Jeremiah 24 (Listen)
24:1 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me this vision: behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the LORD. 2 One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. 3 And the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”
4 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 5 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 I will give them a 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 to me with their whole heart.
8 “But thus says the LORD: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.”
Devotional:
“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.” (Jeremiah 24:5)
People sometimes talk about others as being “good apples” or “bad apples.” Here we read about God giving Jeremiah a vision of “good figs” and “bad figs” as the Babylonians start taking some of the people into exile. Those being taken are not “bad figs” but rather good ones, whom God will watch over and protect, giving them a new heart so that they might know Him (24:7). The “bad figs” are King Zedekiah and his officials who are in Judah or have fled to Egypt, whom God promised to destroy. This vision of the figs is a good reminder of God’s promise to judge and to save. What kind of fig are you?
Pray It: Father, remind me when I see “bad figs” in this world that you will judge those who reject you and renew my heart more and more to produce fruit that honors and reflects you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Share it: Who can you share a verse or thought from this passage with today?