The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
Jer 24:1 After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.
Jer 24:2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
Jer 24:3 Then the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”
Jer 24:4 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
Jer 24:5 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.
Jer 24:6 My eyes will watch over them for their 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 uproot them.
Jer 24:7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
Jer 24:8 “‘But like the bad figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.
Jer 24:9 I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish them.
Jer 24:10 I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.'”
1 Under the type of good and bad figs, 4 he foreshowed the restoration of them that were in captivity, 8 and the desolation of Zedekiah and the rest.
The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
Jer 24:1 After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.
The context suggests that the vision came soon after Jehoiachin was taken captive (597 b.c.), possibly before the end of the year.
The removal of these skilled workmen restricted the possibility of making weapons or defences (see on 1 Sam. 13:19), and it also undoubtedly provided Nebuchadnezzar with additional artisans for the construction of the magnificent buildings he was erecting in Babylon.
Jer 24:2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
Jer 24:3 Then the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”
The question would impress the significance of the symbols on Jeremiah’s mind.
Jer 24:4 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
Jer 24:5 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.
Those who were “carried away captive” were destined to fare far better than those who remained (see on v. 6). They seemed to be willing to accept God’s leadings even though this meant personal captivity.
Jer 24:6 My eyes will watch over them for their 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 uproot them.
Materially and economically the condition of the Jews in Babylon at the time of the return from captivity was much above that of slaves or prisoners (see Jer. 29:4–7, 28; cf. Ezra 2:1, 64–70,). The books of Ezra and Nehemiah indicate the tolerant favour the captives of Judah enjoyed under Persian monarchs.
The experience of Daniel and his fellows proves how high the Jews could rise in governmental circles. Indeed, it was because of this satisfactory situation that many of the captive Jews did not return to their native land when given the opportunity to do so. However, the real good that God had in mind for the captives was their re-establishment in Palestine and their full restoration to the covenant privileges.
Jer 24:7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
In a measure this was fulfilled in the postexilic history of the Jews as shown by the fact that never again were they idol worshipers. The Captivity effectively cured them of all tendencies in this direction. However, the promise entailed the full restoration of the covenant privileges
Jer 24:8 “‘But like the bad figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. .
Subsequent history revealed that those left behind fared far worse than those who had already been carried away captive (see on vs. 9, 10).
Those who lived in Egypt would doubtless share the fate of those who later fled to that country (see ch. 44:26–30).
Jer 24:9 I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish them.
The evil experience of Judah would cause other kingdoms to be filled with horror.
Jer 24:10 I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.'”
The climax of the punishment to these disobedient ones is complete removal from the land of their inheritance, whether it comes by exile, by flight, or by death.
Most of the Jews who remained in Judea following the third deportation to Babylon in 586 b.c. voluntarily fled to Egypt after the murder of Gedaliah a few months later. They did this despite Jeremiah’s warning that such a course of action would defeat the very purpose that prompted it—fear of further suffering at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (see ch. 42). Little wonder that God represented these perverse men as “naughty figs.”