Jeremiah 24

Jeremiah 24 is a brief vision report that follows Jeremiah 23, which rebukes the false prophets and shepherds. Its setting is the period immediately after the exile of Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) recounted in 2 Kings 24, an event generally dated to about 597 BC. The next chapter, Jeremiah 25, returns to the earlier reign of Jehoiakim, showing that the book is not arranged in chronological order.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 After Nebuchadnezzar carries Jeconiah, the princes (high officials), the carpenters, and the smiths away to Babylon, the LORD shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs set before the temple. One basket holds very good figs, like those that are first ripe; the other holds very bad figs, so bad that they cannot be eaten.
• Verses 4–7 The good figs represent the captives of Judah who have gone to the land of the Chaldeans. God declares that He will set His eyes upon them, bring them back to this land, and give them a heart to know the LORD, so that they will return to Him with their whole heart.
• Verses 8–10 The bad figs represent Zedekiah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in the land, and those who dwell in Egypt. God declares that He will scatter them among the nations, make them a reproach and a taunt, and consume them from the land by the sword, famine, and pestilence.

Key Verses

• Jeremiah 24:5 "Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah ... for their good." This overturns the common assumption that those taken away had been rejected.
• Jeremiah 24:6 "I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up." This echoes the words spoken at Jeremiah's call (Jeremiah 1:6–10).
• Jeremiah 24:7 "They shall be my people, and I will be their God." This is a standard formula expressing the covenant relationship, and it connects with the later promise of the new covenant.

People and Places

• Jeremiah — the prophet who sees and delivers the vision.
• Nebuchadnezzar — the king of Babylon who carried the people of Judah away.
• Jeconiah — the son of Jehoiakim; a king of Judah also known as Jehoiachin.
• Zedekiah — the last king of Judah, installed after Jeconiah.
• Jerusalem, Babylon (the land of the Chaldeans), and Egypt — where, respectively, those who remained, the exiles, and those who fled resided.

Points for Reflection

• Ezekiel 11 also reflects a situation in which those who remained in the land regarded themselves as the chosen remnant. This chapter renders a verdict that runs contrary to that expectation.
• In verses 5–7, God is portrayed as the one who brings about restoration. For this reason, many interpreters read the judgment that the exiles are "good" not as a reflection of their merit but as a matter of God's election and grace.
• The chapter is often read alongside the letter urging acceptance of exile in Jeremiah 29:4–14, the promise of a new heart in Ezekiel 11:19–20, and the quotation of the new covenant in Hebrews 8:6–13.
• Some preachers connect it with Jesus' cursing of the fig tree, although that text does not directly refer to this chapter.