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Then the LORD said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad." Jeremiah 24:3 NKJV
Throughout scripture, committed followers of God are compared to sheep, trees, eagles, and…figs? Specifically, good figs. There are also inedible, “evil” figs that have no place in God’s perfect plan.
Jeremiah is called “the weeping prophet” for his agonizing reaction to the Babylonian conquest of Judah and Jerusalem. After generations of Jews had sinned and resisted God’s efforts to turn them around, He finally appointed the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar as His divine disciplinarian. Babylonians ransacked Jerusalem, destroying the temple and carrying off residents in waves of deportation.
In the midst of this, Jeremiah saw a vision of two baskets, each holding a very different type of fig. God explained that the good figs were those people exiled first, sent away for their benefit, people who would worship God when He restored them to their own land (Jeremiah 24:5-7). The bad figs were fellow Jews who would never return to God, whose exile would destroy them (vv 8-10).
Though the people’s trauma was universal, God would help certain ones through it. He knew which individuals were “good figs,” and He planned for their ultimate blessing.
Perhaps a similar scenario is unfolding in our day. Be ready. Be a good fig.
Prayer: Lord, please make and keep me good.
Throughout scripture, committed followers of God are compared to sheep, trees, eagles, and…figs? Specifically, good figs. There are also inedible, “evil” figs that have no place in God’s perfect plan.
Jeremiah is called “the weeping prophet” for his agonizing reaction to the Babylonian conquest of Judah and Jerusalem. After generations of Jews had sinned and resisted God’s efforts to turn them around, He finally appointed the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar as His divine disciplinarian. Babylonians ransacked Jerusalem, destroying the temple and carrying off residents in waves of deportation.
In the midst of this, Jeremiah saw a vision of two baskets, each holding a very different type of fig. God explained that the good figs were those people exiled first, sent away for their benefit, people who would worship God when He restored them to their own land (Jeremiah 24:5-7). The bad figs were fellow Jews who would never return to God, whose exile would destroy them (vv 8-10).
Though the people’s trauma was universal, God would help certain ones through it. He knew which individuals were “good figs,” and He planned for their ultimate blessing.
Perhaps a similar scenario is unfolding in our day. Be ready. Be a good fig.
Prayer: Lord, please make and keep me good.
