Sharper Iron — A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build: Two Baskets of Figs

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Rev. Tim Storck, pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Chesterfield, MI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 24:1-10.

About 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar took into exile King Jehoiachin, his mother, the craftsmen, the officials, and other leading citizens of Jerusalem. At that time, the LORD showed Jeremiah a vision of two baskets of figs. The first was full of the best figs imaginable; the second was full of figs that were so rotten they were good for absolutely nothing. The LORD told Jeremiah that He would regard the exiles from Judah as that first basket of figs. By His grace, He would restore the exiles and give them a heart to trust in Him according to His new covenant. Those remaining in Jerusalem would be like the second basket of figs. Their hearts would only grow harder toward the LORD, and so they would be utterly destroyed. Though the people must have been surprised by Jeremiah’s preaching, this vision is a reminder of the pattern by which the LORD so often works. He brings His people through death and into life.

“A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of their faithless idolatry and warns them of the destruction that is coming in the Babylonian exile. Yet Jeremiah does not leave us without hope in the midst of such dark days. Jeremiah and all who believe the Word of God he preached survive because of hope that is found in the righteous Branch from the line of David, Jesus Christ.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen.

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Jeremiah 24:1-10

The Good Figs and the Bad Figs

24 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile 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 me this vision: behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. 3 And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”

4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

8 “But thus says the Lord: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I 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. 9 I will make them a horror[a] to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.”

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Footnotes

Jeremiah 24:9 Compare Septuagint; Hebrew horror for evil