1. The Vision: Two Baskets, One Temple, One Message

Jeremiah receives a symbolic vision—two baskets placed at the Temple, one full of “tē’ēnîm ṭovôt” (“good figs,” ṭov meaning pleasant, excellent), and the other full of figs described as “rā‘ôt me’ōd” (“exceedingly bad,” from ra‘, evil/rotten). In Hebrew, the doubling (“very very bad”) intensifies the point. The vision comes after the first deportation of 597 BC, when Jeconiah and the elite were taken to Babylon.

Most people assumed those taken away were cursed and those left behind were blessed. Jeremiah reverses this entire narrative. Being persecuted and going through trials often happens to the godly, for scripture teaches us to persevere under trial and to rejoice when we go through suffering.

As Derek Kidner observes, “Jeremiah stands conventional wisdom on its head; the exiles are not the rejected, but the preserved remnant through whom hope will come.”

The location of the baskets—before the Temple—underscores that this is Yahweh’s verdict, not human speculation. In other words, this was orchestrated by God. For He is ultimately sovereign over all events that take place.

Modern Examples:
We see this reversal in daily life:

• A Christian loses their job for ethical reasons—while others assume they’ve “fallen backward,” God uses the season to strengthen their integrity, deepen their dependence, and open a better door.
• A believer facing illness or hardship may appear to others as though God is absent, yet that very season often becomes the time of deepest spiritual formation and renewed faith.
• Someone who is isolated because they refuse to compromise morally may be misunderstood by peers, but God is preserving their heart—even if the path feels lonely.
• A family goes through financial loss, and outsiders assume they made poor decisions, yet it becomes the moment God prunes material idols and restores their spiritual vitality.
• A person who steps away from sinful relationships or destructive environments may appear to be “losing everything,” when in reality God is sparing them from deeper ruin.

Like the exiles, people often look “cursed” from an outside perspective when they’re actually the ones God is protecting, refining, and preparing for future blessing. God sometimes uses loss, displacement, and hardship to cleanse the heart and reorient a person toward Him.

As Derek Kidner observes, “Jeremiah stands conventional wisdom on its head; the exiles are not the rejected, but the preserved remnant through whom hope will come.” God’s care may come wrapped in circumstances that look severe. The outward appearance of suffering never reveals the whole story of God’s redemptive work.

The location of the baskets—before the Temple—underscores that this is Yahweh’s verdict, not human speculation. In other words, this was orchestrated by God. For He is ultimately sovereign over all events that take place. What happened to the exiles was not random tragedy; it was purposeful refinement under the watchful eye of a faithful God.

---

2. The Exiles as the “Good Figs” — God’s Strange Mercy in Judgment (vv. 5–7)

The “good figs” symbolize those already deported to Babylon. Paradoxically, exile is the means by which God will refine, restore, and rebuild His people.

Yahweh says:

• “I will regard them… for good”
• “I will set My eyes on them for good”
• “I will build… plant… give them a heart to know Me”

This imagery of building and planting echoes Jeremiah 1:10, where God announces both uprooting and replanting. Exile becomes the crucible through which God forms a new people.

Scholars repeatedly note that this is a turning point. Walter Brueggemann writes:
“Jeremiah’s ministry is not only about dismantling. It anticipates a new future in which grief becomes the seedbed of obedience.”

Verse 7 is the theological center:

“I will give them a heart to know Me… they will return to Me with their whole heart.”

The Hebrew phrase lēv lāda‘at (“a heart to know”) points to spiritual transformation, not merely intellectual awareness. Only God can circumcise the heart (Deut. 30:6). The exiles, stripped of false security, will finally become a people who know their God deeply and personally.

This is a proto-new-covenant promise (cf. Jeremiah 31:31–34).

---

3. The “Bad Figs” — Those Who Remained and Those Who Fled (vv. 8–10)

The “bad figs” are:

• King Zedekiah
• Jerusalem’s remaining leaders
• The remnant still in the land
• Those who fled to Egypt

Their fate is described with harsh covenant-curse language:

• reproach
• proverb
• taunt
• curse
• sword
• famine
• pestilence

These echo Deuteronomy 28. What appears outwardly to be safety—staying in the land—becomes the very place where judgment falls.

As J.A. Thompson notes, “The ones who clung most tightly to Jerusalem were the very ones who misunderstood God the most.”

Jerusalem had become an idol. Security had replaced repentance. Proximity to the temple blinded them to the God of the temple.

Today, this same pattern plays out in countless ways.

• A person stays in a toxic relationship because it feels familiar, even though God may be calling them to step into healing, boundaries, and obedience. What feels “safe” is actually destructive.
• Someone remains in a job that compromises their integrity, telling themselves it’s stability, even though God may be urging them toward change. Their career becomes “Jerusalem”—a false refuge that keeps them spiritually stagnant.
• A believer depends on religious culture or church attendance instead of true repentance, mistaking familiarity with spiritual things as the equivalent of knowing God. Like Jerusalem’s inhabitants, they confuse being “near the temple” with truly walking in obedience.
• A family clings to material comforts, assuming financial stability means God’s blessing, yet their hearts drift farther from Him with each passing year. The comfort becomes an idol that dulls spiritual hunger.
• Someone stays in an unhealthy habit or sin pattern because leaving feels disruptive. The routine becomes a false refuge, even though freedom lies on the other side of surrender.
• Churches sometimes cling to traditions, believing that preserving the old structure guarantees God’s favor, while ignoring the deeper question of whether the people’s hearts are aligned with the Lord. The form of religion becomes more important than the God they worship.

