Jeremiah 24
Vision of two baskets of figs verse 1- 2
The LORD showed me – and – behold two baskets of figs were set
before the temple of the LORD after that Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon had carried away captive
Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah
and the princes of Judah with the carpenters
and smiths from Jerusalem
and had brought them to Babylon
One basket had very good figs even like the figs that are first ripe
and the other basket had very naughty figs
which could not be eaten – they were so bad
Jeremiah asked a question by the LORD verse 3
Then said the LORD unto me
What do you see, Jeremiah?
And I said – Figs the good ones – very good
and the evil – very evil – that cannot be eaten they are so evil
Good figs represented those who went into captivity verse 4- 7
Again the word of the LORD came unto me
saying
Thus says the LORD – the God of Israel
Like these good figs so will I acknowledge them
that are carried away captive of Judah
whom I have sent out of this place
into the land of the Chaldeans
for their good
For I will set MINE eyes upon them for good
and I will bring them again to this land
and I will build them
and not pull them down
and I will plant them
and not pluck them up
And I will give them an heart to know ME
that I am the LORD
And they shall be MY people and I will be their God
for they shall return unto ME with their WHOLE heart
Bad figs represented those who would be terminated verse 8- 10
And as the evil figs – which cannot be eaten – they are so evil
surely thus says the LORD
So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah – and his princes
and the residue of Jerusalem that remain in the land
and them that dwell in the land of Egypt
I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the
earth for their hurt to be a reproach and a proverb
taunt and a curse in all places whither I shall drive them
I will send the sword – famine – pestilence – among them
till they be consumed from off the land that I gave to them
and to their fathers
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1–2 The Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
DEVOTION: God often speaks in terms that the people he is speaking to can understand! He speaks to farmers and outdoors people in agricultural terms, while he speaks to the priests in religious or legal terms. He speaks using this language so the people might clearly understand his meanings or directions. Sometimes this is described as a word picture where the author is seeking to paint a picture clearly in the mind of the listener so that they comprehend the meaning. Here God is painting a word picture for the people to understand with the usage of fruit. Figs were common food that all people of Israel would be familiar with and ingested. They were adapt at looking at the fruit and knowing whether it was ripe or green, edible or just fit to feed to the animals.
Everyone would know and be able to detect which basket was which. So it was with the people of God as God revealed this picture to them. They would have no problem discerning where the Lord was working and where He had left the people to fend for themselves.
While many looked at the exile as a horrible and cruel punishment, God is revealing it to be a blessing to draw His people back to worship Him and Him alone. This vision and word picture is intended to encourage and strengthen those that would face a difficult few years!
CHALLENGE: Sometimes what appears to be a terrible circumstance can in the long run be a disguised blessing. Before we go putting God in a box and assuming that the negative of life is God’s punishment or disapproval consider waiting for a time to hear or see how God is working. It might just surprise you that the disappointment may be the best blessing of your life. (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 5 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.(2896 “good” [towb] beautiful, best, better, cheerful, bountiful, or wealth)
DEVOTION: Some of the children of Israel had to go into captivity for their own good. Captivity is not always bad. Here we find that the LORD is refining some of HIS people through captivity.
They were the ones that HE was going to work with. They were the good figs that were eatable. Remember the LORD promises not to send more than HIS children can take their way. Remember HE is always with those who are obedient. They needed to get back to the basics.
One of the basics they needed to learn in captivity is to start obeying the LORD with all their heart. The LORD was going to give them a heart to KNOW HIM. When they cried out to the LORD in the future, they will mean it. At the present time they were just trying anything.
Some of the children of Israel that didn’t go to Babylon were going to die by sword, famine and pestilence. They chose to stay in Jerusalem or run to Egypt. Wrong decision!
These individuals were the naughty figs. They were evil. They were not eatable. The LORD wanted nothing to do with them but send judgment. They were disobedient. The LORD only wanted ripe figs that could be used as a proper sacrifice to HIM.
The LORD knows those who are going to be obedient and those who are not going to obey HIS commands. HE gave the children of Judah a choice to make regarding the king of Babylon.
