Jeremiah 24:4-6 (ESV Strong's)
Then the word of the Lord came to me: “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. 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.
Subject: Trusting God's Plan
In this section of Jeremiah the prophet is protecting to the nation of Israel and telling them that God is sending them into captivity. He has a hard message to deliver. He is saying to them that God wants them in captivity to discipline them for their disobedience. So, this is a bad thing. It is bad because they are going to be discipline by an Almighty God. It is bad because the discipline will be to place them into captivity in the land of wicked people (The Babylonians). Yet, the prophet lays out a living example to them that this is going to be a good thing. In front of the Temple door God places two baskets. One basket is full of good figs and the other basket is full of very bad figs; so bad you can't eat them. The lesson God gives the people through Jeremiah's words is simple: The bad figs are the people who get to stay home (and will die) and the good figs are the people who will go away to captivity (and will live and be cared for by God). This is a great lesson: Being in the place God wants you, no matter the place, is better than being home and resisting God's discipline and His plan. Jeremiah is telling the people to give in to God's plan and they will be blessed, despite the fear of going into captivity, to a strange land. Or, you can fight to stay in the comfort of your home and resist God's plan and die. We so much, in life, don't want to accept God's plan when it moves us, or makes us feel uncomfortable. Yet, blessing is not where you are, but blessing comes if you are in God's place and submitting to His plan!!
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