Tyndale Open Study NotesJeremiah 24

This section discusses the meaning of the exile in 597 BC. Some people said it was God's way of removing the bad figs from the basket(Jerusalem) so the good figs could survive. Jeremiah argued the opposite. The good figs were taken out of the basket (into exile) so the bad figs would not destroy them.

• In 597 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon captured Jehoiachin and took him to Babylon. Jehoiachin's surrender saved Jerusalem, but its treasures and 10,000 of its important citizens went into exile (2 Kings 24:8–16).

• Usually, people displayed baskets of figs in a market, not in the Temple area.

The people exiled from Jerusalem had a better future than those who stayed. The Lord would create a new community with the exiles (see Jeremiah 1:10).

• The Lord would do a wonderful work in the hearts of the exiles, helping them to recognize (literally know) the Lord as a personal God (1 Chronicles 28:9; Psalms 9:10; 36:10; Isaiah 19:21; 52:6; Daniel 11:32; Hosea 2:20; Titus 1:16; 1 John 4:6–8).

• They will be My people, and I will be their God: God’s covenant with Israel would become a personal reality for them (Exodus 6:7; 19:5; Deuteronomy 29:13; Revelation 21:7).

• all their heart: The exiles would not mix religious loyalties; they would be fully committed to the one true God.

The bad figs were those left in Jerusalem, and the Lord would scatter them because they were rotten. This group included everyone from the rest of the royal family to the common people. In 586 BC, Zedekiah's reign ended just as predicted here.