Those who went out to him were going to be spared and those that did not were going to be judged. HE wants us to leave the rest out and only trust HIM in times of trouble. God does things that are best for us. Sometimes we wonder.
The promise is that HE works everything in our lives for HIS pleasure. HE says that all things work together for good to them that love God. The children of Israel probably wondered how captivity was good for them. Yet, we sometimes grow better under captivity than with freedom.
God is sending many warning to America. Are we heeding the warnings? If we don’t heed HIS warning, could there be captivity in the future for America? Keep that in mind.
CHALLENGE: Our basket needs to be full of good fruit. Don’t let anyone lead you in a direction away from obedience to the LORD. The Bible is our direction book.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. (3820 “heart” [leb] means mind, understanding, inner man, will, character, disposition, organ of the body or seat of the senses)
DEVOTION: Our hearts are very wicked who can know them. It is easier to do wrong rather than right. Our natural tendency is to move away from the LORD. We don’t like anyone or anything to get in our way when we want to do something whether it is right or wrong. Most of the time our actions are wrong.
When a baby comes into the world we find that they have a tendency to disobey us right away. We tell them not to do something and as soon as we turn our back they are headed in that direction. After time and many disciplines they realize we mean business and stop doing it – at least in front of us.
The children of Israel were wicked. The ones who went into captivity were the ones that the LORD had chosen to work with and bring back to the land of Palestine.
HE promised that HE would spare them and retrain them and bring them back with a different understanding of who HE was. There character was going to change under pressure. The pressure was captivity in a foreign country.
The LORD knew that once they were away from the Promised Land they would have to depend on HIM alone. There was no temple. There was no king. There was just persecution.
In times of suffering we all turn to the LORD. In times of peace we tend to think that we don’t need HIM. If we can keep the peaceful status quo, we will move along day by day just enjoying life and forgetting everything and everyone else. BUT let a little trouble come our way and we are in our prayer closets asking the LORD for help.
We have to watch where we are headed. If we are worshiping false gods and following false teachers, we are going to face a rude awakening. The LORD wants us to trust HIM alone. HE wants us to worship HIM alone. HE wants us to serve HIM alone.
As we look at our last week on this earth – were we heading in the right direction? Did we trust the LORD alone? Did we ask the LORD for guidance through the week?
CHALLENGE: The LORD wants our inner being more than our outward appearance. Outward appearances fool people but not God. Focus on the LORD.
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: 9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all the places whither I shall drive them. (7462 “hurt” [ra‘ah] means wickedness, depravity, misfortune, disaster, that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune, or perverseness)
DEVOTION: The judgment of the LORD is hard on those who disobey HIM and don’t want to serve HIM. HE wants those who are willing to repent if they sin and turn from their evil ways and follow HIM.
Some of the children of Israel were not willing to repent. HE was giving them an opportunity to repent but they refused to listen to HIM and so they were given a judgment that HE considered necessary to make them an example to the rest of those who had the choice to either follow HIM or reject HIM.
We are given that choice even today. There are many opportunities for people to hear the Good News of the Gospel and turn from their wicked ways and follow the LORD. However, once individuals reject the LORD, they are not going to be given another chance after the LORD returns.
Many people seem to think that the LORD will not condemn them to hell for eternity but HE is not the one who is doing it. It is their choice that is making that decision. We all have a time in our life to make a decision as to whether we will follow the LORD or not. No one can say to the LORD, “YOU never gave me a chance!” Everyone will be given a chance, just like the children of Israel had before the captivity.
They chose to follow sin instead of the LORD. That is the choice most people make today. They would rather choose a life of sin over a life with the LORD.
CHALLENGE: What chose have you made with your life? Who are you following today? The LORD or the path leading to destruction and Hell?
