RTW 2023

After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon along with the officials of Judah and all the craftsmen and artisans, the LORD gave me this vision. I saw two baskets of figs placed in front of the LORD’s Temple in Jerusalem. One basket was filled with fresh, ripe figs, while the other was filled with bad figs that were too rotten to eat. Then the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I replied, “Figs, some very good and some very bad, too rotten to eat.”

Jeremiah 24:1-3

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

• Babylon has attacked Judah three times.
• The first was the exile of Daniel in 605 BC.
• The second was the exile of Ezekiel in 597 BC.
• The third would be the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC.
• During the second invasion, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon carried away King Jehoiachin of Judah as well.
• At this time, Jeremiah had his vision of two baskets of figs in front of the Temple.
• The first basket was good for eating.
• The second basket was rotten.
• God said the first basket represented those who had gone into captivity to Babylon.
• God would give them a new heart to know Him, and they would return to Him.
• The basket of bad figs represented the nature of those who remained in Jerusalem.
• God had commanded them to go into exile, but many refused to obey God. They were the bad figs.
• The people refused to obey God because they did not believe Him.
• They didn’t believe that even in judgment, there is mercy.
• God was merciful in the Old Testament.
• God was merciful in the New Testament.
• His mercy is still available now by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

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Know God with your mind. Love God with your heart. Trust God in all things. Obey.