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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J E R E M I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXIV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In the close of the foregoing chapter we had a general prediction of
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the utter ruin of Jerusalem, that it should be forsaken and forgotten,
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which, whatever effect it had upon others, we have reason to think made
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the prophet himself very melancholy. Now, in this chapter, God
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encourages him, by showing him that, though the desolation seemed to be
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universal, yet all were not equally involved in it, but God knew how to
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distinguish, how to separate, between the precious and the vile. Some
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had gone into captivity already with Jeconiah; over them Jeremiah
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lamented, but God tells him that it should turn to their good. Others
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yet remained hardened in their sins, against whom Jeremiah had a just
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indignation; but those, God tells him, should go into captivity, and it
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should prove to their hurt. To inform the prophet of this, and affect
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him with it, here is,
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I. A vision of two baskets of figs, one very good and the other very
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bad,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+24:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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II. The explication of this vision, applying the good figs to those
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that were already sent into captivity for their good
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+24:4-7">ver. 4-7</A>),
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the bad figs to those that should hereafter be sent into captivity for
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their hurt,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+24:8-10">ver. 8-10</A>.</P>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Vision of the Good and Bad Figs; Promises and Threatenings.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 599.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs <I>were</I>
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set before the temple of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, after that Nebuchadrezzar king
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of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim
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king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and
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smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
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2 One basket <I>had</I> very good figs, <I>even</I> like the figs <I>that
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are</I> first ripe: and the other basket <I>had</I> very naughty figs,
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which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
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3 Then said the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I
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said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil,
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that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
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4 Again the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me, saying,
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5 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the God of Israel; Like these good figs,
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so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of
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Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the
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Chaldeans for <I>their</I> good.
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6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring
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them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull
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<I>them</I> down; and I will plant them, and not pluck <I>them</I> up.
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7 And I will give them a heart to know me, that I <I>am</I> the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for
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they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
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8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so
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evil; surely thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, So will I give Zedekiah the
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king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem,
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that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of
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Egypt:
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9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms
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of the earth for <I>their</I> hurt, <I>to be</I> a reproach and a proverb,
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a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
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10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence,
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among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave
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unto them and to their fathers.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This short chapter helps us to put a very comfortable construction upon
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a great many long ones, by showing us that the same providence which to
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some is a <I>savour of death unto death</I> may by the grace and
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blessing of God be made to others a <I>savour of life unto life;</I>
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and that, though God's people share with others in the same calamity,
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yet it is not the same to them that it is to others, but is designed
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for their good and shall issue in their good; to them it is a
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correcting rod in the hand of a tender Father, while to others it is an
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avenging sword in the hand of a righteous Judge. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. The date of this sermon. It was after, a little after, Jeconiah's
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captivity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+24:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Jeconiah was himself a <I>despised broken vessel,</I> but with him were
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carried away some very valuable persons, Ezekiel for one
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+1:12">Ezek. i. 12</A>);
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many of the <I>princes of Judah</I> then went into captivity, Daniel
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and his fellows were carried off a little before; of the people only
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<I>the carpenters and the smiths</I> were forced away, either because
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the Chaldeans needed some ingenious men of those trades (they had a
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great plenty of astrologers and stargazers, but a great scarcity of
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smiths and carpenters) or because the Jews would severely feel the loss
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of them, and would, for want of them, be unable to fortify their cities
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and furnish themselves with weapons of war. Now, it should seem, there
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were many good people carried away in that captivity, which the pious
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prophet laid much to heart, while there were those that triumphed in
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it, and insulted over those to whose lot it fell to go into captivity.
