Jeremiah 24:1-10--The Good Figs and the Bad Figs

Jeremiah 24
English Standard Version

The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
24 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 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.”

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We have gone to prophesying that Nebuchadnezzar is coming to the beginning of chapter twenty-four saying, "After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim...."  Jeremiah never records the siege and battle because that is not the point of his book.  He is a prophet with words to share in various time leading up to and during the Exile period and hope for the Exiles that one day they would return. (and that God would provide them with better leaders when they come back).

Nebuchadnezzar also took into exile all the craftsmen, metal workers and officials--anyone with the skills to lead or help arm a rebellion.  The only people that were left in the city were those that weren't worth taking to Babylon.  They would later return for some of the others.  Jeremiah is given a vision about this from the LORD in the form of a basket of very good figs like the firstfruits of the harvest and another basket of very bad figs that were to the point where they could not be eaten.  The LORD asks Jeremiah what he sees and Jeremiah tells the LORD that he sees the two baskets of figs, one very good and one very bad.

The LORD says that the exiles are like these figs--some are very good and others are very bad (there's really not anyone in the middle).  The LORD can easily see both kinds and sort them as easily as the good figs are in one basket and the bad figs in another.  He knows everyone that is in each group.  The LORD promises that He will look on the good exiles with His goodness and favor, even though they are living in the land of the Chaldeans (think of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the book of Daniel for example).  The LORD promises to bring the good figs back to the Land (though maybe not in their lifetime, but He would cause Cyrus to return the exiles during the time of the Persian empire).  He would cause them to grow and flourish, even in Babylon and Persia.  They will still be His people, even in that far-away land, and He will still be their God.  They will be the ones that repent and turn to God and give Him their whole heart (and soul, and mind, and strength).

As for the bad figs, they will be Zedekiah, king of Judah, his officials, those who stayed behind in Jerusalem that weren't fit to be taken captive, and those who fled to Egypt (which the LORD told the people of Israel to never return to).  The LORD will surely make them the objects of His wrath and they will be a reproach to all the kingdoms of the earth.  They will become a byword, a taunt, and a curse.  Everyone will hate them.  The LORD will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them until they are utterly destroyed from the Land and the Land has a chance to reset (see the next chapter).