Captivity and a Cup

1. The Lesson of the Figs (24:1-10).

A. The vision of the figs (1-3).

The date of this event is during the reign of Zedekiah. Jehoiachin had already been deported to Babylon. The second of three deportations had already occurred. It’s recorded in 2 Kings 24:15-16. Many people had been left behind in Jerusalem. Jeremiah is shown a vision of two baskets of figs that are brought before the Temple. One basket had good figs, the other had figs that were rotten. The Lord asked Jeremiah what he saw and Jeremiah had nothing spiritual to say. He saw two baskets of figs. One was bad the other good.

B. The meaning of the good figs is explained (4-7).

The exiles who had been taken to Babylon were the good figs. God promises them some things:

He will bring them back to Jerusalem

He will build them up

He will establish them

Change their heart

This is surprising. The people who were left in Jerusalem would probably think they were the blessed ones. In fact they may have thought their righteousness is the reason the Lord spared them. Yet the Lord makes it clear that the people who had been taken into Babylon could expect a future. This implies the Lord would keep them alive in the foreign country.

C. The meaning of the bad figs (8-10).

Zedekiah and the rest of the people who were in the land would be treated like rotten figs. They would be cast away. Even those who had escaped to Egypt could not escape God. They will be treated in such a way that other nations will consider them a reproach. Sword, famine and pestilence would come upon the remaining inhabitants of the city.

This message was revealing. It was assumed that the people who should be pitied were the ones in Babylon. It probably never entered the minds of the people that it was a bad thing not to be deported. Those deported were now safe from invading armies. They resided in Babylon and Babylon was a powerful nation at that point.

2. The rejection of God’s prophets (25:1-7).

A. A date is given.

Chapter 25 occurs before chapter 24. We are now in the reign of Jehoiakim. It’s the fourth year of his reign. This year coincided with the year Nebuchadnezzar took the throne in Babylon. Jeremiah began his ministry in the 13th year of Josiah and had at this point been preaching for 23 years. Nineteen years under Josiah, 3 months under Jehoahaz, and four years under Jehoiakim.

Jeremiah preached persistent to these people and nothing changed. You have to admire this preacher. He was faithful. No one was getting saved but he didn’t give up.

B. Other prophets had been ignored (4-7).

God sent other prophets who preached the same message Jeremiah did. The message was turn from the idols and to God. Some of the prophets we know of who preached when Jeremiah preached were Uriah (26:20-23), Zephanaiah, and Habakkuk. They rejected all the prophets who were preaching the Word and received the ones who were not.

3. Seventy years of exile is promised (25:8-14).

A. An exact time is given (8-11).

At the end of verse 11 we see that the people will be in Babylon for 70 years. This is a bold prediction because it is easy to verify. Jerusalem fell during the fourth year of Jehoiakim and the captives were released by King Cyrus of Persia around 536 BC. From 605 BC to 535 BC would be exactly seven years. History shows that the reign of those kings was in that area give or take a few years. That’s an amazing fulfilled prophecy.

God was going to remove all joy from the city. There would be no marriage. There would be no one preparing food. There would be no lights shining. The good news is Jeremiah says this will last seventy years. That means it won’t last forever. There is an end in sight.

B. God would punish the Babylonians (12).

When God was finished with Babylon He would punish them. They would not get away with their sin. An interesting thing to note is how short the rule of the Babylonians was. They were a world power from about 605 BC to 539 BC. Judah would be in exile seventy years, they would dominate the world for about seventy years. This is a very short time compared with other empires during that day. Both the length of the captivity and the destruction of the Babylonian empire are historical events that would be impossible to predict. The Word of God is validated by these prophecies.

C. Cyrus of Persia would do to Babylon what Babylon did to Judah (13-14).

Babylon probably thought they were invincible. They defeated the Jews who had a long history. The God of the Jews had been known to fight battles for them. They had defeated the Jews even destroying their Temple. They probably thought their gods to be dominate. They would soon discover how weak they were. They were a sinful nation and like Judah they would pay the price for it.

Be careful of whose side you think God is on. Just because a nation wins a war it doesn’t mean God is on that nations side. God is in control of all nations. He uses them as tools. His use of them does not mean He approves of them.

4. The cup of God’s wrath (15-29).

A. Jeremiah is told to take the cup of God’s wrath to the nations (15-16).

Some believe that Jeremiah took an actual cup to all the nations mentioned. I don’t know how that would be possible. Others believe there were representatives of these nations in Jerusalem and Jeremiah went to each of those representatives. I’m not sure about that either. I think this was a simply a vision Jeremiah had. The taking of the cup from the Lord’s hand symbolized Jeremiah’s willing ness to take the cup, the message of judgment, to the world.

Jeremiah is preaching to more than Judah now. He is preaching to the world. God’s Word is for everyone. His warnings are for everyone and His salvation is as well.

B. The nations are listed (17-26).

I’m not going to list each nation and discuss it. In verse 26 it says “all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of this earth”. Clearly the ones listed are not all he has in mind. Therefore, there is no reason to focus on them individually. The point is the entire world should repent. The cup of God’s wrath is the portion of every person on earth. All need to repent. All need to put their faith in the One True God. The Great Commission tells us to take the gospel to all the world. That idea is not new. God’s call has always been to the world.

C. The nations must take the cup (27-29).

He says:

Drink

Be drunk

Vomit

Fall and rise no more

The idea is they are required to drink the fullness of the cup. Its contents will render them unable to protect themselves from their foe. They would be like a drunk person who cannot walk much less fight back.

God asks them if they thought they could escape. He says if He judged His own people, Judah, then certainly He would judge them as well.

The good news for us is Christ has taken the cup for us. He took our portion of God’s judgment if our faith is in His work on the cross.

5. There will be a universal judgment (30-38).

A. God will roar like a lion (30-31).

God will come from heaven against the nations. The roar from on high is the terror that comes from heaven. The shout of those treading grapes points to the rejoicing that people who worked in a vineyard did. During harvest time it was common to sing and rejoice as the people worked. God will come from heaven as a mighty lion rejoicing in His work. He comes to destroy evil.

This is not judgment from Babylon. This conqueror is not coming form the North. The language has changed. This is God Himself. Jeremiah is speaking of the return of Christ. This makes sense when you understand that God has just warned all the nations on earth. This is not a localized judgment as it was in the days of Judah. This is universal.

B. The judgment will extend from end of the earth to the other (32-33).

In verse 32 God is likened to a mighty storm. This storm is going from nation to nation. This can only be explained by events that have yet to occur. Our world has never witnessed anything like this other than what we see in the days of Noah. Revelation 6-19 is the best explanation for what Jeremiah is prophesying here.

C. The kings of the earth will not be safe on this day (34-38).

The shepherds are the kings and the rulers of nations. If they know what is good for them, they will repent (roll in ashes). They will be smashed in pieces like a choice piece of pottery. They will have nowhere to go. They cannot hide from the Lord. All they can do is cry out. But they have forsaken mercy. They have forsaken God so there is no one to cry out to. All their land would be destroyed and taken from them right before their eyes.

Notice in verse 38 the Lion is the one who did this. Jesus Christ is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He will return in flaming fire. When He returns, He will judge the world and gather His people. Do you belong to Christ? Once the Lion leaves His lair it is too late. If you have not come to Christ, come now.