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The Bible Breakdown

Jeremiah 24: Be a Good Fig

February 20, 2025 • Brandon Cannon • Episode 676

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Speaker 1: 0:24

Well, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, jeremiah, chapter 24, and today's title is Be a Good Fig. Be a Good Fig. We'll get all that in just a moment, but if you like what we're doing here, while you're opening up your Bible to Jeremiah 24, make sure you also take a moment like, share and subscribe to YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast and, as always, make sure you're going to the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook. They're doing an amazing job over there and the more we dig, the more we find.

Speaker 1: 0:57

I am excited about God's Word as we continue to move through Jeremiah, because the overall theme of Jeremiah is that God gives us a future and a hope, he gives us light and darkness. And it's sad in one way, because there's a difference Like we just got through reading not long ago the book of Isaiah, as opposed to now in Jeremiah. In Isaiah, the overall idea was bad things will come if we don't repent, and so there's this idea of possibly not experiencing the judgment of God. Well, jeremiah, it's the idea of, hey, the train's coming, judgment is on its way, but here is how we can prepare for it and this is how we can be ready to walk through that difficulty. And so on the surface you're like, wow, great news, you know. But on the other side of it there's it's awesome there, because what I love about this is God's word is telling us. God is saying judgment is coming, but I'm not going anywhere. Like, like I'm, I am the dispenser of justice, but I'm also not going to leave you at the same time and that's that's awesome, that God's going to do that and we can see how, even in this, he is going to say that even while you are going to be displaced from your homeland, you're going to be exiles, I'm still going to be with you, and I think there's something powerful about that. So let's read this and, as always, god's word, especially in the prophets. He uses these different analogies and metaphors to help us get our minds around these complex spiritual things, and he's going to use good figs and bad figs. I don't know what experience you have with figs. I'll be honest with you. You can have either of them. I don't really love figs, but I don't know If it helps you. Think about good apples and bad apples. You ready? Here we go.

Speaker 1: 2:44

Jeremiah 24, verse 1, says this After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon exiled Jehoiakim, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon, along with the officials of Judah and all the craftsmen and artisans. The Lord gave me this vision. I saw two baskets of figs placed in front of the Lord's temple in Jerusalem. One basket was filled with fresh, ripe figs and the other was filled with bad figs that were too rotten to eat. Then the Lord said to me what do you see, jeremiah? I replied figs. I see figs. Some are very good and some are very bad, too rotten to eat. Then the Lord gave me this message.

Speaker 1: 3:28

This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says the good figs represent the exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians. I will watch over and care for them. I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. Wow, what a promise of Judah and his officials and all the people left in Jerusalem and those who live in Egypt. I will treat them like bad figs, too rotten to eat. I will make them an object of horror and a symbol of evil to every nation on earth. They will be disgraced and mocked, taunted and cursed. Wherever I scatter them, I will send war, famine and disease until they have vanished from the land of Israel which I gave them and their ancestors.

Speaker 1: 4:35

Wow, so there's this idea here of God saying bad times are coming. Bad times are coming and we can get into. Remember we said before, you know that these are things that they have earned. You know there's there's justice happening here, but at the same time, it's okay. How are you going to posture yourselves when the bad times come? And there's this idea that if you posture yourself to where, okay, bad times are here. So I'm either going to isolate myself, I'm going to walk away from God, I'm going to do my own thing and suffer, or I'm going to make sure that if I'm going to go through a bad time, I'm taking God with me. No-transcript.

Speaker 1: 5:21

I kind of had this thought that came to me today that maybe there were going to be people who were going to read this today who you have a difficult season ahead, and I have no idea why. You know that in advance, I could guess. But whatever it is, you realize that you are about to walk into a hard season and here's the thing it can be a good season and still be hard, just like it can be a bad season and be hard. Either way. You know you can see the difficult time coming and you wonder God, how are you possibly going to be with me?

Speaker 1: 5:56

Well, I want to give you this word from God, where God's word is telling him you are going to be exiled, some of you have already been exiled. You are going to be exiled, some of you have already been exiled, but in your exile, he says in verse 6, I will watch over and care for you. I will bring you back again. I will build you up, not tear you down. I will plant you, not uproot you. I will give you a heart that recognizes me and you will be my people and I will be your God, for you are going to return to me wholeheartedly. That's what a good fig, that is what a good attitude does.

Speaker 1: 6:37

When they go through hard times, they say you know what, if I'm going to go through this hard time, I am not going to go through it alone. Instead, I'm bringing God with me. And when you do that, it's amazing what God does in you during the time. It reminds me of I love when I'll go to a family event and there's somebody who we haven't seen in a while and they come back again and maybe they've went off to college or they got married and moved away or whatever, right?

Speaker 1: 7:07

Well, when they come back again, they don't just look different, but they are different on the inside. You can tell by how they respond and all this and if and a lot of times it's there's a little more mature. They've, they've, they've got a little more miles under their belt. You know, and you look at them and you go man, you're different and I mean that in a good way, you can tell you've grown up a little bit more, right? Well, I think that's a lot of what God wants to do in our lives when we go through difficult seasons. He doesn't want us to come out broken, he wants us to come out more mature, and it's all about the attitude you take when you go into that season. And that is, I'm going to be a good fig, I'm going to take God with me.

Speaker 1: 7:47

And so I want to read this one more time, and my hope is is that if you're someone listening to this today and you see a difficult season coming, whatever that is that this will encourage you to say this is going to be my mantra. This is what I am going to pray every day. Maybe you need to memorize Jeremiah 24, verse 6 through 7. Maybe it's not you. Maybe you know someone who is right at the beginning of a difficult season. They know it is. Maybe you need to send them this verse today. I'm going to read it one more time and I just pray this over you today Jeremiah 24, verse 6.

Speaker 1: 8:20

God says I will watch over and care for them. I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them hearts that recognize me as Lord. They will be my people. I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly. Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much that you lead us in all things.

Speaker 1: 8:47

God, sometimes we don't know when difficult seasons are coming. They just show up. And others, god, we can see them. We can see them as we get ready to sign divorce papers, we get ready to go back into an education situation, or we are taking on a new job and we understand the difficulties of learning, or maybe we know that our job is coming to an end. There's so many things Walking into a new season, leaving an old season. I pray that, no matter how we find ourselves in this moment, we will determine we will not do this alone, but rather we will take you with us and realize, god, that when you are with us, all things are possible. We turn our hearts wholly over to you today. In Jesus name, we pray amen. You know what God's word says in Jeremiah 29, verse 13 if you look for me, wholeheartedly, say it with me, you will find me. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Jeremiah, chapter 25.

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Brandon Cannon

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