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
Putting Jeremiah 24 in historical perspective, This time in history King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has already come to Judah and he took as prisoners King Jeconiah(Jehoiachin) and his mother along with all the captains and mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all craftsmen and smiths. (2 Kings 24:13-16) Nebuchadnezzar left the poorest people in the land and then made Jehoiachin's uncle Mattaniah King, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
So Judah at this time was wiped clean, Jeremiah was there amongst the poorest in the land, while all the men of valor and builders and craftsmen, all the strongest and most useful were taken into exile to Babylon. So in Jeremiah 24 the LORD shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs, one basket has good figs and the other basket has bad figs…which Jeremiah can easily see, and then the LORD says..
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for [their own] good, into the land of the Chaldeans.
'For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull [them] down, and I will plant them and not pluck [them] up.
Then I will give them a 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 to Me with their whole heart.
Jeremiah 24:4-7
God is painting a picture for Jeremiah, He is using the example of the bad and good figs for a purpose. God says that those who were exiled into Babylon are the good figs, are you following this? Would it not seem more logical in OUR eyes that the good figs would be the ones who are still living in the land? Isn't it not more logical to think that the bad figs would be the one God let the Babylonians take away into their pagan land? But no, God says he sent them away for THEIR OWN GOOD, these same people who didn't listen to Jeremiah, these same people who said "God wouldn't let us be defeated" these same people who didn't realize how far they've fallen, God says He has sent them away for their own good. God even says that He will give them a heart for HIM!
THINK about this, here is the tribe of Judah living in the land God promised them, and they get taken away in chains to be slaves to a Babylonian Pagan empire(Daniel being one of these slaves) and God allowed it to happen for their own good. You see, this is a perfect example, just one of the perfect examples in the bible that we give God glory in GOOD and BAD. Things happen sometimes that we can't explain or understand.
God allowed it for a reason, trials and pains they come and go, the important thing is we continue giving God glory in good and bad, especially when it seems like everything is going wrong I.e not the way we think it should be going. God used the exile of Israel, the prisoners in Babylon and said He would bring them back, He would build them up and He would give them a heart for Him.
The exile wasn't something they wanted and it was hell to go through, and living in a foreign pagan land doesn't sound like a Blessing to me, but in the end it was, because through it.. God saved them, through it and by the grace of God their hearts were opened up. God made them realize how far off the path they were.
God is absolutely in control, and he deserves all honor and glory at all times. Nothing surprises Him, and in the end it's all apart of His plan.
I pray that all who are reading, and for myself that we would give God all glory, that no matter what we are going through, no matter how big our troubles look… realize that God is much bigger!
just honor Him..
just surrender..
Those who know my testimony know that I failed in this, I didn't give God glory, I didn't have faith or even ask why? I went straight to cursing God when I was going through a transplant. I now know everything happens for a reason, and although it wasn't an ideal situation and their were and are obvious struggles, I know now that I wouldn't want to change a thing, that it took this situation for Him to open my eyes. What I thought was a bad situation at the time, I know now it was for my own good, so God could give me a heart to know Him.
Seek God in struggles and tribulations because they will come,
and hope can only be found in God, we are confident in our Faith.
Confident that God will give us peace, Confident in the fact that our health and well being ,
riches and fame are all meaningless without a surrendering selfless life in Christ.
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