Jeremiah 24 & 25 - Figs and a Cup

LINK: Jeremiah 24-25

BACKGROUND  

Jeremiah 24 - The Vision of the Two Baskets of Figs

The background for the exile of King Jehoiachin and the skilled artisans and craftsman is told in 2 Kings 24-25 & 2 Chron. 36 - Babylonian Conquest and Exile. Jeremiah foretold the event of the exile of King Jehoiachin in Jeremiah 22:24-28. This prophecy can be dated to the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah in 597 B.C. 

The good figs represented those who were exiled to Babylon. They would ripen early (Isaiah 28:4; Hosea 9:10; Micah 7:1) and be given a new heart that would respond to God and return to Him wholeheartedly. They would be refined by their exile and preserved to return to the land.

The bad figs represented King Zedekiah and the people who stayed in Israel or fled to Egypt (43:4-7). They would be abandoned by God and sent to His instruments of judgment until they were destroyed. 

Jeremiah 25 - The Cup of the Win of God's Wrath. 

There were 13 messages of judgment from Jeremiah 2-25, and this is the last. It puts an exclamation point on all the other messages. It was given before the message in Jeremiah 24. Apparently, Jeremiah's messages are arranged topically rather than chronologically. 

The message is dated 605 B.C. The Lord had been provoked to anger because they had not listened and obeyed His words. Nebuchadnezzar would be God's servant (or "chosen instrument") in the Lord's judgment.  They would be taken into captivity in Babylon for 70 years. Then Babylon would be punished for their sin. 

Jeremiah 25:15-29 speaks of "the cup of the wine of God's wrath." He begins his list with Jerusalem and Judah (Ezekiel 9:6; 1 Peter 4:17), but his main focus is the Gentile nations (Lamentations 4:21; Ezekiel 23:31-33; Revelation 16:19; 18:6). He uses different metaphors related to His judgment: roaring lion, winepress, lawsuit, storm, refuse, broken pottery, and a slaughtered flock. God wanted these nations to submit to Him. If they did not drink the cup of submission, they would drink the cup of judgment. 

I will go into more detail about the historical judgments of some of these nations when we get to Jeremiah 49, but this map gives you an idea of where the nations mentioned were located:

From the Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1124

A note on literary style: 

Jeremiah 1-25 is a mixture of poetical and prose discourse with some narrative thrown in.  

Jeremiah 26-29 is a mixture of prose discourse and narrative. 

REFLECTION/APPLICATION 

The people who remained in Israel thought they were blessed, but Jeremiah's prophecy proves otherwise. The exiles would be blessed because they would be refined by their adversity:

We may assume we are blessed when life goes well and cursed when it does not. But trouble is a blessing when it makes us stronger, and prosperity is a curse if it entices us away from God. If you are facing trouble, ask God to help you grow stronger for him. If things are going your way, ask God to help you use your prosperity for him. (The Life Application Bible, p. 1332)

PRAYER

Lord, it is our desire to drink the cup of submission rather than wrath. Teach us to learn the lesson You desire for us through our adversities. Help us to ask, "What are you trying to teach me?" rather than "Why are you doing this to me?" in all our adversity. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.