Chapter 23
Jeremiah speaks against kings (23:1-8)
Jeremiah’s denunciation of evil rulers serves also as a forecast of the destruction of Judah. Her kings have led the nation down the road to ruin. But in the prophet’s words concerning the end of the nation, there is a definite note of hope. He looks beyond judgment and discerns that God’s redemptive purpose in judgment will be accomplished.
Jeremiah speaks against false prophets (23:9-40)
You have seen that Jeremiah suffered many trials in his prophetic ministry. Doubtless one of the greatest was the problem of combating the evil influence of prophets and priests of his day and the pain he suffered as he saw the result of their leadership in the life of his people. He has little to say concerning priests; he has very much to say against the false prophets especially agains their lascivious conduct (vv. 9-15) and their lying communications (vv. 16-32).
Chapter 24
This chapter is about two groups of people from Judah. One group consisted of those who had been exiled. Those in exile were from the upper classes of Judah’s society, and God had punished them with captivity.
The other group consisted of those remaining in Palestine. Those left were primarily from the lower classes, and God had blessed them as they had survived the judgment and escaped exile.
A vision of two baskets of figs (24:1-3)
Jeremiah sees two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. The position of the two baskets before the temple is important. It strongly suggests that the central meaning of the vision is religious about relationship rather than regional or moral, in the sense that one group is more or less sinful than another. (Chapter 29 should be read in conjunction with this chapter.)
The vision interpreted (24:4-10)
The good figs represent the exiles in Babylon (vv. 4-7). The bad figs symbolize the remnant remaining in the land of Judah and the Jews living in Egypt (vv. 8-10). The distinction is not a moral one, as though the exiles were less sinful than those who remained in Judah. Nor is it a matter of cultural preference based on the fact that it was the elite of the land who were exiled and the lower classes who remained.
The difference in the two groups is found in the response each was making to God. The response of the group in Babylon is indicated by the words they shall return unto me with their whole heart (v. 7c). Through the discipline of suffering and hardship the exiles would learn God is not bound to institutions and forms. He can be found wherever men search for him with all their heart (See 29:13).
On the other hand those left in Jerusalem, despite their possession of the book of the law, the presence of the temple, and the preaching of faithful prophets, had little time for anything but their own carnal pleasures. Basking in the idolatry of the temple and the supposed inviolability of the city, they substituted the rituals of religion for a direct relationship with God. These are the bad figs.
Chapter 25
A summary warning to Judah and the nations (25:1-38)
A warning to Judah comes during the fourth year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian monarch. The battle of Carchemish was also fought that same year. It was an engagement which was a pivotal experience in Jeremiah’s ministry and a turning point in the history of the entire Near Eastern World. It also meant that Jeremiah’s predictions of the coming foe from the north were moving toward fulfillment. A new note of urgency entered the prophet’s preaching. God’s judgment was moving ever closer. It was repentance now or never, not only for his own people but for other nations as well.
Judgment on Judah (25:1-14)
By now, Jeremiah has been prophesing for 23 years. In verses 3-7, Jeremiah gives a summary of his messages over all those years. During these years he had persistently urged his people to turn from their evil way and wrong doings that they might dwell upon the land given to their fathers. But the covenant people just as persistently had refused to listen and had lusted after other gods. Since Judah has ignored God’s warning, judgment will be her lot at the hand of his servant Nebuchadnezzar.
Judgment on the nations (25:15-38)
Jeremiah looks beyond Judah’s punishment and sees the time when all nations will be brought before the judgment bar of God. He is commanded to take the cup of the wine of wrath, and make all nations . . . drink it (v. 15), beginning at Jerusalem and concluding with Babylon.
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