ESOCS Devotional 12 March 2024 – Two Baskets of Figs
MEMORY VERSE: “For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again into this land; and I will build them, and not pull them down, and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.” Jeremiah 24:6
TEXT: JEREMIAH 24:1-10
After Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile Jeconiah [also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the princes of Judah, with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me [in a vision] two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord.
2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten.
3 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, so bad that they cannot be eaten.
4 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I regard the captives of Judah whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
6 For I will set My eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up.
7 And I will give them a heart to know (recognize, understand, and be acquainted with) Me, that I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.
8 And as for the bad figs, which are so bad that they cannot be eaten, surely thus says the Lord, So will I give up Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes and the residue of Jerusalem who remains in this land and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.
9 I will even give them up to be a dismay and a horror and to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil, to be a reproach, a byword or proverb, a taunt, and a curse in all places where I will drive them.
10 And I will send the sword, famine, and pestilence among them until they are consumed from off the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
When Jeconiah and the princes and artisans of Judah were carried away, Prophet Ezekiel and other nobles being among them, with Daniel and his company carried away a little earlier, Zedekiah and his company left behind by the Babylonians must have thought themselves so lucky to have escaped captivity. They may even have thought that those were carried away because their cup of sin was full and God had removed them from the land in His anger. However, the vision before prophet Jeremiah proved them wrong.
The vision presents two baskets of figs: Jeconiah’s company plus Daniel‘s company being the first basket and said to be very good figs; Zedekiah and his company still in Judah said to be very bad, evil figs which cannot be eaten. God promises to do good unto the first basket, to restore, plant, build and bless it, while at the same time He threatened to remove and uproot Zedekiah and his company from the Holy land, expose them to hurt, shame, reproach and pestilence in the kingdoms to which they shall be carried away.
The statement, “… whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their own good” (v 5c) draws attention. Did God send out that first team to save them from being corrupted by Zedekiah and Company, or did they become better children of God under the leadership of Ezekiel and Daniel, as to so soon become the preferred basket of figs fit for the master’s use and blessing?
If this was the case, then their early removal did them much good in provoking their quick repentance. We should learn from this team that whenever affliction befalls us our best response is to repent of all sins, humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and make ourselves vessels of honor unto Him.
On the other hand, when national calamity strikes and we escape it, we should not count ourselves more righteous than those caught in it but it should challenge us to turn fully unto God who had spared us, repent of our evil ways and pray for His sustaining mercies, lest our case become worse than those who suffered first.
- Two baskets of figs. To which do you belong? Very good or very bad? By your fruits you stand out for a blessing or a curse.
- Almighty God, I pray thee quicken me with thine Spirit to enable me please thee as did Jeconiah, Daniel and their team, in Jesus name.
Further Reading: Ezekiel 36:26-27; Hebrews 8:10
ESOCS Devotional 12 March 2024
