I want to describe something wonderful. It has a light flaky outer coating. It’s sweet and delicious. So soft like a cake. And it’s about an inch and a half square. But the inside, oh man is it good. It’s soft but chewy, dark and sweet with just a little bit of grit from the natural fruit. They come packaged in rows. What a wonderful dessert to be eaten with a hot cup of coffee. How many here would like to have a FIG NEWTON right now? Shame on you, you shouldn’t be eating in church!!!
I read this passage out of Jeremiah 24 BEFORE I went on vacation and it’s been bouncing around in my head all this time. I’ve been having terrible cravings for FIG NEWTONS for two weeks now. No, but in this passage we’re going to read this morning, the Great Prophet Jeremiah was shown two baskets of figs. And God used these two baskets to ILLUSTRATE to Jeremiah what was coming. What was going to happen to the Nation of Judah. This might seem like a strange passage to preach from but I’ve been called strange before. You might be saying “How is he going to get a message out of this?” I don’t know, but let’s go ahead and read Jeremiah Chapter 24.
“The Lord shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
3 Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
4 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
5 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
7 And I will give them an 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 unto me with their whole heart.
8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.”
God has a REASON for everything that He does. He has a REASON for every ILLUSTRATION that He uses. And this passage is NO DIFFERENT. God has a MESSAGE for Jeremiah and God has a MESSAGE for you and I today. Before we get into that message let’s go to the Lord in Prayer.
Brother _____, would you lead us in Prayer?
I. One of the first things we need to see here in Verse 1 was the fact that the LORD SHOWED Jeremiah something and Jeremiah RECOGNIZED that it was from the Lord.
There are too many times God SPEAKS to us, He SHOWS us something, He PRICKS our hearts and ...... we just ignore it. I’m sure that as Jeremiah looked at these two baskets of FIGS he could have said, “So what, I’ve seen plenty of figs, eaten a few, who cares!!!” But God had a message in these BASKETS of FIGS.
And the LORD speaks to us, He leads us, He guides us in different ways and we need to be open to what He has to tell us. I think a lot of people really don’t want to hear from God because if they did then they might have to actually do something about it. Let me tell you something this morning.
You’ve got QUESTIONS, God’s got ANSWERS.
You need GUIDANCE, God will GUIDE you.
You need HELP, God will BE THERE.
If you’re going through the FIRE, God will SHOW UP and He will take you THROUGH that FIRE. Is there ANYTHING too hard for my God to do? And the answer is NO!!!! There’s not.
II. So God showed Jeremiah TWO BASKETS of FIGS. And I want you to see where these baskets were sitting. Right in front of the TEMPLE of the Lord. I believe these FIGS had been brought to the TEMPLE for an offering. I believe two different people had brought their offering to the Lord. And that’s a GOOD THING. Deuteronomy 26:2 says,
“That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there.”
But if you notice here in Deuteronomy, they were to take the FIRST FRUITS. Not the second or third. The FIRST. The first pick of the year off of the FIG TREE is the BEST. The SWEETEST. And a FIG must be ripened on the TREE because it will not ripen off the vine. It will set there and ROT and NOT get one bit sweeter. You know how at the end of the year you pick all the green tomatoes before they get frost bit. You set them up in the kitchen window and let them ripen. You can’t do that with a FIG. It just goes BAD. It TASTES TERRIBLE.
And listen, God wants it all. He doesn’t want just what’s left over. He doesn’t want just PART of your life. He doesn’t want a little part of you now and then a little part of you later. The Rich Young Ruler told Jesus that he had kept ALL the law. And Jesus said, “Great, now SELL everything you’ve got and follow ME!!!” And this fellow went away sad. You know why? Because he didn’t have RICHES, the RICHES had him. He wouldn’t give it ALL.
God wants what’s LEFT OVER. God wants part. God wants your BEST.
LISTEN ….. GOD WANTS IT ALL!!!
“All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him in His presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender, all to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.”
It’s up to you. God is NOT gonna put you in a head lock and give you noogees on your head until you give in. You want God’s favor? You want the BEST that God has for you? Then give it ALL to Him.
III. And so in Verse 2, we see two baskets of FIGS. One basket is the FIRST FRUITS. Figs that have been ripened on the tree. Sweet and delicious. Not just good but VERY GOOD. No doubt it’s EXACTLY the fruit they make FIG NEWTON’S from.
But the second basket is full of TERRIBLE NASTY FIGS. They either were picked before they were ripe or they have sat too long and begun to ROT. There was NO WAY they could be eaten.
And God says, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And Jeremiah answers Him, “Well God, I see a basket of very good FIGS and a basket of very bad FIGS.” And then God goes on to explain what these two BASKETS of FIGS really mean.
And folks, there is a message for you and I in everything here in the Word of God. There is a message for us that comes from these two baskets of FIGS. And it’s NOT that we should eat more FIG NEWTONS. Look what he says here.
Judgment was coming against this entire nation. We read all about this in the Book of Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah. All of these people would be affected. BUT … even in the midst of this judgment GOD still knew those who had NOT turned their backs on Him. Those who still served Him. And He knew those who were the REASON for the JUDGMENT. And God makes a SEPARATION HERE. Some are taken away captive to the Land of the Chaldeans/ Babylonians and then there are those who were left behind.
And it was thought that those who were left behind in their own land were the BLESSED and those who were taken were the CURSED. But it was just the OPPOSITE. Look at Verses 5-7.
“Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
7 And I will give them an 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 unto me with their whole heart.”
God had a plan for them. Even though they may have thought that this was the end. They were carried away from HOME. Everything that they knew. Their families. Their loved ones. They had NO IDEA when they could come home. GOD HAD A PLAN!!!
First of all it was for their GOOD.
He would take them back home.
He would build them up.
They would be established.
And God was going to give them HEART to know Him. And when they came home …. their WHOLE HEART would have a desire for God.
What a PROMISE. What a BLESSING. God WOULD NOT forget them. He WOULD NOT forsake them.
But then there were those who were LEFT BEHIND. Look at Verses 8-10. Those that had remained in Jerusalem and those who had escaped to Egypt. Rather than face the CONSEQUENCES for their SIN, they ran away. And these people probably had the attitude that they were BLESSED. They weren’t carried away captives like these other people were.
But God says that JUST LIKE these FIGS that were evil, so are these people.
King Zedekiah is EVIL.
His PRINCES are EVIL.
Those that remain in Jerusalem are EVIL.
And those that have hightailed it off to Egypt are EVIL.
God made a SEPARATION and these are the ones who were left. And then he tells us what is going to happen to them.
They will eventually be SCATTERED all over the known world.
They will be HURT.
They will be a REPROACH. Everyone will see that God was NOT PLEASED with them.
They will be a PROVERB. A LESSON for others to learn from.
They will be TAUNTED and CURSED every where they go.
And they will be killed by SWORD, FAMINE and DISEASE.
And Verse 10 winds up the chapter by saying, “till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.”
2 Kings 25 gives us a detailed account of the fall of Jerusalem and the fate of King Zedekiah. Read it for yourself if you would like to. The city was broken up and King Zedekiah fled but was captured. And as he watched his sons were brought before him and killed. And then his own eyes were plucked out. He was led away captive to Babylon and the LAST THING he ever saw was his own sons dying. Everything that God said would happen … HAPPENED.
And folks, there is a GREAT SEPARATION COMING. Jesus spoke about this separation in Matthew 25. You see, God has a plan just like He did back here in the Book of Jeremiah. Just as there were two BASKETS of FIGS, there are two GROUPS of PEOPLE in this world. And JUDGMENT is coming against BOTH of these groups.
One group is GOOD. VERY GOOD. RIPE and READY for the PICKING. Ready for the SEPARATION. The JUDGMENT. Ready to be TAKEN AWAY.
And you might say, “Well, nobody’s perfect. How can that be?”
I’m glad you asked. Let me tell you. 1 John 1:7-9
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
YES!!!! We can be GOOD. We can be VERY GOOD. A SWEET JUICY FIG. Not on our own but through the SHED BLOOD of JESUS CHRIST.
What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the BLOOD of JESUS.
What can make me WHOLE AGAIN? Nothing but the BLOOD of JESUS.
You can be TAKEN. You don’t have to be left behind. God has a plan for you and it’s GOOD. Just like these people who were taken.
He will give you a HOME.
He will ESTABLISH YOU.
He will BUILD you up.
And He will give you a HEART for HIM. And you can serve Him with your whole heart.
Man, what a PRIVILEGE. What an OPPORTUNITY. To be part of the FAMILY of GOD.
But the other group is NOT GOOD. They are EVIL.
Romans 3:10 tells us,
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”
And then Romans 3:23 says,
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
You see there are people all over the world who think they are GOOD ENOUGH to go to Heaven. They may be very MORAL. They may HELP a lot of people. They THINK they are going to make it just like King Zedekiah and the rest of the people who were left in Jerusalem. THEY WON’T. Our own RIGHTEOUSNESS is like FILTHY RAGS in the sight of God.
Then there are MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of people trusting in their own RELIGION. Whether it be Islam, Hindu, Buddha, or…Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian or … Free Will Baptist. Just like those in Jerusalem who had a plan. They would escape to Egypt. It didn’t work for them and it won’t work for you. ONLY that personal relationship with Jesus Christ will get you into Heaven. ONLY by HIS BLOOD can we be like that basket of SWEET RIPE FIGS.
You see, there is a FATE that awaits those who TRUST in themselves or something other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s a place of ETERNAL TORMENT.
It’s a place of ETERNAL SEPARATION from God and MAN.
It’s a place of HURT.
A place of REPROACH. All who go there are a DISPLEASURE to GOD.
And a place where the CURSED of GOD will go.
It’s a place that God created for the DEVIL and his ANGELS. But they will share that place with those who REFUSE to serve the True and Living God.
It’s that simple. There’s your choice. Are you gonna be a basket of DELICIOUS RIPE FIGS or are you gonna be a basket of NASTY ROTTEN FIGS?
ILLUS: In 1922, a group of scientists in Toronto, Canada went to a hospital ward that was full of children who were in comas and dying from Diabetic Keto-Acidosis. Type 1 Diabetics or Juvenile Diabetics had no chance of survival. They simply went to sleep and never woke up. Imagine with me a room full of parents setting beside their children’s bedside waiting for them to die. But then the scientists went form bed to bed and injected the children with a NEW PURIFIED called INSULIN. As they made their way around the room by the time they got to the last child, the first child began to awaken. One by one, ALL of the children woke up from their Diabetic Coma. A room of DEATH and GLOOM became a place of JOY and HOPE.
Maybe you’re here this morning and you don’t know Jesus. You’re like one of these children. You have no hope. You will live and then you will die. But what about after you die? There are people all over the world living a life of GLOOM and DOOM. But Jesus can bring LIFE to a lost and dying soul. He can bring JOY and HOPE. Why don’t you accept Him today? Why don’t you give Him a chance to change your life.
Let’s Pray