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Note, We must not conclude concerning the first and greatest sufferers
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that they were the worst and greatest sinners; for perhaps it may
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appear quite otherwise, as it did here.</P>
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<P>
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II. The vision by which this distinction of the captives was
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represented to the prophet's mind. He saw <I>two baskets of figs, set
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before the temple,</I> there ready to be offered as first-fruits to the
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honour of God. Perhaps the priests, being remiss in their duty, were
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not ready to receive them and dispose of them according to the law, and
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therefore Jeremiah sees them standing <I>before the temple.</I> But
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that which was the significancy of the vision was that the figs in one
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basket were extraordinarily good, those in the other basket extremely
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bad. The children of men are all as the fruits of the fig-tree, capable
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of being made serviceable to God and man
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+9:11">Judg. ix. 11</A>);
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but some are as good figs, than which nothing is more pleasant, others
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as damaged rotten figs, than which nothing is more nauseous. What
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creature viler than a wicked man, and what more valuable than a godly
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man! The good figs were like those that are first ripe, which are most
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acceptable
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+7:1">Mic. vii. 1</A>)
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and most prized when newly come into season. The bad figs are such as
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could <I>not be eaten, they were so evil;</I> they could not answer the
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end of their creation, were neither pleasant nor good for food; and
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what then were they good for? If God has no honour from men, nor their
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generation any service, they are even like the bad figs, that cannot be
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eaten, that will not answer any good purpose. <I>If the salt have lost
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its savour, it is thenceforth</I> fit for nothing but <I>the
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dunghill.</I> Of the persons that are presented to the Lord at the door
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of his tabernacle, some are sincere, and they are very good; others
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dissemble with God, and they are very bad. Sinners are the worst of
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men, hypocrites the worst of sinners. <I>Corruptio optimi est
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pessima--That which is best becomes, when corrupted, the worst.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. The exposition and application of this vision. God intended by it
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to raise the dejected spirit of those that had gone into captivity, by
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assuring them of a happy return, and to humble and awaken the proud and
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secure spirits of those who continued yet in Jerusalem, by assuring
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them of a miserable captivity.</P>
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<P>
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1. Here is the moral of the good figs, that were very good, the first
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ripe. These represented the pious captives, that seemed first ripe for
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ruin, for they went first into captivity, but should prove first ripe
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for mercy, and their captivity should help to ripen them; these are
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pleasing to God, as good figs are to us, and shall be carefully
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preserved for use. Now observe here,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) Those that were already carried into captivity were the good figs
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that God would own. This shows,
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[1.] That we cannot determine of God's love or hatred <I>by all that is
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before us.</I> When God's judgments are abroad those are not always the
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worst that are first seized by them.
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[2.] That early suffering sometimes proves for the best to us. The
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sooner the child is corrected the better effect the correction is
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likely to have. Those that went first into captivity were as the son
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whom the <I>father loves, and chastens betimes,</I> chastens while
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there is hope; and it did well. But those that staid behind were like a
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child long <I>left to himself,</I> who, when afterwards corrected, is
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stubborn, and made worse by it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+3:37">Lam. iii. 27</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) God owns their captivity to be his doing. Whoever were the
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instruments of it, he ordered and directed it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+24:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>I have sent them out of this place into the land of the
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Chaldeans.</I> It is God that puts his gold into the furnace, to be
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tried; his hand is, in a special manner, to be eyed in the afflictions
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of good people. The judge orders the malefactor into the hand of an
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executioner, but the father corrects the child with his own hand.</P>
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<P>
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(3.) Even this disgraceful uncomfortable captivity God intended for
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their benefit; and we are sure that his intentions are never
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frustrated: <I>I have sent them into the land of the Chaldeans for
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their good.</I> It seemed to be every way for their hurt, not only as
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it was the ruin of their estates, honours, and liberties, separated
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them from their relations and friends, and put them under the power of
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their enemies and oppressors, but as it sunk their spirits, discouraged
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their faith, deprived them of the benefit of God's oracles and
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ordinances, and exposed them to temptations; and yet it was designed
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for their good, and proved so, in the issue, as to many of them. <I>Out
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of the eater came forth meat.</I> By their afflictions they were
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convinced of sin, humbled under the hand of God, weaned from the world,
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made serious, taught to pray, and turned from their iniquity;
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particularly they were cured of their inclination to idolatry; and thus
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it was <I>good for them that they were afflicted,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:67,71">Ps. cxix. 67, 71</A>.</P>
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<P>
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(4.) God promises them that he will own them in their captivity. Though
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they seem abandoned, they shall be acknowledged; the scornful relations
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they left behind will scarcely own them, or their kindred to them, but
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God says, <I>I will acknowledge them.</I> Note, <I>The Lord knows those
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that are his,</I> and will own them in all conditions; nakedness and
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sword shall not separate them from his love.</P>
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<P>
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(5.) God assures them of his protection in their trouble, and a
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glorious deliverance out of it in due time,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+24:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Being sent into captivity <I>for their good,</I> they shall not be lost
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there; but it shall be with them as it is with gold which the refiner
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puts into the furnace.
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[1.] He has his eye upon it while it is there, and it is a careful eye,
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to see that it sustain no damage: "<I>I will set my eyes upon them for
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good,</I> to order every thing for the best, that all the circumstances
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of the affliction may concur to the answering of the great intention of
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it."
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[2.] He will be sure to take it out of the furnace again as soon as the
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work designed upon it is done: <I>I will bring them again to this
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land.</I> They were sent abroad for improvement awhile, under a severe
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discipline; but they shall be fetched back, when they have gone through
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their trial there, to their Father's house.
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[3.] He will fashion his gold when he has refined it, will make it a
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vessel of honour fit for his use; so, when God has brought them back
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from their trial, he <I>will build them</I> and make them a habitation
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for himself, will <I>plant them</I> and make them a vineyard for
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himself. Their captivity was to square the rough stones and make them
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fit for his building, to prune up the young trees and make them fit for
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his planting.</P>
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<P>
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(6.) He engages to prepare them for these temporal mercies which he
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designed for them by bestowing spiritual mercies upon them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+24:7"><I>v.</I>7</A>.
