Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Jeremiah 24: Home And Away

In chapter 24, Jeremiah is given a vision in which he sees two baskets of figs.  In the first basket are excellent figs, while the second basket holds gross, inedible ones.  What does it mean?

The basket of good-looking figs represents those who were sent out of Judah as exiles to Babylon.  God reveals to His prophet that these are ones that He will bless.  Though they are sent far away from their homeland, God will be with them.  The news for the exiles is good.  "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.  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" (vs. 6-7).  What a relief for those far from home to receive a good, comforting promise!

Oddly enough, if it is the ones sent away from Judah who will be truly God's people, then it is those who remain "at home" in Jerusalem who are symbolized by the basket of worthless figs.  Those who stayed in the land may believe that they escaped a worse fate, but the truth is that things will go badly for them.  God has in mind for them "sword, famine, and plague" (vs. 10).  It would have been better to be an exile rather than to have been left at home!

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