Jeremiah 24:1-10
1 The LORD shewed 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.
2 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.
3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
5 Thus saith 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.
6 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.
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.
8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
9 And I will deliver them to be removeda into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.
Two Baskets of Figs
These two baskets represent the different, fates that overlook the people at the fall of Jerusalem. The good figs in the first were those who were taken to Babylon with Jeremiah. It was for their good that they were transplanted, Jeremiah 24:5. How often we are led into captivity for the same reason. With bitter regrets we turn our backs on our early home, the scenes of our youth, and the faces we have loved.
Sometimes we are carried into a strange land, where we find it impossible to sing the Lord's song. But in the absence of all creature aid we find God drawing near to substitute restoration for destruction, building up for pulling down, and planting for uprooting.
Have we profited by our discipline? If so we are as the ripe figs of June, sweet to the taste of the owner who searches beneath the leaves of profession. Let those who congratulate themselves on their immunity from the troubles that have overtaken others, ponder Jeremiah 24:8-10. In the light of Hebrews 12:9, immunity from chastisement is not to be sought after.
The residue of the Jews drifted to their hurt. See Jeremiah 41:1-18; Jeremiah 42:1-22.