John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 24:1-2

"Jehovah showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of Jehovah, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, 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." — Jeremiah 24:1-2 (ASV)

The meaning of this vision is that there was no reason for the ungodly to flatter themselves if they continued in their wickedness, even though God bore with them for a time.

King Jeconiah had by then been carried away into exile, together with the leading men and artisans. The condition of the king and the others indeed appeared much worse than that of the people who remained in the country.

For they still retained a hope that the royal dignity would be restored, and that the city would flourish again and enjoy an abundance of every blessing, though it was nearly empty by then. Everything precious had become a prey to the conqueror; and we indeed know how great Nebuchadnezzar's avarice and rapacity were.

The city, then, was at that time almost empty and desolate in comparison with its former splendor. However, those who remained might indeed have hoped for a better state of things, but those who had gone into exile had become like dead bodies.

Therefore, miserable Jeconiah, who was banished and deprived of his kingdom, was apparently undergoing a most grievous punishment, together with his companions who had been led away with him. And the Jews who remained at Jerusalem no doubt flattered themselves, as if God had dealt more kindly with them.

If they had truly repented, they would indeed have given thanks to God for having spared them; but since they had abused His forbearance, it was necessary to set before them what this chapter contains, namely, that they reasoned foolishly when they concluded that God had been more favorable to them than to the others.

But this is shown by a vision: the Prophet saw two baskets of figs; and he saw them full of figs, and they were before the temple of God. The figs in one basket were sweet and delicious, but the figs in the other were so bitter that they could not be eaten.

By the sweet figs, God intended to represent Jeconiah and the other exiles who had left their country; and He compares them to ripe figs, for ripe figs have a sweet taste, while the other figs are rejected because of their bitterness.

Similarly, Jeconiah and the others had, as it were, been consumed; but there were figs still remaining. And he says that the fate of those whom God had punished in due time was better than that of the others who remained, as they were accumulating a heavier judgment through their obstinacy.

For since Nebuchadnezzar had plundered the city and had taken everything valuable from it, those who remained had not stopped adding sins to sins, so that a greater measure of divine vengeance was ready to fall on them.

We now see the purpose of this vision. And he says that God presented the vision to him; and saying this was very necessary, so that his doctrine might carry more weight with the people.

God, indeed, often spoke without a vision; but we have stated elsewhere what the purpose of a vision was: it was a kind of seal to what was delivered.

For so that the Prophet might possess greater authority, they not only spoke but, as it were, sealed their doctrine, as if God had engraved on it, as it were with His finger, a certain mark. But since this subject has been extensively discussed elsewhere, I will pass over it now.

He says, Behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple. The place ought to be noticed. It may be that the Prophet was not allowed to move a step from his own house, and the vision may have been presented to him in the night, during thick darkness.

But the mention of the temple shows that one part of the people had not been taken away without cause, and the other part left in the city, for this had proceeded from God Himself. For God manifested Himself in the temple; and therefore the prophets, when they wished to assail the hearts of the ungodly, often said,

Go forth shall God from His temple (Isaiah 26:21; Micah 1:3).

The temple, then, is to be understood here as the tribunal of God. Therefore, he says that these two baskets were set in the temple, as if he said that the whole people stood at God’s tribunal, and that those who had already been cast into exile had not been carried away by the will of their enemies, but because God intended to punish them.

The time is also mentioned: After Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim had been carried away. For if this had not been added, the vision would have been obscure, and no one today could understand why God had set two baskets before Jeremiah.

A distinction, then, is made here between the exiles and those who lived in their own country. At the same time, they were reduced to great poverty, and the city was deprived of its splendor. There was hardly any magnificence in the Temple, the royal palace was plundered, and the line of David only reigned by permission.

But though the calamity of the city and people was grievous, yet, as has been said, the Jews who remained in the city thought themselves, in a way, happy in comparison with their brothers, who had become, as it were, dead.

For God had expelled the king, and he was treated disdainfully as a captive, and the condition of the others was still worse. This difference, then, between the captives and those who remained in the land is what is represented here.

He now adds that one basket had very good figs, and that the other had very bad figs. If it is asked whether Jeconiah was in himself approved by God, the answer is easy: he was suffering punishment for his sins. Thus, the Prophet speaks here comparatively when he calls some good and others bad.

We must also notice that he speaks here not of persons but of punishment; as though he had said, “You feel a dread when those exiles are mentioned, who have been deprived of the inheritance promised them by God. This seems hard to you, but this is moderate when you consider what end awaits you.”

He then does not call Jeconiah and other captives good in themselves, but he calls them good figs because God had chastened them more gently than He intended to chastise Zedekiah and the others.

Thus he calls the Jews who remained bad figs, not only because they were more wicked (though this was partly the reason), but he was considering the punishment that was near at hand; for God's severity was to be greater towards those whom He had spared and against whom He had not immediately executed His vengeance.

We now perceive the Prophet's meaning. We will defer the rest to the next lecture.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that since You delay with so much forbearance the punishments which we have deserved and daily draw upon ourselves — O grant that we may not indulge ourselves, but carefully consider how often and in how many different ways we have provoked Your wrath against us, so that we may thus learn humbly to present ourselves to You for pardon, and with true repentance so implore Your mercy, that we may from the heart desire wholly to submit ourselves to You, that whether You chastise us, or, according to Your infinite goodness, forgive us, our condition may be ever blessed, not by flattering ourselves in our sluggishness, but by finding You to be our kind and bountiful Father, being reconciled to us in Your only-begotten Son. Amen.