# Day 173

# Jeremiah’s Vision of the Figs

Jeremiah 24:1–10

Jehoiakim’s young son, Jehoiachin, was made Judah’s king. But Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king, overran Jerusalem and Judah. He captured the king and other nobles and took them to Babylon.

After this Jeremiah had a vision of the future. He saw two baskets of figs. “What do you see, Jeremiah?” the Lord asked.

“Figs. The good figs are very good. The bad ones are so bad they can’t be eaten.”

The Lord explained this. “The captives taken to Babylon are like the good figs. I’ll care for them and bring them back to this land. They’ll be my people and I’ll be their God. The bad figs are like the people left in the land. These include their king, Zedekiah, his princes, and his people. They will suffer and be killed. Plagues and famine will come to them until they are no more.”

So Jeremiah wrote to the captives in Babylon. “Build houses, plant gardens, and have children. Let them be married in that land when they grow. After seventy years, you’ll return to your own land in peace. God’s thoughts are of peace and kindness toward you.”

Questions: The good figs are like which people? What did God promise to the captives in Babylon?