Two Baskets of Figs and Israel’s Restoration (Jeremiah 24)

Scripture reading – Jeremiah 24

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* Please note that words and phrases in brackets are the author’s amplification.

The “pastors” of Judah (the king, his officials, and the religious leaders) had denied the LORD and failed the people (Jeremiah 23:1-2, 9-32). Therefore, God determined to bring judgment on Judah, including Jerusalem’s destruction and the captivity of its people.

Today’s Scripture reading (Jeremiah 24) presents a vision the LORD revealed to Jeremiah in a parable. In the vision, the prophet sees “two baskets of figs were set before the Temple of the LORD” (Jeremiah 24:1a). Chronologically, we can date it to 605 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar and his armies conquered Judah and took Jeconiah, the second-to-last king of Judah (Zedekiah being the last). As prophesied, Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 BC.

Jeremiah 24

Interpretation of the Parable of the Figs (Jeremiah 24:1-10)

The parable of the two baskets of figs represented the people of Judah. One basket contained “very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe” and was fit to eat (Jeremiah 24:2a). The other basket contained “very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad” (Jeremiah 24:2b).

The LORD then asked Jeremiah, “What seest thou?” (Jeremiah 24:3). The prophet observed that the good figs were good and the evil figs were “very evil” and inedible (Jeremiah 24:3b). The LORD interpreted the parable, promising that the “good figs” would survive Jerusalem’s destruction and be carried into captivity in Babylon. Of those survivors, the LORD promised He would restore them to their land as a people and a nation (Jeremiah 24:4-7).

The bad or “evil figs” represented King Zedekiah and the officers of his court (Jeremiah 24:8). Zedekiah was a wicked king and the last king of Judah before Jerusalem’s destruction. The “evil figs” were the Jews who would be scattered among the nations of the earth, where they would “be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse” (Jeremiah 24:9). The heathen would taunt and curse them (Jeremiah 24:9b). Sword, famine, and pestilence would be their lot until no one was left in the land (Jeremiah 24:10).

Closing thought –

The Jewish people have perhaps suffered more than any other people in human history. They have known the highest privilege as God’s chosen people; nevertheless, they broke their covenant with the LORD. When Christ came and fulfilled the Messianic prophecies (Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 53), Israel rejected Him because their hearts were spiritually blind.  

Have any other people been hated more? Yet the LORD has not forgotten His people. When Jesus Christ returns at His Second Coming, all the earth will know that “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” reigns in Israel (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

Are you ready for His coming?

Copyright © 2026 – Travis D. Smith 

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