Sunday Morning, February 3, 2019 AM

Jeremiah’s Commission, Corruption, Collapse, Condemnation, and Compassion

King of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon. The Lord showed me behold two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord.

One basket had very good figs like first ripe figs and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness. And the Lord said to me what do you see Jeremiah. And I said figs.

The good figs very good and the bad figs very bad which cannot be eaten due to rottenness. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying thus says the Lord God of Israel like these good figs. So I will regard as good the captives of Judah whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans.

For I will set my eyes on them for good and I will bring them again to this land. And I will build them up and not overthrow them and I will plant them and not pluck them up. I will give them a heart to know me for I am the Lord and they will be my people and I will be their God.

For they will return to me with their whole heart but like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness. Indeed thus says the Lord. So I will abandon a Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land.

And the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt I will make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth as a reproach and a proverb a taunt and a curse in all the places where I will scatter them I will send the sword the famine and the pestilence upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.

This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Let me pray for us father we come before you this morning and we confess our need that weren't for you and your many I wills of grace. Oh God where would we be Lord.

We ask for what we need here today. He said that man does not live by bread alone but every but by every word that proceeds from your mouth. And you have given us such a word about the Word Christ. So we ask that you would reveal to us your son in this scripture that as we look at him in this word we will look like him in this world for our good and to your glory.

Amen. Well as the kids say it's been a minute since we've been in Jeremiah to review. It's very simple. If you want to know what's going on in the book of Jeremiah you read chapter 1. Isn't that convenient.

Some books you don't know what's going on to the end. But in Jeremiah you know everything that's going on in the whole book. If you just read chapter 1 in chapter 1 we learned the sovereign word of God came to Jeremiah in a very personal way.

The word came in season. He came in person and he came. What he said was certain. We also find a chapter 1 of the sovereign word. The sovereign words of God came through Jeremiah to oversee the will of the Lord to overthrow those who opposed him and to overcome in those who followed him.

If you want to remember Jeremiah and the themes of Jeremiah it's just five words. Five words that begin with the letter C. The first one is Commission. That's chapter 1. All the way you read through Jeremiah remember that Jeremiah was commissioned by God to preach his word.

Also we remember the word corruption. Corruption. Jeremiah 5 verses 30 and 31 says a horrible and abominable thing has happened in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely. The priests rule by their own authority.

And my people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end. Good passage to remind us of the corruption of the society in which Jeremiah preached. Third word is collapse. Time and again God promised through Jeremiah the utter collapse of the society in which he lived due to their underpants language like the valley of slaughter was used about the coming end of Judah.

Fourth word beginning with C is condemnation. Throughout the book we hear various pronouncements of condemnation upon all sorts of nations but especially Judah. A condemnation that God even said in chapter 11 verses 11 through 14 that when the time came in the collapse of the society was raining down on all sides of them that they would cry out to him for deliverance and he would refuse to hear their prayers.

Why. Because he was just one amongst a list of many gods they are praying to for deliverance. And thankfully the fifth C. The fifth word is compassion. Because throughout the this book of Jeremiah despite all that's been said yes there's also the note of compassion.

Time and again in very surprising ways God promises compassion. So there's our review of Jeremiah. I hope it is helpful to you. Our passage in chapter 24 it's a very interesting one. It stands a bit apart from the immediate surrounding context.

But what a picture. What a picture is given to us in these two baskets of figs. In 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said to a group of her supporters to grossly generalize one would have to place half of the supporters of my opponent and to what I call the basket of deplorables.

And listed the reasons why. And they all had to do with you know people who love babies and are committed to traditional marriage and believe in God and those kinds of things. She used different terms.

But that's what she meant. And this term basket of deplorables became something that was used as a kind of badge of honor for those who supported Trump. And let's be honest according to our text and according to the Bible her basket was too small and her tone too tame.

When God describes humanity there isn't a basket of deplorables constituting one fourth of the population of a particular voting population of a particular nation. But he says there is none righteous.

No not one. I think what is often missed is this truth of our spiritual condition. We call the doctrine of depravity. And just in case you haven't heard it in a little while I think it would be good to review.

Do we believe the Bible. Do you believe that God has given an accurate description of the world in which we live. In an accurate description of who we are. Here's Romans 3 beginning in verse 9. What then are we better than they.

Are they the basket of deplorables. And we're not. What then are we better than they. Not at all. For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin as it is written. There is none righteous.

No not even one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside together. They have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one. Their throat is an open grave with their tongues they keep deceiving.

The poison of asps is under their lips whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. And the way of peace they have not known.

There is no fear of God before their eyes. This is not the view of humanity that we are taught by our culture. This is not the view of humanity that we often hold concerning our friends and relatives indeed of ourselves.

But all are included. 19 and 20 state. Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God.

Because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin. So what makes the difference. What makes the difference. If all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And if all are described in this way in the scriptures as being this bad off what makes the difference. Our passage reminds us this morning that grace makes the difference. It's justice that makes it permanent.

