II Kings 24:5-9; Jeremiah 22:18-30; 13:15-27; II Kings 24:10-17; II Chronicles 36:5-10; Jeremiah 24:1-10
It’s 597 B.C. Jeremiah has been prophesying in Jerusalem for years, pleading for the people of Judah to repent in order to avoid destruction. Jehoiakim, that arrogant king that burned Jeremiah’s scroll, lies dead, unmourned. His son, Coniah/Jeconiah/Jehoiachin takes the throne but does not change course. Contrary to all the assurances of peace from the false prophets, Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. The upper-crust of society — King Jehoiachin, his mother, thousands of great men, nobles, craftsmen, anyone of capability — are deported to Babylon, along with all the precious things from the Temple and the palace. The disaster Jeremiah has been predicting is here. (Spoiler alert: The disaster has only just begun!)
Given the LORD’s pronouncement against Coniah/Jeconiah/Jehoiachin in Jeremiah 22:28-30 as he goes off to captivity, that he would be considered childless with no offspring on the throne of Judah, one might expect a similar assessment for all those going into exile. That is, our intuition views those being hauled off into captivity as the ones under condemnation, and those staying home in Jerusalem as better. In other words, “bad guys” are sent into exile, but “good guys” stay safe at home. Wrong. In an ironic twist, the LORD turns our intuition on its head when He gives Jeremiah a vision of two baskets of figs, one with good figs and one with bad, inedible figs:
Then the word of the LORD came to me: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. I will give them a heart to know 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.
Jeremiah 24:4-7
The LORD repeatedly promises to preserve a remnant of His people for Himself. But who would ever guess that captivity in Babylon would be the path of that preservation?!
Perhaps we should meditate on that when a) life does not seem to make sense or b) we think we have everything figured out.