Jeremiah 24

Hey, hey. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to coffee and devotions. This morning, we're going to be talking about figs and kings and exiles and all sorts of fun stuff. Let's have some coffee. We'll pray and we'll find out what Jeremiah's got from the Lord this morning. Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for the blessing it is to get to read your word. We thank you for giving us it in a language we can understand. We thank you for those who have translated your word and we thank you for preserving your word, Lord. You have kept it so pure and and intact for centuries and it's a blessing, Lord. And Father, we pray now that your spirit would please help us to understand it. Please work in our hearts that we might know what we're to believe and think and live in Jesus's name. Amen. Here we go. Jeremiah chapter 24. It's a short chapter. The Lord showed me, "And there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord after Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried away captive Jeconiah, the son of Jehoakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe. And the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten. They were so bad. Then the Lord said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs? The good figs? Very good. And the bad very bad, which cannot be eaten. They are so bad." Again, the word of Yhovah came to me, saying, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, like these good figs, so I will acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have set sent out of this place for their own good into the land of the Chaldans. For I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them and not pull them down. And I will plant them and not pluck them up. Then I will give them a heart to know me that I am Yhovah. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad. Surely, thus says the Lord, so will I give up Zedekiah, the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem, who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them till they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers. Well, we need to ask ourselves, A, what's this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do? So, the first part, Jeremiah has a vision, right? We're to given a time clue here. This is after Nebuchadnezzar has already taken into exile one of the kings, Jeaniah. And as there's he's got this vision in the temple, he sees two different types of figs. You got one basket that's figs that are beautiful and good and another that are bad. They're very bad. Can't even eat. Right? And so, and God says, "Here's what those are. There are two different types of groups of people, right? So, the first group are those who are taken into exile. And it's going to be good. I'm going to plant them and not pluck them. I'm going to build them up and not tear them down. I'm I've took them into exile for their good. We can think of somebody like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Nabendo, right? We can think about those who went into exile and God's going to do amazing things for them. And even some of them he's going to bring back, right? And why is he doing this? He's doing it so that they know they their hearts are turned towards the Lord. But there's others that in their rebellion and in their hatred of God and in their abject adultery against him and sin, they're taken into captivity for punishment. And so he says these two exist at the same time. The God is doing one thing, the capturing of Jerusalem, and he's doing multiple things with it. Right? This is a this is the amazing providence of God. Right? Sometimes we shrink God's providence when we're trying to figure out like why is God doing this and why is God doing that and we want to narrow it down to like one thing and no God God knows the beginnings from the ends. He knows why he's doing everything and for a number of different reasons. You might call it a butterfly effect, right? He knows all the ripples that are going to happen and all the different directions and how they cross over each other. And so the Lord knows how that's going to happen. And so what's this about? Right? This is about this vision of the figs but God treating two different categories or groups of people in different ways. So what's the best verse to summarize this section? Uh well that's a little bit difficult because it's in two different sections. Uh but I think the the best verse for me to summarize a section is actually verse seven. Then I will give them a heart to know me that I am the Lord and they shall be my people and I will be their God for they shall return to me with their whole heart. And I think that's what I would like to lean into for our calling today. What are you called to do? Is your heart being turned to the Lord? Even sometimes in the difficulties of your life, even sometimes in the hard things that are going on that you're wrestling with and and their hard providences. Maybe there's been a death. Maybe there's businessesn't going as well. Maybe there's family members who seem to be pulling you away in different areas. Maybe maybe money is just tight or things are just breaking down. Is the Lord doing things in your life to draw you to turn your heart towards himself? Right? God was even allowing these things to happen in Jerusalem and he was going to do it for their good. Sometimes the Lord brings us through hard times so we know who he is and love him that much more. And if we're his children, then we know that that's what he's doing for us. So take hope. Take hope if you're one of his children. Have your heart turned unto him. Rejoice in him always and walk in his ways. Let's pray. God, we thank you so much. Lord, we thank you that we know it's a trite thing to say, but we're able to to believe it. that we know that all things work together for the good of those who love you, who have been called according to your purposes. So Lord, we pray that you would indeed sanctify us, that you would turn our hearts more and more to you, that we would love you and follow you. Help us, God, Father, we need your spirit. And we do pray for our family members who seem to have been straying away from you, drifting. Lord, we pray that you would bring them back. We pray that in your providence, you would not tear them down, but you would show your covenant love to them and that they would walk in your ways and love you. Lord, please let us have hope in Jesus's name. Amen. Well, may you have peace and comfort in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that your father in heaven knows the beginnings from the ends, and he is able to accomplish all of his good purposes in your life for his glory. I'll see you next time. Bye.