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"What do you see?"

Text: Jeremiah 1:11

THE TRAINING OF A PROPHET

How does one become a prophet? What was the training process like? We catch a glimpse of how the prophets of God were trained in the life of Jeremiah.

“Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
‘Jeremiah, what do you see?’
And I said, ‘I see a branch of an almond tree.’
Then the LORD said to me,
‘You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.'”
Jeremiah 1:11-12

1. “Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying”

a) The first lesson a prophet of God must learn well concerns “the word of the LORD”.

b) “The word of the Lord”

i) It is distinguished from human thoughts.

ii) The prophet must, of course, be familiar with the written law of the Lord given by Moses.

iii) This is a special revealed word of God.

iv) God reveals to His servant what He would do soon.

v) This word is relevant and significant for the immediate future.

2. “Jeremiah, what do you see?”

a) A good prophet must be trained “to see”.

b) This is a reference to the following:

i) Power of observation

ii) Accuracy of observation

iii) Details in the vision to be noted.

c) Seeing well

i) It takes training of one’s focus.

ii) It takes practice.

iii) It is the responsibility of the prophet to observe and see well.

iv) The ability to see well will actually affect the kind of ministry he will have.

3. “And I said, ‘I see a branch of an almond tree.'”

a) Jeremiah sees the obvious:

i) He sees a tree.

ii) It is an almond tree.

iii) He sees a branch of the almond tree.

b) It may not seem like much.

c) God’s part is to be carefully considered next.

4. “Then the LORD said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.'”

a) Commendation of the Lord

i) This was given graciously.

ii) It was given to bring greater encouragement to the prophet.

b) Notation

i) The almond tree is native to Anathoth (hometown of Jeremiah).

ii) The almond tree is the first tree to bud in the spring.

iii) The budding of the almond tree is the commencement of spring.

c) Explanation by the Lord

i) The budding of the almond tree suggests that spring is just around the corner.

ii) The Lord’s word will also be fulfilled soon.

iii) Sometimes the word of the Lord takes a long time before it is fulfilled.

iv) This time round, the word of the Lord would soon be fulfilled.