prophetic utterances that are yet to occur. As revealed in the word of God, we know that there will come a future gathering up of the Saints, a future resurrection of those who will face the final judgment, the return of Christ to establish His millennial reign, and many other things to come. He has stated it and He is watching over this world to bring these things to pass at the appointed time.

Yet there is another very important personal application of this for us as believers. He has promised us eternal life by faith in Christ. Just as He would watch His word of judgment for Judah and Jerusalem, He is constantly and actively watching over us to keep the promise of eternal life. Paul wrote of this to the church at Thessalonica,

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, KJV)

Our God has declared that we who believe in Jesus will experience the blessing of Christ’s return. He is actively engaged in all our lives to set us apart from the power and penalty of sin and preserve us “blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God keeps His word.