Judah Deported
Book of Jeremiah
Chapter 24
To understand this
lesson, we need to understand the sacrifice of the "first
fruits".
These first fruits
were to be the choicest of the first harvest of the crops.
The nation of Israel
was known as God's "first fruits".
Jer 2:3 Israel was
holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that
devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.
Here "holiness"
means a people dedicated to God.
All those of Israel
who were offended by the ways of God would be punished. It is the
same today!
Today "first
fruits can be used as all those who are first saved in a new area and
led to the Lord.
Rom 16:5 Likewise
greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved
Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
So, we see that
Israel were to be the first fruits of In God's increase!
Let’s see as the
Lord shows Jeremiah a new vision so he also could understand what God
was doing.
*****Jer 24:1 The
LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the
temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had
carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and
the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem,
and had brought them to Babylon.
Jer 24:2 One basket
had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the
other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they
were so bad.
We know that figs
are small sweet pear-shaped fruits and they grow on small trees.
We should remember
that Adam and Eve made the very first camouflage clothing line from
the leaves of the fig tree when they knew they had sinned and were
trying to hide from God.
Gen 3:7 And the
eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 And they
heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of
the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of
the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
So, we know there
were many fig trees around from day 1 and not some cross bred tree
like so many are today.
This lesson was
intended for Jeremiah, but it is also intended for us here today!
There are only two
groups of people in the world. Those who follow in the will of God
and those who are not in the will of God!
One of the biggest
problems we face in this world today is that people do not want to
hear the truth, especially when it affects their lifestyle!
1Ti 2:3 For this is
good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
***1Ti 2:4 Who will
have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there
is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave
himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
In our lesson today,
the good figs will represent the Jews who were carried away into
captivity, the bad figs were those left behind who would reject the
Word of God given to the prophet Jeremiah.
This is the great
hope of all those who have come to know the Lord in a personal
relationship and one day soon the Lord will carry us away to be with
Him while those who reject the Word of God will be left behind!
The bad figs
represent all those who are left behind in Judah at this time and all
those who have rejected the Lord when He returns.
Just so we know for
more than 200 years God had sent His prophets to warn Israel of sin.
During the time of
Jeremiah, God had intensified His warnings.
During the time of
Jeremiah, God had reached a point where He would no longer forgive
His people of their sin. Not because God became unforgiving but
because He knew that this generation of Jews simply would not repent.
We know that God
never changes so it is very true that the Holy Spirit will not always
strive with individuals even in our time.
It is also in the
time of Jeremiah that God would deal with the wrongs of His people
and execute justice upon them!
Today we have been
given the truth by the Apostles of Jesus Christ:
Eph 6:5 Servants,
be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh,
with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, "as unto
Christ";
Eph 6:6 Not with
eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, "doing
the will of God from the heart";
Eph 6:7 With good
will "doing service, as to the Lord", and not to men:
Eph 6:8 "Knowing
that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive
of the Lord", whether he be bond or free.
If we cannot
understand these things, then we need to take the time to get it
right.
God can see into the
heart, and He knows if we are the real thing or not!
God knew these same
things about Judah!
You want to begin to
destroy a nation, remove all the people of knowledge and skills who
can build a nation but most important remove all those who love the
Lord.
It is this time when
Daniel and his three friends, and Ezekiel and many others such as
Mordecai and Esther would be in this group, with Nehemiah and Ezra.
We can see that
these were certainly the good figs who would keep the Word of God on
trac to reach the day of Jesus Christ!
Those that were left
behind who had rejected the law of God were indeed the bad figs.
Certainly, there
were also some others left behind that knew the Lord because God
always has His remnant. These would probably be those who were the
poorest in the nation who all the politicians had forgotten from both
sides and considered useless.
Remember this is a
vision that only Jeremiah sees at this time.
*****Jer 24:3 Then
said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs;
the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be
eaten, they are so evil.
The very good figs
represented the true believers among the Jews that were carried off
into captivity.
We will see that no
one can out think the Lord. It would be captivity that would protect
the true believers while those who worship idols would die off
leaving a people of believers.
God would use
captivity to save His children.
We should know by
now that the Lord has many ways to deal with nations, but He does
this by dealing with the individuals in any nation.
Many times, the true
villains will remain unknown until it is time for God to expose them.
Immorality will ruin
any nation but crimes against those who do live a moral life will
also ruin a nation.
The Lord is the
giver of life and when He departs, a body soon decays into
nothingness and vanity!
Jeremiah would not
only see many of these things with his own eyes, the Lord would also
show him in visions things that would become the truth.
In fact the greatest
Prophet of them all is Jehovah God, The Lord of all the Ages!
We may not see the
visions that Jeremiah saw but we can certainly see our own nation
fall into the trap of immorality.
Even history proves
these things will cripple any nation that partakes in such things.
Who are God's
heroes? Those that know the Word of God and take a stand on its
truths!
The kingdom of Satan
is just as active as the Kingdom of Christ if not more so today, to
the shame of those who profess to be Christians.
The differences in
the good figs and the bad figs are the differences between Heaven and
Hell!
What did Jesus say?
Mat 25:31 When the
Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him,
then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And
before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them
one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he
shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then
shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world:
Mat 25:41 Then
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:46 And these
shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into
life eternal.
*****Jer 24:4 Again
the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 24:5 Thus saith
the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I
acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have
sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
When we see how the
Lord deals with His children, it should teach us that the actions of
love in our own heart cannot come close to the action of love from
the Lord.
We must understand
that sometimes that hard and distressing position, is the best for
us.
God will humble us
sometimes just, so He can make us to be stronger and more useful.
How could we have
the wonderful words of the Holy Spirit through Daniel and Ezekiel if
the Jews had remained in Judah?
