Jeremiah 24
COMMENTARY:
: 1-2 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. 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. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
DEVOTION: God often speaks in terms that the people he is speaking to can understand! He speaks to farmers and outdoors people in agricultural terms, while he speaks to the priests in religious or legal terms. He speaks using this language so the people might clearly understand his meanings or directions. Sometimes this is described as a word picture where the author is seeking to paint a picture clearly in the mind of the listener so that they comprehend the meaning. Here God is painting a word picture for the people to understand with the usage of fruit. Figs were common food that all people of Israel would be familiar with and ingested. They were adapt at looking at the fruit and knowing whether it was ripe or green, edible or just fit to feed to the animals.
Everyone would know and be able to detect which basket was which. So it was with the people of God as God revealed this picture to them. They would have no problem discerning where the Lord was working and where He had left the people to fend for themselves.
While many looked at the exile as a horrible and cruel punishment, God is revealing it to be a blessing to draw His people back to worship Him and Him alone. This vision and word picture is intended to encourage and strengthen those that would face a difficult few years!
CHALLENGE: Sometimes what appears to be a terrible circumstance can in the long run be a disguised blessing. Before we go putting God in a box and assuming that the negative of life is God’s punishment or disapproval consider waiting for a time to hear or see how God is working. It might just surprise you that the disappointment may be the best blessing of your life. (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
: 5 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.(2896 “good” [towb] beautiful, best, better, cheerful, bountiful, or wealth.)
DEVOTION: Some of the children of Israel had to go into captivity for their own good. Captivity is not always bad. Here we find that the LORD is refining some of HIS people through captivity.
They were the ones that HE was going to work with. They were the good figs that were eatable. Remember the LORD promises not to send more than HIS children can take their way. Remember HE is always with those who are obedient. They needed to get back to the basics.
One of the basics they needed to learn in captivity is to start obeying the LORD with all their heart. The LORD was going to give them a heart to KNOW HIM. When they cried out to the LORD in the future, they will mean it. At the present time they were just trying anything.
Some of the children of Israel that didn’t go to Babylon were going to die by sword, famine and pestilence. They chose to stay in Jerusalem or run to Egypt. Wrong decision!
These individuals were the naughty figs. They were evil. They were not eatable. The LORD wanted nothing to do with them but send judgment. They were disobedient. The LORD only wanted ripe figs that could be used as a proper sacrifice to HIM.
The LORD knows those who are going to be obedient and those who are not going to obey HIS commands. HE gave the children of Judah a choice to make regarding the king of Babylon.
Those who went out to him were going to be spared and those that did not were going to be judged. HE wants us to leave the rest out and only trust HIM in times of trouble. God does things that are best for us. Sometimes we wonder.
The promise is that HE works everything in our lives for HIS pleasure. HE says that all things work together for good to them that love God. The children of Israel probably wondered how captivity was good for them. Yet, we sometimes grow better under captivity than with freedom.
God is sending many warning to America. Are we heeding the warnings? If we don’t heed HIS warning, could there be captivity in the future for America? Keep that in mind.
CHALLENGE: Our basket needs to be full of good fruit. Don’t let anyone lead you in a direction away from obedience to the LORD. The Bible is our direction book.
: 7 And I will give them an 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 unto me with their whole heart. (3820 “heart” [leb] means mind, understanding, inner man, will, character, disposition, organ of the body or seat of the senses.)
DEVOTION: Our hearts are very wicked who can know them. It is easier to do wrong rather than right. Our natural tendency is to move away from the LORD. We don’t like anyone or anything to get in our way when we want to do something whether it is right or wrong. Most of the time our actions are wrong.
When a baby comes into the world we find that they have a tendency to disobey us right away. We tell them not to do something and as soon as we turn our back they are headed in that direction. After time and many disciplines they realize we mean business and stop doing it – at least in front of us.
The children of Israel were wicked. The ones who went into captivity were the ones that the LORD had chosen to work with and bring back to the land of Palestine.
HE promised that HE would spare them and retrain them and bring them back with a different understanding of who HE was. There character was going to change under pressure. The pressure was captivity in a foreign country.
The LORD knew that once they were away from the Promised Land they would have to depend on HIM alone. There was no temple. There was no king. There was just persecution.
In times of suffering we all turn to the LORD. In times of peace we tend to think that we don’t need HIM. If we can keep the peaceful status quo, we will move along day by day just enjoying life and forgetting everything and everyone else. BUT let a little trouble come our way and we are in our prayer closets asking the LORD for help.
We have to watch where we are headed. If we are worshiping false gods and following false teachers, we are going to face a rude awakening. The LORD wants us to trust HIM alone. HE wants us to worship HIM alone. HE wants us to serve HIM alone.
As we look at our last week on this earth – were we heading in the right direction? Did we trust the LORD alone? Did we ask the LORD for guidance through the week?
CHALLENGE: The LORD wants our inner being more than our outward appearance. Outward appearances fool people but not God. Focus on the LORD.
: 9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all the places whither I shall drive them. (7462 “hurt” [ra‘ah] means wickedness, depravity, misfortune, disaster, that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune, or perverseness.)
DEVOTION: The judgment of the LORD is hard on those who disobey HIM and don’t want to serve HIM. HE wants those who are willing to repent if they sin and turn from their evil ways and follow HIM.
Some of the children of Israel were not willing to repent. HE was giving them an opportunity to repent but they refused to listen to HIM and so they were given a judgment that HE considered necessary to make them an example to the rest of those who had the choice to either follow HIM or reject HIM.
We are given that choice even today. There are many opportunities for people to hear the Good News of the Gospel and turn from their wicked ways and follow the LORD. However, once individuals reject the LORD, they are not going to be given another chance after the LORD returns.
Many people seem to think that the LORD will not condemn them to hell for eternity but HE is not the one who is doing it. It is their choice that is making that decision. We all have a time in our life to make a decision as to whether we will follow the LORD or not. No one can say to the LORD, “YOU never gave me a chance!” Everyone will be given a chance, just like the children of Israel had before the captivity.
They chose to follow sin instead of the LORD. That is the choice most people make today. They would rather choose a life of sin over a life with the LORD.
CHALLENGE: What chose have you made with your life? Who are you following today? The LORD or the path leading to destruction and Hell?
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