According to verses 11 through 16, in his commission Jeremiah was given to see two visions.
The first vision was of the rod of an almond tree. "Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, I see the rod of an almond tree. And Jehovah said to me, You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it" (vv. 11-12). The Hebrew word for watch is the root of the word for almond. Here the rod of an almond tree signifies that God was watching over His word (the word of punishment) to perform it.
Moses had warned Israel that if they did not obey the voice of Jehovah their God, they would be cursed in every way (Deut. 28:15-68). For example, Moses said, "Your heaven, which is above your head, will be brass, and the land, which is under you, iron. Jehovah will make the rain of your land powder and dust" (vv. 23-24a). After Moses spoke these words, God sent prophets to the people of Israel to remind them to keep His word. However, Israel did not obey God's word. Therefore, at Jeremiah's time, many centuries after the time of Moses, God came to watch over His word in order to fulfill it, that is, to execute His word to punish Israel.
The second vision given to Jeremiah to see was of the boiling pot facing away from the north. "Then the word of Jehovah came to me a second time, saying, What do you see? And I said, I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north. And Jehovah said to me, Out of the north evil will be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land" (Jer. 1:13-14). Here the word north refers especially to Babylon, and the word evil refers not to sinful things but to calamities. Thus, the boiling pot facing away from the north signifies that out of the north calamities would be let loose (4:6b) upon all the inhabitants of the land of Israel. Prior to this time, the calamities had been restricted. But now God will call all the families from the kingdoms of the earth, and they will come and set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah (1:15). In this way Jehovah will utter His judgment on Israel concerning all their wickedness—their forsaking Him, offering sacrifices to other gods, and worshipping the work of their own hands (v. 16). Because of all these things, God was coming in to punish Israel.