Rotten Figs

In Jeremiah chapter 27, God instructs the nations to serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. The king was God’s vessel, an instrument God used to judge the nations. If the nations wanted to remain in their land, they needed to serve the king of Babylon. This was the word of God delivered through His true prophet, Jeremiah.

However, in Jeremiah 28, we learn of a false prophet named Hananiah. God did not send this man. He did not speak for God, but instead spoke lies. Why do false prophets exist? For that matter, why do false teachers, priests, and pastors exist? These false leaders exist because people want their leaders to tell them what they themselves want to hear. This is the purpose and the method of the false prophet and false priest.

A true prophet tells people what God said - regardless of how the message will be received. A false prophet tells people what they want to hear. A false prophet gains favor and power among the people by pleasing them. A true prophet gains honor with God by pleasing Him. Jeremiah was a true prophet. Hananiah was a false prophet.

In Jeremiah chapter 29, there is a reference to the visionary prophecy given in Jeremiah 24. This visionary prophecy revolved around two baskets of figs. One basket of figs was “very good.” The figs in the other basket were “very bad.” God explained the baskets of figs to Jeremiah. The good figs symbolize the “exiles from Judah, whom I [God] sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.” The bad figs represented “Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.” A stark contrast is made between those exiled and those who chose to remain in Judah or go to Egypt. Why?

In chapter 29, we see this visionary prophecy being sent to the people in exile. Even after the Babylonian conquest of Judah, false prophets were telling the people they should expect the exile to be short. According to their lies, God would deliver quickly. After all, there was still a king on the throne of David.

God would have none of it. Through Jeremiah, God made sure the exiles knew their time in Babylon was according to His will. They were to live and build lives in Babylon. God would deliver, but it would be another 70 years before deliverance happened. The exiled Jews were to ignore the false prophecies from men who were telling them what they wanted to hear. The truth was that exile had a purpose, and if the people would follow God’s instruction, that purpose would be fulfilled.

God wanted a people who would seek Him with their whole hearts. That is exactly what the exile was preparing these Jews to be.

The people who went into exile were fulfilling God’s will. Those who remained in Jerusalem rejected the will of God. The exile was punishment for Israel’s disobedience. Those who stayed in Israel refused the punishment. They were too proud to accept God’s correction. Like the basket of rotten figs, these Jews could not fulfill their purpose. So God would “pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse and an object of horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations.”

The purpose of the exile was to produce a people who would seek God with their whole hearts. The king of Judah, the false priests, and the false prophets were encouraging the people to refuse the correction of God - to reject His will. This was an affront to God. It rendered these pride-filled people worthless in God’s plan, like rotten figs that cannot be eaten.

Do not reject God’s discipline.

In one of His topics in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns against false prophets. He said, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit. You shall know them by their fruit.” Bad trees will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Through the Babylonian exile, God was cutting down the tree that bore the rotten figs of Zedekiah and his false prophets. The Almighty was ridding His people of the lineage of evil leaders and false priests and prophets who did not know God, nor would seek Him wholeheartedly.

In Matthew chapter 21, we read of Jesus cursing a fig tree because He was hungry, and after searching the tree, no fruit was found. The tree withered immediately. The tree was not fulfilling its purpose, so God cut it off immediately.

What does this mean for us? In Matthew 21:43, after giving the Parable of the Tenants, Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” If we reject the Master and do not fulfill His purpose for us, we will have the Kingdom taken away. The Kingdom is intended for those who worship God wholeheartedly and produce fruit.