THE FLORIST. 235 



form the bowls of the golden candlestick, with their respective ap- 

 pendages. 



It must here be remembered that the almond abounds with es- 

 sential oil, and this property, added to its early rising out of winter's 

 death, renders it a fit and beautiful emblem of Him who is " the 

 Resurrection and the Life," who is " risen from the dead, the first- 

 fruits of them that slept," that "in all things He might have the 

 pre-eminence ;" and one of whose many glorious names is " the 

 Light;" — " giving light to them that sit in darkness and in the 

 shadow of death." The next mention we have of the almond con- 

 firms and enlarges these thoughts of its typical import. 



As Israel journeyed through the wilderness, Aaron was chosen 

 as high-priest, and shewed forth, in type, the work of Christ Himself, 

 " the great high priest." To intrude, then, upon his office was in 

 that dispensation what it would be now to seek to rob Christ of 

 His priestly glory. The sin was judged immediately. See Numbers 

 xvi. After this, when God would powerfully confirm His own pre- 

 vious order, He distinguished Aaron by causing his rod, among the 

 twelve written on with the names of the twelve tribes, to bud, and 

 bloom blossoms, and yield almonds. 



This rod was laid up in the ark of the covenant for a token 

 against the rebels. It was a plain evidence of God's power to 

 quicken the dead — a dry rod being thus made alive. It is this 

 very fact that is to be the object of the faith whereby righteousness 

 comes. See Romans iv. 17-25. 



If the Almond-tree, wakening before all others from its winter 

 sleep, be a lively emblem of " the first-born from the dead" (Col. i. 

 18) ; so the rod cut off from the Almond-tree, blooming and bearing- 

 fruit by the quickening power of God, is a lively emblem of Him 

 who said, " 1 am He that liveth, and was dead ; and behold, I am 

 alive for evermore." And it is also written, " He hath given to the 

 Son to have life in Himself." 



I confess I do not understand the next allusion to the Almond- 

 tree (Eccl. xii. 5), not being satisfied with a common interpretation, 

 that it is one of the figures describing old age. 



The remaining passage is Jer. i. 11. The prophet is thus ad- 

 dressed by the Lord : "Jeremiah, what seest thou?" He answers, 

 "I see a rod of an Almond-tree." Whereupon the Lord says to him, 

 " Thou hast well seen; for I will hasten My word to perform it." 

 The word hasten has the same root in the Hebrew as the Almond- 

 tree : this explains the meaning. The Almond-tree was to teach 

 the prophet this great truth, that the word of the Lord spoken to 

 him, and which he was to speak to others, would be performed surely 

 and quickly. Compare with this almost the last w r ords of the 

 Bible ; Rev. xxii. 20. Were our spiritual senses fully awake, like 

 our natural senses, we should enjoy our garden with the one as 

 well as the other. God, we see, condescends to teach even by a 

 flowering tree. May we be willing learners ! 



