Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"Two baskets of figs"
Text: Jeremiah 24:1
THE INVASION OF THE BABYLONIANS
The prophesied invasion of the Babylonians had taken place. The following text described the historical context of the conquest of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar.
“The LORD showed me, and there were two baskets of figs
set before the temple of the LORD,
after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive
Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem,
and had brought them to Babylon.
One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe;
and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten,
they were so bad.
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 24:1-3
1. Nebuchadnezzar
a) He was the Babylonian king who conquered Judah.
b) There was a deportation of people to Babylon.
i) Jeconiah the son of king Jehoiakim was taken captive to Babylon.
ii) Princes of Judah were also deported to Babylon as prisoners.
iii) Craftsmen and smiths were included in this deportation.
2. The plan of Nebuchadnezzar
a) The prisoners were held as hostages so that those left in Judah may submit themselves to the king of Babylon.
b) The choicest of those deported were given a chance to serve the King.
c) Daniel was one of those who rose to a very high rank in the Babylonian empire (Daniel 1).
3. The Sign of the Two Baskets
a) Once again, God showed Jeremiah a sign (Jeremiah 24:1-3)
b) The LORD asked Jeremiah what he saw.
c) His reply was straightforward:
i) He saw two baskets of figs set before the temple.
ii) One basket held good figs (first ripe figs).
iii) Another basket held rotten figs that cannot be consumed.
d) Jeremiah had to wait for the LORD to explain the symbolic meaning of the baskets of figs.