The big picture
People from Judah, the southern kingdom, have been taken into exile. God now shows his prophet Jeremiah two baskets of figs at the temple. Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, has taken King Jeconiah, officials, and skilled workers from Jerusalem, Judah's capital. Those still at home might seem more fortunate than the captives. The vision challenges that assumption. One basket holds excellent fruit, while the other is inedible. God uses the difference to promise renewal for the exiles and judgement for those who remain or seek safety elsewhere.
In this chapter
- The Prophet Sees Two Opposite Baskets Jeremiah 24:1-3
God shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs placed before his temple.
- God Will Renew the Exiled People Jeremiah 24:4-7
The Lord identifies the good figs with those he has sent away into Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans.
- Those Remaining Face Scattering and Loss Jeremiah 24:8-10
The bad figs stand for Zedekiah, the current king, his officials, and those left in the capital or living in Egypt, the neighbouring southern kingdom.
Central truth
The exiles will return with hearts that know God, while those still at home face judgement despite their apparent safety.
Scripture beside the summary
Jeremiah · King James Version · 10Jeremiah 24:1-3
The Prophet Sees Two Opposite Baskets
God shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs placed before his temple. The setting follows the exile of Jeconiah, son of the former king Jehoiakim, along with officials and craftsmen. Some figs are very good, like the early ripe fruit. The others are so bad that nobody can eat them. When God asks what he sees, Jeremiah describes that sharp contrast. He does not yet assign the baskets to groups of people. He must first look closely at the fruit. God then explains whose future the baskets show.
In everyday life
A produce buyer opens two covered crates delivered from the same market. One holds ripe figs ready for the table; the other holds spoiled fruit. Matching baskets and a shared delivery do not make their contents alike. God uses the fruit to reveal people's futures, while the buyer judges only what can be eaten.
Notice
Jeremiah 24:3 Jeremiah repeats how good and bad the figs are. The extreme contrast prepares a distinction that cannot be made merely from the groups' current locations.
Jeremiah 24:1-3
King James Version1The 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.
2One 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.
3Then 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 24:4-7
God Will Renew the Exiled People
The Lord identifies the good figs with those he has sent away into Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans. Their removal will serve their good. He will watch over them favourably and bring them back to this land. Building and planting replace destruction and uprooting in the promise. He will also give them a heart that knows him as the Lord. They will be his people, and he will be their God, because they return to him wholeheartedly. They will have homes again. They will also turn their hearts to God.
In everyday life
A rehabilitation gardener replants a damaged shrub in a sheltered bed away from its former place. Removal looks like loss, but there it can recover before returning to the garden. She watches new growth rather than judging only the empty original spot. God gives exiles hearts that know him; a gardener changes conditions for a plant.
Notice
Jeremiah 24:7 A knowing heart is part of the promised gift. Coming home means more than crossing a border. The people will know God in a renewed bond.
Jeremiah 24:4-7
King James Version4Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
5Thus 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.
6For 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.
7And 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.
Jeremiah 24:8-10
Those Remaining Face Scattering and Loss
The bad figs stand for Zedekiah, the current king, his officials, and those left in the capital or living in Egypt, the neighbouring southern kingdom. God will hand them over to harm and scattering among other kingdoms. People will taunt and curse them in each place they go. War, hunger, and disease will strike them. They will lose the land their fathers held. Staying at home does not prove that God favours them. Nor does a new refuge. Their future is not as safe as it looks.
In everyday life
A building surveyor meets residents who assume an occupied block is safer than the one already evacuated. Her inspection finds the greater danger behind their still-lit windows. Remaining in place has hidden the risk rather than removed it. God announces judgement on named groups; the surveyor assesses physical conditions without deciding their moral standing.
Notice
Jeremiah 24:8 The bad basket includes people in Egypt as well as those at home. Neither remaining in the capital nor finding a foreign refuge decides who receives God's promised good.
Jeremiah 24:8-10
King James Version8And 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:
9And 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.
10And 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Jeremiah 24:1 begins with “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…”
Where the chapter turns
Jeremiah 24:3 forms a natural hinge: “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…”
The final note
Jeremiah 24:10 leaves the reader with “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.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words figs, LORD, good, evil, land, Judah help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- naughty
- Bad or spoiled, describing figs unfit to eat.
- smiths
- Skilled workers who shape and work metal.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