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Temple of the LORD verse 1
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 3- 5, 7, 8
Temple of the LORD verse 1
LORD says to Jeremiah: What see you? verse 3
Word of the LORD came to Jeremiah
Saying
Thus says the LORD- God of Israel
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 5, 7
LORD – the God of Israel verse 5
LORD set HIS eyes on captives of Judah for
their good verse 6
I will bring them (captives fo Judah) back
and I will build them verse 6
I will plant them and not pluck them up verse 6
I will give them an heart to know ME
that I am the LORD verse 7
I will be their God verse 7
Judgment of the LORD verse 8- 10
I will give Zedekiah – the king of Judah
and his princes and the residue
of Jerusalem to the kingdoms of
the earth for their hurt to be a
reproach, proverb, taunt & curse verse 8- 9
I will drive them verse 9
I will send sword, famine & pestilence among
them, till they be consumed from off
the land that I gave them and to their
fathers verse 10
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Nebuchadrezzar – king of Babylon verse 1
Babylon verse 1
Land of the Chaldeans verse 5
Land of Egypt verse 8
Kingdoms of the earth verse 9
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Naughty verse 2
Bad verse 2
Evil verse 3, 8
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Good verse 2, 3, 5, 6
Bring people back verse 6
Build people up verse 6
Plant people in land verse 6
Heart to know the LORD verse 7
Return to the LORD verse 7
Whole heart toward God verse 7
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Jeremiah verse 1
Showed two baskets
Sees figs: good figs, very good & evil
Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim – king of Judah verse 1
Judah verse 1, 5, 6
Princes of Judah verse 1, 8
Carpenters and smiths verse 1
Jerusalem verse 1, 8
One basket of good figs verse 2
Very naughty figs verse 2
Israel verse 5
Sent to the land of Chalideans for their good verse 5
God’s people verse 7
Return to the LORD with their whole heart verse 7
Zedekiah – king of Judah verse 8
Fathers verse 10
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
24:4–7. God said the good figs represented the exiles from Judah who had been carried away to Babylon. This was a surprising answer because the people of Jerusalem believed that those in captivity had been taken away from the Lord (cf. Ezek. 11:14–15). Yet God promised to watch over the remnant in captivity and bring them back to the land (cf. Ezek. 11:16–17. He also promised to give them a new heart so they will know Him (cf. Jer. 4:22). At that time they will be His people (cf. comments on 30:22) and will return to Him with all their heart. Though God did restore a minority of the people to the land after the Babylonian Captivity, they never experienced the full blessings of fellowship promised by God (cf. 31:31–34; Ezek. 36:24–32). This awaits a still-future fulfillment when God again will regather Israel at the beginning of Christ’s millennial reign on earth (Matt. 24:29–31). (Dyer, C. H. (1985). Jeremiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1160). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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In times of national catastrophe, no matter how discouraging the circumstances may be, God doesn’t desert His faithful remnant. Rebels are scattered and destroyed, but true believers find God faithful to meet their needs and accomplish His great plans. The people who returned to the land after the Captivity were by no means perfect, but they had learned to trust the true and living God and not to worship idols. If the Captivity did nothing else, it purged the Jewish people of idolatry. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Decisive (pp. 110–111). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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24:6, 7 While it is true that a remnant returned to Judah in 538 b.c., this promise had greater overtones in regard to the ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic (Ge 12), Davidic (2Sa 7), and New (Jer 31) Covenants in the day of Messiah’s coming and kingdom (cf. 32:41; 33:7). Their conversion (v. 7) from idolatry to the one true God is expressed in language which, in its fullness, applies to the complete conversion in the final Kingdom after the present dispersion (cf. Ro 11:1–5, 25–27). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Je 24:6). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Ver. 6. For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, &c.] His eyes of omniscience, providence, and grace; to communicate good things to them; to take care of them in the furnace of affliction, that they were not lost, but made the better; to watch over them, protect and defend them; to deliver them out of their troubles, and to bring them into their own land; as follows: and I will bring them again into this land; the land of Judea, and city of Jerusalem, where Jeremiah now was, and saw this vision: this was accomplished when the seventy-years’ captivity was ended: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up; alluding to the building of houses, and planting of vineyards; signifying that they and their families should be built up and continue; yea, that they should be a habitation for God, and the vineyard of the Lord of hosts, of his planting, and which should remain: this will be more fully accomplished in the latter day; though it had in part a fulfilment upon the Jews’ return from captivity. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, p. 538). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and eI will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
I will set mine eyes upon them for good; the soul looking out at the eye, discovereth its inclinations and affection, whether of love or wrath. Hence we read of God’s setting his eyes upon people for evil, Amos 9:4, as here of his setting his eyes upon them for good. Or else it may signify God’s setting himself to do them good, as a man when he sets upon doing a thing, sets his eyes upon it in order thereunto. I will bring them again to this land; some of them probably returned before the end of the captivity, some at the end of the seventy years. I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up: the meaning of these metaphorical expressions is, I will prosper them, and provide for them. We read, 2 Kings 25:27, 28, that Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin, lifted his head up out of prison, spake kindly to him, &c.; but this prophecy was also fulfilled in Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Mordecai, and others, who are thought to be carried away with Jeconiah; or the prophecy may be understood of the posterity of those who were at this time carried away. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 2, p. 569). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Jesus describes the circumstances surrounding His second coming.
