JEREMIAH 24A
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 unto 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!
Application: 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 goodfigs, 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.)
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)
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
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 5, 7
LORD – the God of Israel verse 5
Judgment of the LORD verse 8- 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
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)
Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim verse 1
Judah verse 1, 5
Princes of Judah verse 1, 8
Jerusalem verse 1, 8
Jeremiah verse 3
Israel verse 5
God’s people verse 7
Zedekiah – king of Judah verse 8
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
QUOTES
24:1The events of this chapter took place between 597 and 587. Jehoiachin had already been taken into exile along with officials, “craftsmen,”28 and “artisans.” (Huey, F. B. (1993). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations. The New American Commentary (220). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
24:1-3. The vision of the two baskets of figs was given Jeremiah after Jehoiachin and the other leaders of Jerusalem were carried into exile by the Babylonians (cf. 2 Kings 24:8-16). Thus this prophecy can be dated sometime in 597 b.c. at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah. In the vision Jeremiah saw two baskets of figs that had been placed in front of the temple. The vision called to mind the offering of the firstfruits in a basket before theLord (cf. Deut. 26:11). In one of the baskets thefigs were very good and resembled those that ripen early (cf. Isa. 28:4; Hosea 9:10; Micah 7:1)-those firstfruits that were to be offered to God (Deut. 14:22). The second basket contained very poor figs that had deteriorated to the point where they could not be eaten. Such offerings were unacceptable to theLord (cf. Mal. 1:6-9). (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Je 24:1–3). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
24:2–3One basket of figs was described as being “very good.” They were like the first-ripe figs gathered in June and considered to be a special delicacy. The usual fig harvest time was in August. The second basket contained “very poor” figs (most versions say “very bad”), so rotten they could not be eaten. The Lord’s question is also found in 1:11 and Amos 7:8; 8:1. (Huey, F. B. (1993). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations. The New American Commentary (221). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
24:4–5If inhabitants of Jerusalem were asked to say which basket represented the favored people and which basket represented those under God’s wrath, they would have answered that they were the good figs and the exiles were the bad figs. To their surprise, God identified the good figs as those in exile. Their deportation was not an accident but a part of God’s redemptive purposes. The future of the nation was going to be with them, not with those in Jerusalem. By means of the baskets of figs the Lord was announcing a remarkable theological concept. His evaluations are not based on people’s goodness but on his sovereign grace. It was a dramatic reminder that God chooses differently from the way we choose (see 1 Cor 1:26–29; cf. Joseph’s statement in Gen 50:20). The life-style of those in exile would be enviable when compared to the hardships those left behind would endure—hunger, disease, and attacks by enemies (see 14:11–12). (Huey, F. B. (1993). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations. The New American Commentary (221). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
24:6–7God promised his protection to those in exile. One day he would also bring them back to their own land. The verbs in v. 6—build, tear down, plant, uproot—are the same verbs found in 1:10, though in a different order. In words that come close to the “new creation” language of 2 Cor 5:17, God said he would give them “a heart to know me.” There is no exact parallel to this expression in the OT although Deut 30:6; Jer 31:33; 32:38–39; Ezek 11:19; 36:26 point toward the same idea. The statement further implies that the only way a person can know God is for God to give that person a heart (i.e., mind, will) to do so. (Huey, F. B. (1993). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations. The New American Commentary (221). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
What do you do with rotten figs? You reject them and throw them away! What do you do with tasty good figs? You preserve them and enjoy them! God promised to care for the exiles, work in their hearts, and one day bring them back to their land. Jeremiah even wrote a letter to the exiles, telling them to live peaceably in the land and seek the Lord with all their hearts (Jer. 29:1–14). There was no future for King Zedekiah, who had succeeded Jehoiachin, or for the nobles that gave him such foolish counsel, but there was a future for a godly remnant that would seek the Lord with all their hearts. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Decisive. “Be” Commentary Series (109). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
When Jeremiah proclaimed the message he learned from the baskets of figs, his audiences must have been incredulous. They had written off the exiles as objects of God’s wrath and considered themselves to be the fortunate recipients of his blessings. They were not going to allow their theology to be upset by words from a prophet of God. (Huey, F. B. (1993). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations. The New American Commentary (222–223). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
The Lord did have a future in store for his people, but not the future anticipated by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. “This God seems indeed to make the future with those whom the world judges to be without a future.” The NT continues the same thrust that the most unlikely ones—the poor, lame, downtrodden, sinners, exploited—are the objects of God’s grace rather than those we might expect—the priests, scribes, and Pharisees. (Huey, F. B. (1993). Vol. 16: Jeremiah, Lamentations. The New American Commentary (223). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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. “Be” Commentary Series (109–110). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
The destruction of Jerusalem and the fall of Judah were not accidents; they were appointments, for God was in control. Now the land would enjoy its Sabbaths (2 Chron. 36:21; Lev. 25:14ff), and the people exiled in Babylon would have time to repent and seek the Lord. In far off Babylon, God the Potter would remake His people (Jer. 18), and they would return to the land chastened and cleansed.
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11, NIV). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Decisive. “Be” Commentary Series (110). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)