Bible Reading Plan/ The Book of Jeremiah 24/ Theme: The Vision of the Figs –(Jer. 24:1-10).

Jeremiah 24 (NKJV) — 1 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. 2 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. 3 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.” 4 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. 6 For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 Then 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 ‘And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ”

TEACHING OUTLINE.

Bible Study Guide/ Jeremiah 22, (24-BSG-24E)/ Theme: The Vision Two Baskets of Figs.

Summary of Main Points:
The vision of the two baskets of figs (24:1-3);
The explanation of the good figs (24:4-7);
The explanation of the bad figs (24:8-10).

Key Word: Figs (Jer. 24:1, 2-3, 8).

Key Text: “For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. Then 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.” (Jeremiah 24:6–7, NKJV)

Opening Remarks: “Two Baskets of Figs (24:1–10). Following the exile of Jehoiachin in 597 B.C., the Lord gave Jeremiah another object lesson. He showed the prophet two baskets, one filled with tasty figs and the other with inedible ones. The good figs represented those already exiled in Babylon. The Lord would care for them and eventually restore the exiles to the land. The bad figs represented Jehoiachin’s successor Zedekiah, his officials, those who remained in Jerusalem, and those who had gone to Egypt. They would experience humiliation and eventual destruction.” [Robert B. Chisholm, Holman concise Bible commentary, 1998, 301].

Key Thought: Beloved, the first group – (good figs) – is a picture of the great hope given to genuine believers who accept the discipline of God. “For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” (Hebrews 12:6–7, NKJV) To them, God promised restoration, salvation, and abundant blessing.

The second group – (bad figs) – is a bleak picture of judgment on unrepentant sinners: the Jews who were left behind in Judah and Egypt. To them, God is going to execute His judgment because of their sins. These will eventually perish while the first group flourishes. Which of these group would you prefer to belong?

Striking Facts: “Through trial and persecution the glory—the character—of God is revealed in His chosen ones. The believers in Christ, hated and persecuted by the world, are educated and disciplined in the school of Christ. On earth they walk in narrow paths; they are purified in the furnace of affliction. They follow Christ through sore conflicts; they endure self-denial and experience bitter disappointments; but thus they learn the guilt and woe of sin, and they look upon it with abhorrence. Being partakers of Christ’s sufferings, they can look beyond the gloom to the glory, saying, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18.” [The Acts of the Apostles, p. 576–577].