“The Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar 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. 2 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. 3 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.” 4 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. 6 For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me, 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 24:1-7 NKJV
God of hope,
Figs. A neighbour has a fig tree in his garden and the last few years it has had an abundant harvest. But if they are not eaten when picked and ripe they turn to the most disgusting goo and attract those horrible little tiny flies. It was a very extreme picture to show Jeremiah. Very good and very bad. No between. Like Judah who are either following the Lord and keeping the Law or rebelling and worshipping false idols.
But there is hope. God says that those taken away will turn back to him in their captivity. Those left behind will not. Perhaps they think they did not get judged and have escaped punishment.
It is foolish to think we can manage by ourselves without You. Just to pray when we have a need or a want. And You warn us about being half hearted through the churches message at Laodicea who were neither hot nor cold (Revelation 3:16). Help us to be good figs. Not falling somewhere between the baskets. Constant in our worship, dependant on Your daily bread, and always sensitive to Your Holy Spirit. And remind us that our salvation is not worked for by us . . . it is You who forgives us as we humbly go . . .
In Jesus name we pray.
Worship Saturday 18th July 2026
Just worship . . .
A thousand generations falling down in worship
To sing the song of ages to the Lamb
And all who’ve gone before us, and all who will believe
Will sing the song of ages to the Lamb
Your name is the highest, Your name is the greatest
Your name stands above them all
All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions
Your name stands above them all
And the angels cry, “Holy”
All Creation cries, “Holy”
You are lifted high, holy
Holy forever
If you’ve been forgiven, if you’ve been redeemed
Sing the song forever to the Lamb
If you walk in freedom, if you bear His name
Sing the song forever to the Lamb
We’ll sing the song forever and amen
Your name is the highest, Your name is the greatest
Your name stands above them all
All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions
Your name stands above them all
Hear Your people sing, “Holy”
To the King of kings, Holy
You will always be holy
Holy forever
Your name is the highest, Your name is the greatest
Your name stands above them all
All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions
Your name stands above them all
Jesus
Repeat . . .
Hear Your people sing, “Holy”
To the King of kings, Holy
You will always be holy
Holy forever
Repeat . . .
Lyrics: Chris Tomlin, Brian Johnson, Jenn Johnson, Jason Ingram, and Phil Wickham.