The Way of the "good Figs"

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

The Way of the "good Figs"

Date: Jun. 12, 2018

Passage

Jeremiah 24:1-10 (ESV)

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.”

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

For information on how the ESV can be quoted, please visit our permission site.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 24:7

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.

1. Submission to God's way of salvation (1-7)

The good figs are Jehoiachin and the leaders, who eventually submitted to the will of God. They would receive favor from God, even in the time of exile. God promised to be with them and watch over them. They were not enslaved. They would be able to live and work and prosper and later on, be brought back. God would bless them. The punishment they would bear would be the best way to restore their hearts and draw them near to God.

2. Bad figs will face destruction (8-10)

There were the bad figs. Zedekiah and his officials tried to flee. They ignored God's word through Jeremiah, thinking that their own plan was better. They were met with sword, famine or plague. That is the way of the bad figs. Our stubbornness leads us only to decay. God's way is the only way.

Prayer: Lord, I don't understand your ways, but I trust you. Help me to submit to you and be considered as a good fig in your eyes.

One Word: God blesses the good figs

A Bible Teacher to the Samaritans

2 Kings 17:24-41

Key Verse: 17:28

So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the LORD.

Today's Question

What is the reason for the third commandment?

See answer and references