Jer 1:11-12 (NIV) The word of the Lord came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
"I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.
12 The Lord said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled."
NOTE: This is a strange way to begin Jeremiah's prophetic ministry. God asks him what he sees and then gives him the interpretation. Yet, on the surface, the image and the interpretation do not seem to fit, nor does God ever use the imagery again. One possibility is an illusion to Aaron's rod, which budded almonds. In Ezekiel, God does use the imagery of a rod budding, and the rod turning into a rod to punish wickedness (Ezek 7:10). Forgetting the image for a moment, God says that he is watching to see that his word is fulfilled. That would place God in an active role versus a passive role that the deists argue, at least in relationship to God's word. The imagery link to Aaron's rod may suggest a spiritual dimension to the fulfillment of God's word as opposed to an intervention in every small event of life. Rom 8:28 suggests that God, rather than actively intervening in events, works to bring good out of events in the lives of believers, a sort of passive-active role. Passive in allowing events to happen and active in using them for good. But, in the case of his will and the development of history, God is actively involved in seeing that his word, his prophecies are fulfilled. And maybe that is God what God is saying to Jeremiah -- "I will give you my word to prophecy, but I will be the one to ensure its fulfillment. Your role is spokesman, not the executor of the prophecy, I will take care of that."
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