What is the meaning of Jeremiah 24:3? “Jeremiah,” the LORD asked, “what do you see?” • God begins with a question, inviting His prophet to observe rather than simply receive. Compare Jeremiah 1:11-12, where the call started the same way, and Amos 7:8, where another prophet is drawn into conversation before a vision. • The Lord values spiritual perception: He teaches by asking, then confirming what is seen (Mark 8:18; Revelation 3:18). Jeremiah’s answer will reveal whether he is seeing with God’s eyes or merely natural sight. “Figs!” I replied. • Figs in Scripture often symbolize covenant fruitfulness or its absence (Deuteronomy 8:8; Hosea 9:10; Micah 7:1). • By answering promptly, Jeremiah shows he recognizes the object, but its meaning still needs explanation—echoing the pattern in Zechariah 4:2-5, where the prophet identifies something but needs divine interpretation. • Ordinary produce becomes a teaching tool: God chooses simple, familiar images to communicate profound truth (Matthew 13:31-32). “The good figs are very good, • Quality matters; God distinguishes the genuinely fruitful from the merely outwardly religious. • In the immediate context the “good figs” stand for the first wave of exiles in 597 B.C. (Jeremiah 24:5-7). Although displaced, they are under God’s watchful care—He promises, “I will set My eyes on them for good…and bring them back to this land.” • Cross-reference Romans 8:28; what is painful to the flesh can serve eternal purposes. • The superlative—“very good”—reminds us of Genesis 1:31: when God calls something good, His verdict is final and trustworthy. but the bad figs are very bad, • These represent King Zedekiah, the officials, and those who stubbornly remain in Jerusalem, resisting both Babylon and God (Jeremiah 24:8). • Like the barren fig tree Jesus cursed (Matthew 21:18-19), they display leaves of religiosity without fruit of repentance. • Bad fruit exposes a corrupt root (Matthew 7:17-20). Covenant privilege without obedience turns blessing into judgment (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). so bad they cannot be eaten.” • The condition is irreversible; no amount of seasoning can make rotten fruit nourishing. • This highlights the finality of God’s sentence: “I will make them a horror and an offense” (Jeremiah 24:9). • The phrase echoes earlier warnings against offerings that are blemished or spoiled (Malachi 1:13-14). What is unfit for the table is unfit for worship. • Spiritual application: persistent hard-heartedness leads to a point where “it is impossible…to renew them again to repentance” (Hebrews 6:4-6). summary Jeremiah 24:3 captures a simple but weighty exchange: God shows the prophet two baskets of figs, inviting him to notice their stark contrast. The “very good” figs picture the exiles who, though uprooted, are destined for restoration because they will seek the Lord with whole hearts. The “very bad” figs depict those clinging to Jerusalem in rebellion, soon to face ruin so thorough that they are spiritually “inedible.” The verse teaches that God’s appraisal—not outward circumstance—determines true condition. Yielding to His corrective hand yields good fruit; resisting Him leaves only rot and inevitable judgment. |
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