Slices
Prepare
Would you be prepared to move house for God? What if your new home was less comfortable?
Bible passage
Two baskets of figs
24 After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the craftsmen 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. 2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten.
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 that they cannot be eaten.’
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 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. 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. 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.
8 ‘“But like the bad figs, which are so bad that 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. 9 I will make them abhorrent and an offence to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish them. 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.”’
Explore
In typical Jeremiah fashion, we have now jumped forward to a point when the rulers and elites of the nation have been carted off into exile (v 1). Perhaps to some despairing Israelites, it felt like the end of their story. Not so, of course. One wonder of the Scriptures is that they provide us with a God’s-eye view – and, even for non-believers, surely a marvel of history is that the saga of Israel continues to this day.
No prizes for working out the meaning of this vision. The fascinating question is just why God chooses to favour those taken away to wicked Babylon (vs 4–7) and not the remnant who remain at home (vs 8–10). The answer is not entirely clear, and this is a good occasion on which to acknowledge the principle that God is sovereign. His understanding is total, and his purpose is entirely good. However, his response here does tie in with other times when it is evident that God deals more readily with a complete brokenness, followed by a fresh, new start, rather than a bodging-up of human plans. There is a message here for us if we are inclined to cling to crumbling remains of past comforts when our Lord is telling us to properly move on
Respond
Ask the Lord to show you whether you retain, in your spiritual life, habits or ideas which are no longer enriching, either for you or for his church.
Deeper Bible study
Give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, who ‘though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.’1
In 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem and King Jehoiachin and most of the people were exiled to Babylon, leaving only the poorest of the land behind; and leaving Zedekiah as a puppet-king of Judah. Those who remained would have thought they were under God’s favour, still in the land and still with access to the Temple for worship. They would have thought that the Babylonian exiles were under God’s judgement, far away from God’s presence. Ten years later, in 587, the Babylonians returned, destroyed the Temple, executed Zedekiah and exiled the remainder of the people. All of Judah was exiled away from their land.
Sometime in that ten-year period, Jeremiah had a vision of two baskets of figs placed in front of the Temple, perhaps first-fruits offerings.2 One contained good figs and the other rotten figs. After a brief dialogue with Jeremiah, the Lord interpreted the vision in a way that was totally contrary to the thinking of the people. The good figs represented the exiles as the ones under God’s favour. God would watch over them for their good, transform them and restore them to the land. God would be their God and they would be God’s people. The rotten figs represented those who remained in the land. They would be afflicted with sword, plague and famine and ultimately exterminated.
The vision is not about the moral and spiritual qualities of either group, for all had been guilty of rebellion against God. It is about the grace of God, who reverses human values. This is the grace of God who chose a mixed multitude to be his people and of Jesus who chose sinners to be his friends.3 This is the grace of God who entreats us with his unmerited favour.
Look back over your life and think about ways you have experienced God’s unmerited favour. Spend some time giving thanks to God and look to the future with confidence.
1 2 Cor 8:9 2 Deut 26:1–11 3 Walter Brueggemann, Jeremiah 1–25: To Pluck up and to Tear Down, Eerdmans, 1988, p212
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Jeremiah 47,48; John 17
Pray for Scripture Union
Give thanks for the many opportunities to use the Guardians of Ancora app in face-to-face mission. Faith Guides have exclusive access to materials that follow the Revealing Jesus framework; group leaders are using the Clubs Kit and goody bags in schools, churches and communities; others are running holiday clubs and fun days. Please pray for happy players and positive relationships.
