Jeremiah Chapter 24
Jeremiah 24
Lessons from Two Baskets of Figs
Jeremiah 24:1, Time and Place of the Lesson
Jeremiah 24:1, “The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.”
Jeremiah 24 takes place after Nebuchadrezzar had carried away Jeconiah, also called Jehoiachin, along with the princes, craftsmen, and smiths of Judah. This places the chapter after the deportation of 597 B.C., when Babylon removed much of Judah’s leadership and skilled labor from Jerusalem.
2 Kings 24:12-16, “And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers, and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths, none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.”
The LORD shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs set before the temple. Whether this was a supernatural vision or an actual scene Jeremiah saw and interpreted by revelation, the lesson is clear. God uses something ordinary, baskets of figs, to teach a profound truth about judgment, exile, and restoration.
The timing matters. Those who remained in Jerusalem under Zedekiah likely thought they were the fortunate ones. They had escaped deportation. They still had the city, the temple, the land, and a king from David’s line. They may have assumed that the exiles were under greater judgment, while they themselves were preserved because they were better or more favored.
God overturns that assumption. The first exiles were not the bad figs. They were the good figs. Those who remained in the land under Zedekiah were not necessarily safer or more righteous. Many of them were the bad figs, reserved for a more severe judgment.
Jeremiah 24:2-3, What Jeremiah Saw, The Two Baskets of Figs
Jeremiah 24:2-3, “One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe, and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs, the good figs, very good, and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.”
Jeremiah sees two baskets of figs. One basket contains very good figs, like the first ripe figs. These would be desirable, fresh, and valuable. The other basket contains very naughty figs, meaning spoiled, rotten, and worthless. They were so bad they could not be eaten.
The contrast is absolute. The good figs are very good. The evil figs are very evil. There is no middle category in the lesson. God is dividing the people of Judah into two groups, not based on outward circumstance, but based on His own judgment and purpose.
The question, “What seest thou, Jeremiah?” is similar to other moments when God asks the prophet to observe something and then receive divine interpretation. God trains Jeremiah to see ordinary realities through the lens of His word.
The people would have looked at the exiles and said, “They are cursed.” They would have looked at those still in Jerusalem and said, “They are blessed.” God says the opposite. The meaning of a circumstance cannot be judged by appearance alone. Exile may be mercy, and remaining in comfort may be judgment delayed.
Jeremiah 24:4-7, The Good Basket of Figs
Jeremiah 24:4-7, “Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Thus saith 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. For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land, and I will build them, and not pull them down, and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 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.”
The LORD identifies the good figs as those carried away captive from Judah into the land of the Chaldeans. This is surprising. The exiles looked defeated, humiliated, and judged. Yet God says He sent them out of the land “for their good.”
This does not mean captivity was painless. It means God’s providence was working even through judgment. The exile removed them from the final destruction that would fall on Jerusalem. It placed them under discipline, but discipline meant to preserve, humble, and ultimately restore them.
God says, “I will acknowledge them.” He will regard them with favor. He will not forget them in Babylon. Though they are far from Jerusalem, they are not far from God’s sight.
“For I will set mine eyes upon them for good.” This is covenant mercy. Earlier chapters warned of God setting His face against Jerusalem for judgment. Here God sets His eyes upon the exiles for good. The difference is not location, but divine purpose.
God promises to bring them again to the land. He will build them and not pull them down. He will plant them and not pluck them up. This language deliberately reverses the earlier language of judgment.
Jeremiah 1:10, “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.”
In Jeremiah 24, the good figs will experience the building and planting side of Jeremiah’s ministry. Judgment is not the end of God’s purpose for them.
The greatest promise is spiritual, “I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD.” This goes beyond physical return. The true restoration must include inward change. The exile would become a furnace in which God purified His people from idolatry and prepared them for renewed covenant faithfulness.
This promise anticipates the New Covenant.
Jeremiah 31:33-34, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
It also parallels Ezekiel’s promise of the new heart.
Ezekiel 36:26-28, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”
Jeremiah 24 does not mean the full New Covenant was established at the return from exile. The New Covenant is ultimately instituted through the blood of Christ.
Luke 22:20, “Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”
But the return from exile foreshadows that greater work. God gathers His people, changes them inwardly, turns them back to Himself, and restores them to covenant relationship.
“They shall be my people, and I will be their God.” This is the heart of covenant fellowship. It is not enough that they return to the land. They must return to the LORD. The promise concludes, “for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” This is the repentance Judah had refused for so long. God Himself will bring it about in the remnant.
