The Vision of Two Baskets of Figs, vv. 1-3
A. What–>two baskets of figs
1. First ripe, good figs
2. Past ripe, evil figs
B. Where–>before the Temple, possibly as an offering
C. When–>the 2nd deportation to Babylon in 597 BC after the exile of Jeconiah, during the reign of Zedekiah.
1. Those taken into Exile:
a. King Jeconiah
b. Princes/nobles of Judah
c. Skilled craftsmen
2. Those spared from Exile:
a. Zedekiah
b. Those not fit to be taken
The Interpretation of the Two Baskets of Figs, vv. 4-10
A. Figs = appear before the leaves; symbol of virtue, sweetness.
B. The First Ripe Figs–>the captives in Exile.
1. Jews left in Jerusalem considered themselves blessed and those in captivity as cursed.
2. Jeremiah’s message is that the captives were the ones God considered blessed.
3. Under the leadership of Ezekiel, the captives repented and renewed their commitment to a covenant relationship with God.
4. God promised to give them a heart to know Him.
5. God promised to bring them back to the land after 70 years.
C. The Past Ripe Figs–>Jews that Nebuchadnezzar left in Jerusalem. Not worth taking to Babylon.
1. These will become a “reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, God will drive them out.”
2. God will send them “the sword, famine, and pestilence.”
Lessons Learned from the Two Baskets of Figs
A. Judgment upon a nation or community means that all suffer, even those who may be individually innocent of the sins that brought God’s judgment. What God said to Jeremiah through the two baskets of figs means that even when all suffer under a national judgment, God still knows the difference between those caught up in the judgment and those who brought down the judgment.
B. The return from exile did foreshadow the New Covenant in some important ways. God’s people were gathered again into the land, and they were a changed people (a heart to know Me… they shall be My people… they shall return to Me with their whole heart). The great change after the exile was that the people of Israel no longer went after the idols of the nations (such as Baal and Ashtoreth) as they had before. They were separated and devoted to Yahweh in a way they had not been before.