THE BASKET OF FIGS
Jeremiah chapter 24
AFTER these captives had been taken away the Lord showed to Jeremiah in the temple a Vision of what should come to
pass.
Jeremiah saw two baskets of figs. One basket was full of fresh, ripe figs, the best that could be found. The other basket was full of poor, decayed figs,
not fit to be eaten.
The Lord said, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" And Jeremiah said, "Figs; the good figs very good; and the bad figs very bad, figs so bad that
they cannot be eaten." Then the Lord said to Jeremiah, "Like these good figs are the captives who have been taken away to the land of Babylon. I will care for them, and keep them, and will bring them again to
this land. I will give them a heart to know me; and I will be their God and they shall be my people. And the bad figs are like those who are left in this land, the king who shall reign over them, and his princes,
and his people. They shall suffer, and shall die by the sword, and by famine, and by plague, until they are destroyed."
God showed Jeremiah in this way that the
captives in Babylon were the hope of the nation. And afterward Jeremiah sent a letter to these captives, saying, ''Thus saith the Lord to those who have been carried away captive, ' Build houses and live in
them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; and have sons and daughters, and let your children be married in that land when they grow up. And pray the Lord to give peace to the city and the land where
you are living, for you and your children shall stay there seventy years, and after seventy years they shall come again to their own land in peace. For my thoughts, saith the Lord, are thoughts of peace and
kindness toward you. You shall call upon me, and I will hear you. You shall seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.'"