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It is this that will make their captivity be for their good; this shall
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be both the improvement of their affliction and their qualification for
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deliverance. When our troubles are sanctified to us, then we may be
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sure that they will end well. Now that which is promised is,
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[1.] That they should be better acquainted with God; they should learn
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more of God by his providences in Babylon than they had learned by all
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his oracles and ordinances in Jerusalem, thanks to divine grace, for,
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if that had not wrought mightily upon them in Babylon, they would for
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ever have forgotten God. It is here promised, <I>I will give them,</I>
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not so much a head to know me, but <I>a heart to know me,</I> for the
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right knowledge of God consists not in notion and speculation, but in
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the convictions of the practical judgment directing and governing the
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will and affections. <I>A good understanding have all those that do his
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commandments,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+111:10">Ps. cxi. 10</A>.
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Where God gives a sincere desire and inclination to know him he will
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give that knowledge. It is God himself that gives a heart to know him,
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else we should perish for ever in our ignorance.
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[2.] That they should be entirely converted to God, to his will as
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their rule, his service as their business, and his glory as their end:
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<I>They shall return to me with their whole heart.</I> God himself
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undertakes for them that they shall; and, if he turn us, we shall be
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turned. This follows upon the former; for those that have a heart to
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know God aright will not only turn to him, but turn with their whole
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heart; for those that are either obstinate in their rebellion, or
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hypocritical in their religion, may truly be said to be ignorant of
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God.
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[3.] That thus they should be again taken into covenant with God, as
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much to their comfort as ever: <I>They shall be my people, and I will
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be their God.</I> God will own them, as formerly, for his people, in
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the discoveries of himself to them, in his acceptance of their
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services, and in his gracious appearances on their behalf; and they
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shall have liberty to own him for their God in their prayers to him and
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their expectations from him. Note, Those that have backslidden from
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God, if they do in sincerity return to him, are admitted as freely as
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any to all the privileges and comforts of the everlasting covenant,
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which is herein well-ordered, that every transgression in the covenant
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does not throw us out of covenant, and that afflictions are not only
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consistent with, but flowing from, covenant-love.</P>
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<P>
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2. Here is the moral of the bad figs. <I>Zedekiah and his princes</I>
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and partizans <I>yet remain in the land,</I> proud and secure enough,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+11:3">Ezek. xi. 3</A>.
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Many had fled into Egypt for shelter, and they thought they had shifted
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well for themselves and their own safety, and boasted that though
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therein they had gone contrary to the command of God yet they had acted
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prudently for themselves. Now as to both these, that looked so
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scornfully upon those that had gone into captivity, it is here
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threatened,
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(1.) That, whereas those who were already carried away were settled in
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one country, where they had the comfort of one another's society,
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though in captivity, these should be dispersed <I>and removed into all
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the kingdoms of the earth,</I> where they should have no joy one of
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another.
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(2.) That, whereas those were carried captives for their good, these
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should be removed into all countries <I>for their hurt.</I> Their
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afflictions should be so far from humbling them that they should harden
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them, not bring them nearer to God, but set them at a greater distance
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from him.
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(3.) That, whereas those should have the honour of being owned of God
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in their troubles, these should have the shame of being abandoned by
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all mankind: <I>In all places whither I shall drive them they shall be
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a reproach and a proverb.</I> "Such a one is as false and proud as a
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Jew"--"Such a one is as poor and miserable as a Jew." All their
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neighbours shall make a jest of them, and of the calamities brought
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upon them.
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(4.) That, whereas those should <I>return to their own land,</I> never
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to see it more, and it shall be of no avail to them to plead that it
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was the land God gave to their fathers, for they had it from God, and
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he gave it to them upon condition of their obedience.
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(5.) That, whereas those were reserved for better times, these were
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reserved for worse; wherever they are removed <I>the sword, and famine,
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and pestilence,</I> shall be sent after them, shall soon overtake them,
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and, coming with commission so to do, shall overcome them. God has
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variety of judgments wherewith to prosecute those that fly from
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justice; and those that have escaped one may expect another, till they
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are brought to repent and reform.</P>
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<P>
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Doubtless this prophecy had its accomplishment in the men of that
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generation yet, because we read not of any such remarkable difference
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between those of Jeconiah's captivity and those of Zedekiah's, it is
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probable that this has a typical reference to the last destruction of
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the Jews by the Romans, in which those of them that believed were taken
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care of, but those that continued obstinate in unbelief were driven
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into all countries for <I>a taunt and a curse,</I> and so they remain
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to this day.</P>
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