Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 24:4
Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
4 10. See introd. summary to section.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The complete fulfillment of this prophecy belongs to the Christian Church. There is a close analogy between Jeremiah at the first destruction of Jerusalem and our Lord at the second. There the good figs were those converts picked out by the preaching of Christ and the Apostles; the bad figs were the mass of the people left for Titus and the Romans to destroy.
Jer 24:5
Acknowledge … for their good – Specially their spiritual good. Put a comma after Chaldaeans.
Jer 24:8
That dwell in the land of Egypt – Neither those carried captive with Jehoahaz into Egypt, nor those who fled there, are to share in these blessings. The new life of the Jewish nation is to be the work only of the exiles in Babylon.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. As follows; where an explanation is given of the above vision, to which this is a transition.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The interpretation of the symbol. Jer 24:5. Like the good figs, the Lord will look on the captives in Chaldea for good (“for good” belongs to the verb “look on them”). The point of resemblance is: as one looks with pleasure on good figs, takes them and keeps them, so will I bestow my favour on Judah’s captives. Looking on them for good is explained, Jer 24:6: the Lord will set His eye on them, bring them back into their land and build them up again. With “build them,” etc., cf. Jer 1:10. The building and planting of the captives is not to consist solely in the restoration of their former civil well-being, but will be a spiritual regeneration of the people. God will give them a heart to know Him as their God, so that they may be in truth His people, and He their God. “For they will return,” not: when they return (Ew., Hitz.). The turning to the Lord cannot be regarded as the condition of their receiving favour, because God will give them a heart to know Him; it is the working of the knowledge of the Lord put in their hearts. And this is adduced to certify the idea that they will then be really the Lord’s people.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Vs. 4-7: THE FIRST EXILES WERE THE GOOD FIGS
1. Like the good figs, God can regard those first captives departed from Judah with approval; He has sent them to the land of the Chaldeans FOR THEIR OWN GOOD, (vs. 5; comp. Nah 1:7; Zec 13:9).
2. He has a gracious, far-reaching plan for their future, (vs. 6). a. His eyes will rest upon them for good, and He will bring them back to their own land; – establishing and prospering them there -planting them and not pulling them up, (vs. 6b; Jer 1:10; Jer 12:15; Jer 29:10; Jer 31:28; Jer 32:41; Jer 33:7).
b. Through the furnace of affliction He will refine for Himself a pure people!
3. He will give them a heart to know, honor and serve Him, (vs. 7; Jer 31:33; Jer 32:39-40; Deu 4:29; Deu 30:6; Eze 11:19; Eze 36:26-27).
a. Shocked into repentance, they will acknowledge Jehovah as their Lord – committing themselves, in single-minded worship, to His holy name, and abandoning every false god, (comp. 1Sa 7:3).
b. They will be His people, and He will acknowledge Himself as their God, (Zec 8:8; Jer 29:12-14).
c. This prophecy awaits the Second Coming of Christ for its ultimate fulfillment; this is more than a promise of national restoration; it involves such spiritual regeneration as will result in their loyal commitment to Jehovah and to His covenant.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
2. The meaning of the good figs (Jer. 24:4-7)
TRANSLATION
(4) Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: As these good figs, thus will I regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I sent out from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. (6) And I will set My eye on them for good, and I will cause them to return unto this land; and I will build them up and not tear them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. (7) And I will give to them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD. They shall be My people and I will be their God, for they shall return unto Me with all their heart.
COMMENTS
The good figs represent those who had been taken captive in 597 B.C. God is smiling upon those who have been carried away to Babylon. One might think just the opposite, that those who were allowed to remain in the homeland were Gods favorites while those who were taken away were in His disfavor. But God saw in those captives who were in Babylon the nucleus of the New Israel. Perhaps the trip to far off Babylon had brought a change in the attitude of those Jews (cf. Jer. 24:7). While those who remained behind were still belligerent and rebellious the exiles were beginning to show signs of repentance. At any rate God regarded with more favor those who had been deported than those who had been left behind. Though far from home and loved ones, from the Holy Land and the Temple, yet they were not beyond the tender and loving watchcare of their God, As long as they were in captivity Gods eye would be upon them. In His own good time He will bring them back to Canaan and will bless their efforts to rebuild their land (Jer. 24:6). This restoration will be possible because they shall get acquainted with God all over again. When they return to God with all their heart they shall be reinstated as the people of God and the Lord will give them a heart and mind to truly know Him (Jer. 24:7). Repentance precedes restoration. Only those who come to the Lord through faith, repentance and obedience are part of the people of God. The idea that the nation Israel, the biological descendants of Abraham, are still the people of God is an idea foreign to the prophets of the old Testament and the teachings of the New Testament as well. Salvation is by grace, not race. The fulfillment of the promises of restoration made here concerning the captives is recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(4) Again the word of the Lord came unto me.The words seem to imply an interval, during which the prophet was left to ponder over the symbols that he had thus seen. At last the word of the Lord came and made their meaning clear.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE INTERPRETATION OF THE SYMBOL, Jer 24:4-10.
4, 5. Like good figs These figs represent those Judahites who have been carried away into captivity. They are “good” not absolutely, but comparatively.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Here the Lord himself becomes the Preacher to the Prophet, and explains. The bad figs, represented Zedekiah and his court, still in the land, but against whom, the Lord would in his own appointed time bring the army from Babylon. And the good figs, referred to the Lord’s faithful ones, now in captivity. Reader! it is blessed to mark the final issue of all things. Tell ye the righteous it shall be well with him. Say ye to the wicked it shall be ill with him. Isa 3:10-11 . But while this is and must be the comfort and consolation of the redeemed; they cannot but feel concern at general calamities, and take part with the sorrows of desolation. That is a sweet promise of the Lord, on this account, Zep 3:18 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 24:4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Ver. 4. Again the word of the Lord. ] Transitio ad Anagogen: the interpretation followeth, whereby will appear the different judgment made of persons and things by God and men.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 24:4-7
4Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. 6For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.