Jeremiah 24:8-10, The Basket of Bad Figs
Jeremiah 24:8-10, “And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil, surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt, 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 places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.”
The evil figs represent Zedekiah king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem remaining in the land, and those dwelling in Egypt. These were the people who may have seemed more secure than the exiles. They still had geographic nearness to Jerusalem, the temple, and the land. Some had fled to Egypt, thinking they had escaped Babylon’s reach. But God says they are like rotten figs that cannot be eaten.
Zedekiah and the leaders were bad figs because they persisted in rebellion. They did not receive Jeremiah’s word. They did not accept God’s judgment. They did not repent. They trusted political strategy, false prophets, Egypt, and their own stubbornness.
God says, “I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt.” Notice the contrast. The good figs were sent to Babylon “for their good.” The bad figs are driven out “for their hurt.” Exile itself is not interpreted the same way for every person. God knows the difference between discipline unto restoration and judgment unto destruction.
They will become “a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse.” Their fate will become a warning. People will speak of them as an example of disgrace. The nation that should have displayed the blessing of covenant faithfulness will display the shame of covenant rebellion.
This language reflects the covenant curses Moses had already warned about.
Deuteronomy 28:37, “And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.”
God will send sword, famine, and pestilence among them until they are consumed from the land given to them and to their fathers. Again, the land promise remains real, but possession and enjoyment of the land are tied to covenant accountability. The land was given by grace, but rebellion brought removal.
The bad figs show that staying near holy things does not make a person holy. Remaining in Jerusalem did not make them righteous. Having the temple nearby did not protect them. Being in the land did not mean they were under God’s favor. Nearness to sacred geography cannot substitute for a heart turned to the LORD.
Doctrinal and Practical Notes
Jeremiah 24 teaches that outward circumstances do not always reveal God’s favor or displeasure. The exiles looked judged, but they were the good figs. Those remaining in Jerusalem looked fortunate, but they were the evil figs.
Jeremiah 24 teaches that God can use discipline for good. The first exiles were sent into Babylon for their good, not because captivity was pleasant, but because God intended restoration.
Jeremiah 24 teaches that national judgment does not erase individual and remnant distinction. All Judah suffered under judgment, but God knew the difference between the good figs and the bad figs.
Jeremiah 24 teaches that God’s eyes can be set upon His people for good even in exile. Distance from the land did not mean distance from God’s covenant care.
Jeremiah 24 teaches that true restoration includes both return and inward renewal. God promised to bring them back to the land and give them a heart to know Him.
Jeremiah 24 teaches that the return from exile foreshadows the New Covenant. The promise of a heart to know the LORD points forward to the fuller work of God through Christ.
Jeremiah 24 teaches that God’s people must return to Him with the whole heart. Partial religious interest is not the goal. Whole hearted return is the mark of true restoration.
Jeremiah 24 teaches that privilege without repentance can become judgment. Zedekiah, the princes, and the remnant in Jerusalem had temple, land, and kingly structures, but they were rotten figs.
Jeremiah 24 teaches that there is a difference between being sent for good and being driven for hurt. God disciplines the remnant to restore them, but He judges hardened rebellion to expose it.
Jeremiah 24 teaches that sacred location cannot save a rebellious heart. Jerusalem itself could not protect those who refused the LORD.
Summary
Jeremiah 24 records a lesson from two baskets of figs set before the temple of the LORD after Nebuchadrezzar carried away Jeconiah, the princes, craftsmen, and smiths to Babylon. One basket contained very good figs, like the first ripe figs. The other contained very evil figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
The LORD explains that the good figs represent those carried away captive from Judah into Babylon. Though the people remaining in Jerusalem likely thought the exiles were cursed, God says He sent them away for their good. He would set His eyes upon them for good, bring them back to the land, build them and not pull them down, plant them and not pluck them up. Most importantly, He would give them a heart to know Him, and they would be His people, He would be their God, and they would return to Him with their whole heart.
The bad figs represent Zedekiah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remained in the land, and those dwelling in Egypt. Though they looked more fortunate, God says they were rotten and useless. He would deliver them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, making them a reproach, proverb, taunt, and curse. Sword, famine, and pestilence would consume them from the land God gave to them and their fathers.
Jeremiah 24 therefore reverses human assumptions. The exiles were not abandoned, and the survivors in Jerusalem were not safe. God’s discipline upon the good figs was for restoration. His judgment upon the bad figs was for exposure and destruction. The true issue was not location, but the purpose and favor of God, leading the remnant to return to Him with the whole heart.
