Jeremiah 24-25

“Like these good figs, I will regard as good the captives of Judah …” (24:5).  Jeremiah saw, in a vision, a basket of good figs and a basket of rotten figs.  Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had just invaded Jerusalem and deported many of Judah’s princes and craftsmen.  Surprisingly, Jeremiah declared that these captives were “the good figs,” while the ones who remained in their own land were “rotten figs.” 

We usually consider disruption and forced change as disaster.  But, over the next 70 years in Babylon, God planned to use His people’s captivity to redeem them, and to “give them a heart to know Me” (24:6-7; 25:12).