Jeremiah · chapter 24 of 52
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Jeremiah 24 describes a vision of two baskets of figs placed before the temple after the first deportation to Babylon. The very good figs stand for the exiles of Judah, whom the Lord promises to watch over, bring back to their land and give a heart to know him. The very bad figs stand for King Zedekiah, his officials and those who stayed or fled to Egypt.
Jeremiah 24 is set in 597 BC, after the first deportation to Babylon under Jehoiachin. Those who stayed in Jerusalem thought God had favored them and that the exiles had been punished. The vision of the figs reverses that idea: the future of the people lay with the exiles. It is a short chapter but with an important turn for understanding the book's message of hope.
The chapter begins with a date note: after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed Jeremiah two baskets of figs placed before the temple.
One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, and the other very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten. The Lord asks Jeremiah what he sees, and he answers figs, the good ones very good, and the bad ones very bad, so bad they cannot be eaten.
Then the Lord explains that like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles of Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. He will set his eyes on them for good, bring them back to this land, build them up and not tear them down, plant them and not pluck them up. He will give them a heart to know him, that he is the Lord, and they will be his people and he will be their God, for they will return to him with their whole heart.
By contrast, like the bad figs, so bad they cannot be eaten, he will treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. He will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach, a byword, a taunt and a curse in all the places where he will drive them. He will send sword, famine and pestilence upon them until they are utterly destroyed from the land that he gave to them and their fathers.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord regards as good the exiles whom he himself sent to Babylon, and promises to bring them back, build them up and plant them. What looked like punishment becomes the beginning of a restoration.
God promises to give the exiles a heart to know him, so that they will be his people and he their God, for they will return to him with their whole heart. It is inward change that makes the return possible, and it anticipates the promise of the new covenant.
The bad figs stand for Zedekiah, his officials and those who stayed in Jerusalem or fled to Egypt. Those who thought themselves safe by remaining in the land are the ones who face judgment.
The Lord will send sword, famine and pestilence until the bad figs vanish from the land. The text does not pause the judgment, but it contrasts it with the hope reserved for the exiles.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Two baskets of figs. — Jeremiah 24:1
Answer: One basket had very good figs and the other figs so bad they could not be eaten. — Jeremiah 24:2
Answer: The exiles of Judah, sent to the land of the Chaldeans. — Jeremiah 24:5
Answer: He will bring them back to their land, build and plant them, and give them a heart to know him. — Jeremiah 24:6-7
Answer: Zedekiah, his officials, those who remained in Jerusalem and those who dwell in Egypt. — Jeremiah 24:8
Answer: Sword, famine and pestilence until they are destroyed from the land. — Jeremiah 24:10
The vision of the figs challenges the idea that whatever seems favored by circumstances is what God blesses. Those in Jerusalem seemed secure, but the future lay with those who had lost almost everything. A group can reflect on how God sometimes works in places of loss and uprooting.
A heart to know God is also a gift, not an achievement. Someone who feels their faith is dry can ask for it with confidence, because God himself promises to give it. It is an invitation to humble prayer and hope.
Jeremiah 24 leaves an open question about how to live in exile, which Jeremiah will answer in the letter to the exiles later on. Before that, chapter 25 sums up twenty-three years of preaching and announces that the nations will serve Babylon for seventy years.
After the first deportation, in 597 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, the nobles and the craftsmen to Babylon and put Zedekiah on the throne. Jerusalem had not yet fallen; it was destroyed in 586 BC.
The text does not speak of their earlier character but of what God will do with them: regard them as good, bring them back and give them a new heart. The goodness comes from God's action, not from prior merit.
Some Judeans fled to Egypt looking for refuge, believing they would be safe there from Babylon. The text says they too are bad figs, because they trusted another power instead of submitting to God's plan.