Grace makes the difference. It's justice that makes it permanent. And we see this in Jeremiah's word from the Lord about these figs he's figs. We're gonna see that these figs are an illustration and an analogy that teaches us about the grace and the justice of God.

And the first thing we need to notice about these figs they are parted. They are separated into two baskets. This is a figure of the times. Verses 1 through 3 3. These again after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials of Judah with the craftsman and Smith's from Jerusalem had brought them to Babylon.

The Lord showed me behold two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord. One basket of very good figs like first ripe figs the other had. The other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness.

Then the Lord said to me what do you see Jeremiah. And I said figs the very good figs the very good and the bad figs very bad which cannot be eaten due to rottenness. This is an excellent picture of the times.

It's an excellent excellent figure of the times in which we live. In fact it's an excellent picture of the times we have always lived in since the fall. That there is a division that there is a parting that there are two baskets.

Now the first verse gives us some very important information. The reason why God gives this image to Jeremiah and interprets it for him is so that he can make sense of recent historical events what has just happened.

It's 597 BC. Nebuchadnezzar has invaded with his army and Jeconiah king of Judah rather than suffer the the destruction that would certainly come from a Babylonian siege surrenders to the Babylonian himself most of his royal household many of the the skilled workmen in the in the nation the the Smiths the craftsmen much of the army goes out as well.

You can read about this in 2nd Kings 24 verse 8 through 17. And they all surrendered to the Babylonians. And the Babylonians walk away with great plunder as they as they cut all the gold off of the doors and the walls and the and the artifacts the furniture of the temple.

And they robbed the temple of its glory. And so there is an exile. This is not the great exile which Jeremiah has been promising that comes later in 586 BC. But for now there's been a great removal. Many people are now gone.

And here's the here's the question who's the good group. Who's the bad group. Upon whom has God set his favor. The group that left the group that stayed. And that the way we think. That's the way we think.

Okay who's. Who's getting punished who's getting rewarded. Split them up into two groups. Let's see now the people who stayed in Jerusalem. I mean they've had their back broken. But you know they have no army.

The army's gone that most of the army went with the exiles and there's no way to rearm any other new army because all the all the Smiths went with them. So nobody can make any new new armaments. Plus the glory of the temple is gone.

All the gold all the precious metals are gone. And guess what. The craftsmen were taken as well. So we can't redecorate the temple and make it look glorious again. So you know their back is broken but they still have the temple and they're still in the land.

They're still in Jerusalem. So maybe they're the good figs. But what about those who were taken away. Didn't God give instructions about surrendering to the Babylonians. Their life would be spared by obeying God.

Didn't. That wasn't that good. But still they're not in their land. And they've lost their temple. And yes they have their lives. But now they have to live in this foreign land. So but maybe that you know they're gonna have a better time of it.

So maybe they're the good figs. There's punishment we can see for both groups. And there's good things we can see in both groups. And so if we're just left with the idea of this happened. And here's two basket of things we wouldn't really know the difference.

We could debate it to the to the Lord comes back. But God did not leave the image bare in front of Jeremiah. He gave an interpretation to Jeremiah to tell him what it was what it was before we explore that I want us to acknowledge something.

We're not all in this together. We're not. We're not all in this together. There's two different baskets of figs same fruit but two different qualities. And in the one basket there was really good figs.

It says the the first ripe figs fig trees give three harvests. The very first one is the most valued one their delicacies. The first ripe figs all the very best of figs. And then the other basket is full of figs.

So rotten you don't even want to get close to it. You know how rotten fruit smells. This is an important contemplation for us. It would seem from an historical vantage point that Babylon had made the division between different classes.

And you read the events in second Kings. You discover that they took the royal house the Royal Guard the craftsmen the Smiths the people who were of a certain status and took them all into exile. But they left Zedekiah the uncle of Jeconiah as King and he was ruling over what second Kings calls the poorest of the land.

Babylon made a distinction based on social class. Isn't that the way we do things. We make divisions based on social class and on skill level. But what does God have to say. What does God have to say.

God says division is biblical. God says division is biblical. When God purposed to create mankind he called for multiplication be fruitful and multiply. And when God promised to redeem mankind he demanded division.

I will make enmity. I will set enmity he says to the serpent between you and the woman between your seed and her seed. You see Satan had succeeded where so many other world leaders have failed. Satan actually did unite all of humanity in one grand purpose.

And that purpose was to throw off the shackles and the law of God and to say we don't need you God. We'll be as wise as you God. We will replace you. God and Satan had united all of humanity and rebellion against God.

And God said not so fast I am gonna place division in humanity. And there will be a divide. There will be those who follow after the serpent and they will be at enmity. And that's war for all generations against those who are of the seed of the woman.

It was God who picked the fight for our good for his glory. This is a divine kind of division. The truth is that we're really bad at division and God's really good at it. We tend to divide along all the wrong lines.

We have a world full of the wrong kind of division. We divide in terms of feuding. We divide in terms of tribalism the genocides of our world. Or because of really bad division. A recent war not so many decades ago has coined a new term balkanize.