Their removal to
Babylon saved them from the awful things that faced those who were
left behind!
It is no wonder that
Jeremiah was treated so badly when he preached these things to the
people of Judah.
We may not always
understand the ways of God but then, this is why we must have
"faith"!
God's plan goes far
beyond our own imaginations!
2Ti 2:19
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal,
The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
The truth is when
are made to see how the enemy lives, most everyone of us will agree
that the truth of God is where we need to be!
God had told these
people that in order to be saved they must surrender to the enemy.
It may have been to
Nebuchadnezzar this time, but this is the main theme of our
salvation.
To be saved we must
surrender to the truth of God!
There is another
principle of salvation that plays out in our next Scripture.
*****Jer 24:6 For I
will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to
this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will
plant them, and not pluck them up.
Paul wrote:
Rom_11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There
shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob:
This is the same
thing God told Jeremiah and we know that this time is still in the
future.
The Church will
already be the Lord when this takes place!
The Lord has already
said He will set His eyes upon them for good and this is part of the
good God was talking about!
Job 34:21 For his
eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
2Ch 16:9 For the
eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew
himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward
him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou
shalt have wars.
Isa 54:8 In a
little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with
everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy
Redeemer.
Jehovah God, The
Lord Jesus Christ just loves to save but He also requires obedience!
Heb 7:25 Wherefore
he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
All these things
require a "new heart"!
*****Jer 24:7 And I
will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they
shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return
unto me with their whole heart.
The truth of this
new heart is that we will all know our Savior!
All those with a
heart to know our Savior will know Him because the Holy Spirit moves
in to illuminate our minds to know our Savior.
1Co_2:16 For who
hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we
have the mind of Christ.
We must not just
know the Lord.
We must have that
personal knowledge within ourselves, our entire being.
We must speak to Him
while He reads the intent of our new heart!
To know the Lord is
to love the Lord!
Some say Jerusalem
is the center of the universe.
Some same the Sun is
the center of the universe.
Some say our galaxy
is the center of the universe.
Some say other
things are the center of the universe.
The truth is, it is
the Lord Jesus Christ who is the center of our universe, spiritually
and in reality!
When we truly love
the Lord then we cannot stand idols or false gods!
When we truly love
the Lord then our "Faith" will be set in the right place!
Psa 9:10 And they
that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast
not forsaken them that seek thee.
What would God do
for the exiles? God would build them up and make them secure!
The truth is the
Lord will always sustain His children and give us His assurance that
things are much better when our "faith" is real and our
love for Him is true!
Pro 3:24 When thou
liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and
thy sleep shall be sweet.
Sometimes things
just look so bad around us that we do not know what to believe!
When we remember
that things are just like the Lord told us, we will realize that our
Lord always tells us the truth!
Our relationship
with the Lord will be at its best when we commit to the Word of God
and apply it to our lives!
Act 3:19 Repent ye
therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when
the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
And the rotten figs:
*****Jer 24:8 And
as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely
thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and
his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land,
and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
Jer 24:9 And I will
deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for
their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in
all places whither I shall drive them.
Judgment is real!
Zedekiah was left
behind as a puppet king for Babylon along with those in charge of the
government whose main goal was to gather taxes to pay to Babylon, yet
they clung to their pride and refused to repent.
Zedekiah was named
Mattaniah by his father King Josiah, but it was the king of Babylon
who had changed his name to Zedekiah.
2Ki 24:17 And the
king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his
stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
2Ki 24:18 Zedekiah
was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the
daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2Ki 24:19 And he
did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all
that Jehoiakim had done.
Zedekiah had no
intention of being a puppet king to anyone but thought that as king
he could do something himself.
God had already
pronounced His judgment and unless there was repentance His judgment
would stand.
Jeremiah was his
councilor, but the Word of God was ignored, and he entered into an
alliance with Hophra king of Egypt.
God had already
informed him that even those who fled to Egypt would not miss out on
His judgment!
The armies of
Nebuchadnezzar would return and this time they would destroy
Jerusalem.
What had been God's
promise by the words of Moses?
Deu 28:37 And thou
shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all
nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
If we do not learn
anything else, we need to learn that it is simply foolish to go
against the Word of God anytime!
Even today in many
nations the Jews are still an object of scorn and they will remain
this way until they repent and return to the Lord!
In Jeremiah's time
it was the Babylonian exile of 586 BC and after the Lord had returned
to Heaven it was the Roman exile of 70 AD.
Israel was conquered
and remained that way until May 14, 1948.
God used war as a
means to execute judgment on these people and certain nations of
today believe God is still against this people.
*****Jer 24:10 And
I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them,
till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to
their fathers.
The result of sin is
still judgment, and this will not ever change!
As long as those who
are represented by the evil figs still dwell in the land of Israel,
there will be Jews living in disgrace in foreign lands.
2Ch_7:14 If my
people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I
hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their
land.
We are fools to
believe that the Lord ever forgets the things He says!
The difference
between "Good Figs" and "Bad Figs" are morals.
Both of these tend
to grow to the extreme.
The Good Figs were
very good! The Bad Figs were very bad!
Those who are moral
obey the Word of God.
Those who are
immoral reject the Word of God.
It is the morals of
every nation that stick out and show what that nation is made of!
The example in our
lesson today is that the "Good Figs" seemed to have
suffered to most and were taken from their homes.
The "Bad Figs"
remained in their homes and seemed to escape the Judgment of God but
that was not the end of the story for them!
Heb_12:6 For whom
the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he
receiveth.
These words will
also always be true!
We must also
remember God's promise to the true Jews.
Zec 8:13 And it
shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O
house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall
be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.
Amen
Let's Pray
