Jeremiah 24:6, 7 - Getting To Know God Through Trials And Tribulations.
Jer.24:6, 7; Getting To Know God Through Trials And Tribulations.
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Jer 24:6, 7 (NIV) My eyes will watch over them for their 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 uproot them. I will
give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my
people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all
their heart.
He gives them what they need in order to know Him. "Know"
indicates intimate, experiential knowledge. [Disciple SB]
"All their heart" refers to their entire lives being dedicated
to God with an absolute commitment. [Believer's SB]
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
Jeremiah's vision of 24:1-10 took place after the captivity of
Jehoiachin in 597 B.C. The "good figs" were Judeans removed from the land,
whereas the "bad figs" were those, like Zedekiah, who remained. [New
Bible Companion]
SECTION HEADINGS
Two Baskets of Figs (24:1-10)
The Good Figs and the Bad Figs (24:1-10)
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
2 Chron. 16:9 (KJV) For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them
whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly:
therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
Job 33:27-28 (KJV) He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have
sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; [28]
He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life
shall see the light.
Psalm 34:15 (KJV) The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,
and his ears are open unto their cry.
1 Peter 3:12 (KJV) For the eyes of the Lord are over the
righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the
Lord is against them that do evil.
Deut. 4:29-31 (KJV) But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord
thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart
and with all thy soul. [30] When thou art in tribulation, and all
these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn
to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; [31]
(For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee,
neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he
sware unto them.
Isaiah 55:6-7 (KJV) Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,
call ye upon him while he is near: [7] Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto
the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he
will abundantly pardon.
Jeremiah 29:12-14 (KJV) Then shall ye call upon me, and ye
shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. [13] And ye
shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your
heart. [14] And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn
away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and
from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I
will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried
away captive.
Jeremiah 31:33-34 (KJV) But this shall be the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord,
I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. [34] And
they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the
least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Jeremiah 32:38-39 (KJV) And they shall be my people, and I will
be their God: [39] And I will give them one heart, and one way,
that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their
children after them:
Ezekiel 11:19-20 (KJV) And I will give them one heart, and I
will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out
of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: [20] That
they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them:
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Ezekiel 36:24-28 (KJV) For I will take you from among the
heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into
your own land. [25] Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye
shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols,
will I cleanse you. [26] A new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out
of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. [27] And I
will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes,
and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. [28] And ye shall dwell
in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people,
and I will be your God.
Ezekiel 37:23 (KJV) Neither shall they defile themselves any
more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any
of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their
dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they
be my people, and I will be their God.
Zech. 13:9 (KJV) And I will bring the third part through the
fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as
gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I
will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
Hebrews 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by
the things which he suffered;
Hebrews 8:10 (KJV) For this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put
my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will
be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
The good figs represented the exiles to Babylon--not because they
themselves were good, but because their hearts would respond to God. He
would preserve them and bring them back to the land. The poor figs
represented those who remained in Judah or ran away to Egypt. Those people
may have arrogantly believed they would be blessed if they remained
in the land or escaped to Egypt, but the opposite was true because
God would use the captivity to refine the exiles. We may assume we
are blessed when life goes well and cursed when it does not. But
trouble is a blessing when it makes us stronger, and prosperity is a
curse if it entices us away from God. If you are facing trouble, ask
God to help you grow stronger for him. If things are going your way,
ask God to help you use your prosperity for him. [Life Application
SB]
"We must pass through many troubles to enter the Kingdom of
God," Acts 14:22b (TEV)
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution. 2 Tim 3:12 (KJV)
Whatever their trials may be, they shall have strength from
Christ to pass through them; and, whatever their losses may be, they
shall be abundantly recompensed. And this confirms the souls of the
disciples; it fortifies their pious resolutions, in the strength of Christ,
to adhere to Christ whatever it may cost them...... It is true we must
count upon much tribulation, but this is encouraging, that we shall
get through it; we shall not be lost and perish in it. It is a Red
Sea, but the Lord has opened a way through it, for the redeemed of
the Lord to pass over. We must go down to trouble, but we shall come
up again..... We shall not only get through it, but get through it
into the kingdom of God; and the joy and glory of the end will make
abundant amends for all the difficulties and hardships we may meet with
in the way. It is true we must go by the cross, but it is as true
that if we keep in the way, and do not turn aside nor turn back, we
shall go to the crown, and the believing prospect of this will make
the tribulation easy and pleasant. (Matthew Henry's Commentary)
God's people have their trials. It was never designed by God,
when he chose his people, that they should be an untried people. They
were chosen in the furnace of affliction; they were never chosen to
worldly peace and earthly joy. Freedom from sickness and the pains of
mortality was never promised them; but when their Lord drew up the charter
of privileges, he included chastisements amongst the things to
which they should inevitably be heirs. Trials are a part of our lot;
they were predestinated for us in Christ's last legacy. So surely as
the stars are fashioned by his hands, and their orbits fixed by him,
so surely are our trials allotted to us: he has ordained their
season and their place, their intensity and the effect they shall have
upon us. Good men must never expect to escape troubles; if they do,
they will be disappointed, for none of their predecessors have been
without them. Mark the patience of Job; remember Abraham, for he had his
trials, and by his faith under them, he became the "Father of the
faithful." Note well the biographies of all the patriarchs, prophets,
apostles, and martyrs, and you shall discover none of those whom God made
vessels of mercy, who were not made to pass through the fire of
affliction. It is ordained of old that the cross of trouble should be
engraved on every vessel of mercy, as the royal mark whereby the King's
vessels of honour are distinguished. But although tribulation is thus
the path of God's children, they have the comfort of knowing that
their Master has traversed it before them; they have his presence and
sympathy to cheer them, his grace to support them, and his example to
teach them how to endure; and when they reach "the kingdom," it will
more than make amends for the "much tribulation" through which they
passed to enter it. [Morning and Evening by Charles H. Spurgeon]
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have
peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I
have overcome the world. John 16:33 (KJV)
Nothing could be more verifiable: In the world you will have
trouble! We have trouble with our health, marriage, children, career,
finances, even in our Christian walk, and the list goes on forever! How
in the world can we have peace? This scripture clearly shows that
peace and troubles can go together! But how, you say? The key is
knowing that God is in complete control of everything and that troubles
in our life very often cause us to seek Him more. "In Me" suggests
that there is a place of refuge, a place of peace, even in the midst
of real life problems. How can we be found "in Him?" If you want
to be in Seattle, and you are not there, you must go there. Take
steps in that direction. The same applies to the peace of being in
Him. If you are searching for peace in the midst of the storm of
life, spend time reading His word; speak often and long to Him; listen
for His still, small voice of comfort. And peace will come! [In
His Time; Walk With Wisdom re Joh.16:33]
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on
thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3
In the full light of day, and in hearing of the music of other
voices, the caged bird will not sing the song that this master seeks to
teach him. He learns a snatch of this, a trill of that, but never a
separate and entire melody. But the master covers the cage, and places
it where the bird will listen to the one song he is to sing. In
the dark, he tries and tries again to sing that song until it is
learned, and he breaks forth in perfect melody. Then the bird is brought
forth, and ever after he can sing that song in the light. Thus God
deals with His children. He has a song to teach us, and when we have
learned it amid the shadows of affliction, we can sing it ever
afterward. MH472
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