Rev. Tim Storck, pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Chesterfield, MI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 24:1-10.
About 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar took into exile King Jehoiachin, his mother, the craftsmen, the officials, and other leading citizens of Jerusalem. At that time, the LORD showed Jeremiah a vision of two baskets of figs. The first was full of the best figs imaginable; the second was full of figs that were so rotten they were good for absolutely nothing. The LORD told Jeremiah that He would regard the exiles from Judah as that first basket of figs. By His grace, He would restore the exiles and give them a heart to trust in Him according to His new covenant. Those remaining in Jerusalem would be like the second basket of figs. Their hearts would only grow harder toward the LORD, and so they would be utterly destroyed. Though the people must have been surprised by Jeremiah’s preaching, this vision is a reminder of the pattern by which the LORD so often works. He brings His people through death and into life.
“A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of their faithless idolatry and warns them of the destruction that is coming in the Babylonian exile. Yet Jeremiah does not leave us without hope in the midst of such dark days. Jeremiah and all who believe the Word of God he preached survive because of hope that is found in the righteous Branch from the line of David, Jesus Christ.
