Jeremiah 24:1-9 NKJV
The Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”4 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans.
6 For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up.
7 Then I will give them a 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 to Me with their whole heart.
8 ‘And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them.
Psalm 44:1-7 NIV
1 “We have heard it with our ears, O God; our ancestors have told us what You did in their days, in days long ago.
2 With Your hand You drove out the nations and planted our ancestors; You crushed the peoples and made our ancestors flourish.
3 It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You loved them.
4 You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob.
5 Through You we push back our enemies; through Your name we trample our foes.
6 I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but You give us victory over our enemies, You put our adversaries to shame.”
Romans 8:28 NASB
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose..”
Job 9:19 NIV
If it be a question of strength He is mighty!
Psalm 32:8-9 NIV
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Verse 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.
Isaiah 59:2 NIV
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.”
John 1:11-12 NIV
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
Ephesians 1:5 NLT
God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Discussion Questions
- What’s the difference between being sent out vs. driven out by God?
2. Which one would you prefer?
3. According to Psalm 44 how are we supposed to defeat our enemies?
4. How do you normally try to defeat your foes?
5. Who does God discipline?
6. Is there a difference between judgement and discipline?
7. What was God’s clear intention for the good figs found in Jeremiah 24?
8. What are four things you’ll never see?
9. Sometimes when God wants to bless us, He has to do something else first, what is it?
10. What do you think s the main reason God so patient?