The Bible Says
Jeremiah 24:1-3 Meaning

After the forced exile of the king and other leaders of Judah, the prophet Jeremiah recounts, “After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me: behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of the LORD!” (v. 1). This scene unfolds under the historical leadership of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled Babylon from approximately 605 BC to 562 BC. Jeconiah (also called Jehoiachin) reigned as king of Judah for a brief period (c. 598-597 BC) before being taken into captivity. Babylon, an ancient city located along the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), was causing great distress and upheaval for the people of Judah at this time. As Jeremiah observes these two baskets near the temple site, he is confronted with a profound spiritual lesson delivered through a simple yet vivid everyday item: figs.

This vision occurs near the temple of the LORD, a holy place in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. Seeing these baskets there highlights how even in the place of worship, God can use common visuals to communicate His warnings or assurances. The exiles had left behind a weakened Jerusalem, including craftsmen and key officials carried away by Nebuchadnezzar’s forces. Jeremiah, who served as a prophet in the closing years of the kingdom of Judah (late 7th century BC into the early 6th century BC), listens attentively as God sets the stage for revealing His perspective on the fates of His people: a perspective that merges compassion, judgment, and a call for spiritual discernment.

As Jeremiah peers into the baskets in Jeremiah 24:2, he notices a striking difference: “One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, and the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten due to rottenness” (v. 2). The mention of “very good figs” recalls the sweetness of fruit at its peak, implying fruitful blessings. In ancient Israel, first-ripe figs were highly prized and anticipated as signals of a fruitful harvest (Hosea 9:10). These figs symbolize the exiles who would eventually yield their hearts to God, seeking restoration and blessing despite their physical displacement.

On the other hand, the vision also reveals “very bad figs” that had decayed beyond any chance of nourishment. Such rotten fruit stands as a cautionary picture of those who refuse to turn to God, aligning rather with corruption and spiritual stubbornness. Like the warnings that echo throughout Scripture about examining the quality of one’s fruit (Matthew 7:16-20), these figs are unfit for use and destined for rejection. Jeremiah’s portrait of good figs and bad figs foreshadows a divine separation between those who choose submission to God’s covenant and those who harden themselves against His guidance.

Jeremiah then receives a direct question from the LORD, as he recalls, “Then the LORD said to me, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’ And I said, ‘Figs; the good figs are very good, and the bad ones, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness’” (v. 3). By asking Jeremiah what he sees, God invites His prophet to perceive with clarity and to wrestle with the symbolism of these baskets. God is also helping His prophet see how He Himself sees, something every Christian should pray for (Proverbs 15:3, 1 Samuel 16:7). Through frank observation, Jeremiah affirms the obvious distinctions in the figs, also modeling how God’s people should respond truthfully to what the LORD reveals.

In naming both the attractive nature of one basket and the repulsive stench of the other, Jeremiah helps set the stage for understanding the moral and spiritual dividing lines that the exile has brought into sharp relief. These lines do not merely define punishment but also reveal a path to eventual hope and redemption, particularly for those who will turn their hearts back to God. Jesus later teaches about spiritual fruit, urging His followers to abide in Him for a fruitful life (John 15:1-5). Here in Jeremiah, the prophet shows the importance of discerning between what can be restored and what is hopelessly spoiled.

Blessing and judgment so often appear side by side in biblical history, but through Jeremiah’s vision, God reveals that even amid calamity, He sets apart those who remain receptive. The fruitful set of exiles will ultimately witness God’s favor, while the rotten set symbolizes those who cling to paths leading to further ruin. This message offered hope to a nation in turmoil and provided a glimpse of God’s unwavering commitment to sifting and refining His people, no matter their physical location.