Jer 24:5 The good figs are, surprisingly, the Judeans taken into exile. One would have thought the ones left in Palestine were the favored ones, but not so. YHWH will work with the exiles (to whom Ezekiel ministered in Babylon).
Chaldeans See Special Topic: Chaldeans .
Jer 24:6-7 List the promises YHWH makes to the Judeans in exile.
1. He will regard them as good
2. He will set His eyes on them for good
3. He will bring them back to Judah
4. He will build them up and not overthrow them
5. He will plant them and pluck them up
6. He will give them a heart to know Him
Jer 24:7 has several covenant terms. It speaks of a new day of faithfulness and devotion (cf. Eze 36:22-38; Jer 31:31-34). YHWH will give them a new heart and a new mind.
The phrases build them up (BDB 124, KB 139); not overthrow them (BDB 248, KB 256); plant them (BDB 642, KB 694); and not pluck them up (BDB 684, KB 737) are also used in Jeremiah’s call in Jer 1:10. Here these VERBS are preceded by a vision, but there they are preceded by two visions (an almond rod and a boiling pot).
Jer 24:7 they will return to Me This VERB (BDB 996, KB 1427) is used to express true repentance. See Special Topic: Repentance in the Old Testament . This involves the mystery of foreknowledge, human free will and predestination (see Special Topic: Predestination [Calvinism] vs Human Free Will [Arminianism] and Special Topic: Election/Predestination and the Need for A Theological Balance ).
with a whole heart This is a Hebrew idiom of complete devotion (cf. Jer 3:10; 1Sa 7:3; 1Ch 22:19; 2Ch 22:9; Joe 2:12-14). It was used of David’s devotion to YHWH but not Solomon who, in his old age, became involved in idolatry (cf. 1 Kings 11).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Jer 24:4-7
Jer 24:4-7
THE PARABLE EXPLAINED
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans, for good. For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
The captivity in Babylon, in some ways, was like the long sojourn of the children of Jacob in Egypt which also ended in the captivity of the nation. In the days of Judah, the son of Jacob, there was grave danger of the Israelites becoming amalgamated with the citizens of Canaan; but God transferred them to Egypt where the whole nation was despised and where any amalgamation with Egypt was virtually impossible. Their sojourn in Egypt kept them segregated and enabled them to develop into a powerful people. So here, the captivity in Babylon would finally eradicate idolatry from the preference of the Hebrew people. This and many other things were meant by the Lord’s word that he was sending Israel into Babylon “for good.”
“Green spoke of the exiles thus: They were the hope of true religion in the future; they had endured the shock of deportation; they had been stripped of their false securities; they were undergoing the discipline of Divine love. Some of them would respond to their suffering in a right spirit and return to God with their whole heart.”
It is sad indeed that the subsequent history of the returnees did not exhibit such desirable results in all of the people. Ash’s comment on this is accurate.
“Post-exilic sources from Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi show that the real situation was something less than the expectation mentioned here.”
Despite this truth, however, there were indeed those who waited for the kingdom of God; and, in the fullness of time, Mary would wrap her babe in swaddling clothes; and the Redeemer of Mankind would be cradled in a manger in Bethlehem! From people like Mary and Joseph, and Zacharias and Elizabeth, and Simeon, and Anna, and Nathaniel, and Zacchaeus, the holy Apostles, and that handful of 120 people in the upper room on Pentecost, from people like that and a few others, the New Israel of God was formed; and the kingdom of heaven on earth was launched when the Word of the Lord went forth from Jerusalem on Pentecost! Without the hard discipline of the Baylonian captivity, not even this humble beginning could ever have been achieved.
2. The meaning of the good figs (Jer 24:4-7)
The good figs represent those who had been taken captive in 597 B.C. God is smiling upon those who have been carried away to Babylon. One might think just the opposite, that those who were allowed to remain in the homeland were Gods favorites while those who were taken away were in His disfavor. But God saw in those captives who were in Babylon the nucleus of the New Israel. Perhaps the trip to far off Babylon had brought a change in the attitude of those Jews (cf. Jer 24:7). While those who remained behind were still belligerent and rebellious the exiles were beginning to show signs of repentance. At any rate God regarded with more favor those who had been deported than those who had been left behind. Though far from home and loved ones, from the Holy Land and the Temple, yet they were not beyond the tender and loving watchcare of their God, As long as they were in captivity Gods eye would be upon them. In His own good time He will bring them back to Canaan and will bless their efforts to rebuild their land (Jer 24:6). This restoration will be possible because they shall get acquainted with God all over again. When they return to God with all their heart they shall be reinstated as the people of God and the Lord will give them a heart and mind to truly know Him (Jer 24:7). Repentance precedes restoration. Only those who come to the Lord through faith, repentance and obedience are part of the people of God. The idea that the nation Israel, the biological descendants of Abraham, are still the people of God is an idea foreign to the prophets of the old Testament and the teachings of the New Testament as well. Salvation is by grace, not race. The fulfillment of the promises of restoration made here concerning the captives is recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Jer 24:4. Having fixed the scene vividly on the mind of the prophet, the Lord is going to tell him its meaning.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The Lord explained that He would regard the people that had gone into exile with Jehoiachin as good, like the good figs.