---

Exegetical Insights from the Hebrew

1. “I will give them a heart to know Me” (v. 7) — v’natattî lāhem lēv lada‘at

The verb natan (“to give”) used with “heart” implies divine initiative. This is not self-reformation; it is regeneration.

2. “Return to Me with their whole heart” — b’kol lēvām

This phrase is covenantal. Total devotion. Exclusive loyalty. It anticipates the Shema (Deut. 6:5) and foreshadows the new heart of Ezekiel 36:26.

3. “Set My eyes on them for good” — v’samtî ‘ênî ‘ălêhem l’tōvah

This construction signals intentional, parental care. It contrasts with God “setting His face against” the wicked (cf. Lev. 20:6).

4. The contrast of ṭov (good) vs. ra‘ (evil) figs

These are not neutral categories; they echo Genesis 2–3: choosing obedience brings life; rejecting God breeds corruption.

---

Scholarly Reflections

• Walter Brueggemann:
  “Jeremiah 24 relocates hope among the displaced. The future is entrusted not to the powerful, but to those humbled enough to receive Yahweh’s new work.”
• Derek Kidner:
  “The first exiles were the firstfruits of a future restoration.”
• Charles Feinberg:
  “The vision of the figs underscores God’s discriminating judgment—He knows His own and preserves a remnant.”
• J.A. Thompson:
  “The exiles were not abandoned. They were the clay God intended to remold for His purposes.”

---

Pastoral Reflection: God Works Through What Looks Like Loss

Jeremiah 24 comforts every believer who has walked through seasons of loss or displacement. God often does His deepest work not in our comfort, but in our exile moments.

The exiles thought they were forgotten. Instead, God says:

• “I see you.”
• “I’m working for your good.”
• “I’m transforming your heart.”
• “You will return to Me fully.”

Sometimes the path that looks like defeat is actually the path of refinement. Many believers have discovered that the times they felt most “carried away” were the very times God planted something new within them.

The “bad figs” warn us not to cling to illusions of safety or to assume God’s blessing simply because life seems stable.
The “good figs” remind us that God is near to the brokenhearted and faithful to rebuild anyone who returns with a whole heart.

---

Conclusion: Exile Is Not the End—It’s the Furnace of Renewal

Jeremiah 24 is a powerful illustration that God’s purposes often unfold through unexpected reversals. He uproots in order to plant. He sends away in order to gather back. He strips away idols in order to give a new heart.

For the believer today, this chapter is a call to trust that God is doing deeper work even in seasons that feel like loss. The God who gave a heart to know Him to the exiles is the same God who forms Christ in us now.

Small Group Discussion Guide — Jeremiah 24

Session Title:

“Good Figs, Bad Figs: How God Restores Us Through the Unexpected”

Big Idea:

God often does His deepest renewal in seasons that outwardly look like loss or exile. Jeremiah 24 calls us to trust His refining work and return to Him with a whole heart.

---

1. Opening Question — Warm Up

• Share a time in your life when something that seemed bad ended up producing unexpected growth or blessing. How did God use that season to draw you closer to Him?

---

2. Read the Passage Aloud

Jeremiah 24:1–10 (WEB translation)
If possible, have two readers—one reading the text, another describing the two baskets of figs for visualization.

---

3. Observation Questions — What Does the Text Say?

1. What symbolic objects does God show Jeremiah and where are they placed?
2. How does Jeremiah describe the two baskets?
3. According to God’s explanation, who are the “good figs” and who are the “bad figs”?
4. What promises does God make to the “good figs” (vv. 5–7)?
5. What judgments are declared over the “bad figs” (vv. 8–10)?

---

4. Interpretation Questions — What Does It Mean?

1. Why would the exiles (those carried off to Babylon) be seen as “good figs”?
   • How does this reverse the expectations of the people?
2. What does it say about God’s character that He says:
   • “I will set my eyes on them for good”
   • “I will build and plant them”
3. What might “give them a heart to know Me” mean in practical spiritual terms?
4. Why do you think those who remained in Jerusalem (who thought they were safer) are compared to rotten figs?
5. How does Jeremiah 24 connect to the larger biblical theme of God refining His people through exile?

---

5. Application Questions — How Does This Speak to Us Today?

1. Have you ever felt like God sent you into a type of “exile”—a season where everything familiar was stripped away? What did God build or plant in you through that?
2. In what ways do we sometimes misinterpret hardship, assuming God is against us when He is actually working for our good?
3. What might it look like to return to God “with your whole heart” (v. 7) this week?
4. Are there areas where you are clinging to “Jerusalem”—a sense of control, comfort, or identity—rather than trusting God’s refining work?
5. How can the group pray for one another in places where God may be “uprooting” or “replanting”?

---

6. Group Prayer Focus

Pray through these themes:

• Thanksgiving that God “sets His eyes on us for good” even in difficult seasons
• Surrender of areas we try to control
• Renewal — ask God to give the group “a heart to know Him”
• Trust in God’s timing, discipline, and restoration
• Hope for those currently walking through a season that feels like exile

Encourage participants to speak out short, honest prayers.

---

7. Optional: Memory Verse for the Week

Jeremiah 24:7 —
“I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Yahweh; and they will be my people, and I will be their God; for they will return to me with their whole heart.”

---

8. Leader Tips

• Keep the conversation grace-filled—many people are currently in “exile seasons.”
• Draw attention to God’s compassion in this chapter, not just the judgment imagery.
• Allow silence. Sometimes deep reflection happens quietly.
• End with encouragement: exile is never God’s last word for His people.