INSIGHT
Gratitude is beautiful to witness. When a person’s eyes light up as they open a gift, the giver enjoys the experience as much as the receiver.
We appreciate gratitude, and so does the Lord. He loves to see His children rejoicing at His many good gifts.
Gratitude to the Lord can be cultivated. Imagine what your life would be like without the Lord’s grace. Show the Lord that you appreciate Him by nurturing an attitude of gratitude. (Quiet Walk)
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SANCTIFICATION—A CONTINUOUS PROCESS
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17
We must not think of sanctification as something that happens suddenly. People seem to think (and here they are logical, though they are wrong) that if it is a gift and to be received, then obviously it must be something that happens suddenly; when you receive a gift, it happens suddenly. But surely this is incompatible with the New Testament teaching on this matter. It is, rather, characteristic of the cults, of a man-made idea of sanctification.
We always like to do things suddenly and to have anything we want at once. So you find that those false teachings always offer a kind of short cut, and that is their appeal to the carnal mind, because we are always so impatient, always in such a desperate hurry. But this very verse that we are now considering makes it quite impossible for sanctification to be something that happens suddenly.“Sanctify them,” says our Lord, “through thy truth.”
Our Lord has already said the same thing in John 8:31-32. He said to certain men who appeared to believe, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” It is always the truth, therefore, that does it, and that is something that is progressive. We do not grasp the whole of the truth at once; we go through stages, from babies to full, matured age, from being a child to being an old man, as it were, in terms of faith. We see the same thing again in Philippians 2:12: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”—it is something you keep doing. “Not as in my presence only,” says Paul, “but now much more in my absence.” The exhortation in all these writings is to be steadfast, to progress, and to go on with the work.
A Thought to Ponder: John 17:17 makes it quite impossible for sanctification to be something that happens suddenly. (From Sanctified Through the Truth, pp. 61-62, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Asleep in Jesus
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
The hope of the Christian is the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of living believers at His second coming. This is the primary theme of this epistle—especially verses 4:13–5:10. In fact, it is significant that this book, possibly the first of Paul’s epistles chronologically, is also the one with the largest number of specific references to Christ’s second coming.
If it were not for this hope, we would have no hope for the future. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ,” Paul said, “we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). When an unbeliever dies, he dies without hope. When a believer dies, he is simply “asleep,” as far as his body is concerned. At the same time, his soul and spirit go to be with the Lord until the resurrection day. Perhaps it is analogous to the state of dreaming, when the body is asleep in bed, while the person’s consciousness seems to be engaged in varied activities far from where the body is resting.
The Bible uses the term “sleep” to describe death only in the case of Christians—never for non-Christians (see John 11:11; etc.). There is genuine sorrow, of course, when a believer dies, but that sorrow is softened and sublimated by the “blessed hope” of Christ’s return (Titus 2:13). “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). The souls of those whose bodies are asleep have gone to be with the Lord and will return with the Lord when He returns. “The dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (vv. 16-17). (HMM, Institute for Creation Research)
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