We're really bad at division. And we're really bad at deputizing Christ as our strongman to take our side against others. I was when I was in seminary. There was a big spat in in Memphis. There was a church who was busily trying to fire their pastor for certain reasons that were just basically he wanted a certain type of church government and they wanted a different type of church government.

And they were a big group of them met together in the chapel of my seminary to figure out how they could get rid of their pastor. I decided to stick around after class to see see the fireworks and see what was going on.

And they they had hired a guy to come in and give a lecture about why they were in the right. And the other group was in the wrong and and he got up there and he said at the very beginning he says I believe that God is on your side right.

You know God's the strong man for your side. Reminded me of another story in the scriptures in Joshua chapter 5. Jericho is slated for judgment. It's going to fall. They are the bad guys except for Rahab.

Everybody knows they're the bad guys. They're frightened because they know God's coming with his army there in Jericho. Now look in verse 13. Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand and Joshua went to him and said to him are you for us or for our adversaries.

And he said no okay. He said no rather I indeed come now as the captain of the host of the Lord. Joshua fell on his face to the earth and bowed down and said to him what is my Lord to say to his servant.

The captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua remove your sandals from your feet for the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so. Moses met Christ in the burning bush. Joshua met him as the captain of the Lord's army just outside Jericho.

And we all know Jericho slated for judgment. So we should expect that Jesus Christ and full battle array says to Joshua of course I'm on your side. You know. He says no because we keep trying to deputize the king of kings to be our strong man.

But nobody gets to deputize the king of kings. When he says I am a captain the Lord of hosts we say what does my master say to your servant. What does my master say. We're really bad at taking sides. I think part of that is because we have too high of opinion of our ability to understand what's going on.

A figure for the times is that things are parted. They are divided. There's two basket of figs. And before we jump and say oh I know who belongs in that basket. Who belongs in this basket. We have to wait to hear the word of the Lord to explain it.

Verse 4. Verse 4. God begins to explain it now when we see that there are prized figs and then there are putrid figs. God explains the difference. But notice verse 4 in Jeremiah 24. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying thus says the Lord of God of Israel.

Do you hear the emphasis here. It's not based on Jeremiah's experiences. Surely by the amount of experience he's had with these people. He knows who the good figs are and who the bad figs are. Certainly he can see the two baskets and say to himself oh that'll preach and he'll know who's who.

But he has to wait to hear from God. What does God say. What is the word of the Lord say. To get clarity the Lord interprets the experience of forced relocation oppression slavery and so on. Not the people who experience it.

The Lord interprets it now. Notice verse 5. Thus says the Lord God of Israel like these good figs. So I will regard as good the captives of Judah whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans.

Well first of all that is just totally insensitive. Why is God picking the. Why is God picking the privileged. Why is he picking the the people who were in charge. Why is he picking the people who had power because they were soldiers.

Why is he picking the people who were well trained as has Smith's and craftsmen. Why is he on their side. Don't we know better. He always sides with the poor. Not always. God is not a respecter of persons.

He's not being very politically correct for our society. Is he. But what does he say. Does he really think Jeconiah and the army and the Smiths and the craftsmen who were really busily making idols when they were in Jerusalem.

Does he really think that these guys are so good. No he said I will regard as good. He didn't say they are good. He said I will regard as good these. This group over here and then begins to explain how it is that they will actually become good with his.

I will I will I will I will I will I will I will. What he's going to do in their lives. He just says I'm I'm gonna regard as good those who have been taken away. These will be like the the good figs the very good figs.

You know what that is. That is the doctrine of justification where we stop saying I identify as and we crucify ourselves upon the cross of Christ. And we no longer claim our special identities to which the world gives us special power and privileges.

But we say I am identified as you see justification and intersexuality are opposed to claim special identity. I'm a this kind of person. I'm a this kind of Christian is entirely against the gospel of Jesus Christ where there is no longer any special regard for male or female free or slave man Greek or Jew.

We're all one in Christ. I am identified as good. I will regard as good. He says they weren't good. They were guilty guilty guilty. They had helped bring the disaster upon the land. What makes the difference.

Grace makes the difference. Grace makes the difference. Nothing in and of themselves. Grace makes the difference. When you ask the question if you are indeed in the basket of good figs if you are indeed alive spiritually alive in Christ if God has shown his favor upon you you have to ask the question why in the world am I in the basket of good figs.

What is it that brings you to the belief that you are saved. What do you. How is it that you became a Christian. How is it that you have received the grace of God. If we if we answer the question right it's always humbling.

It's always humbling. There's nothing good in me. It's just the grace of God. I I deserved to be in the basket of rotten putrid figs that have no use but for God's reasons. I'm in the basket of good figs.

It's grace. It's grace. Romans. Romans chapter 8. I want you to hear Romans chapter 8 verses 31 through 34. What then shall we say to these things. God is for us who was against us. He who did not spare his own son but delivered him over for us all.

How will he not also with him freely give us all things who will bring a charge against God's elect. Oh many will try. Many will try. Who will bring a charge against God's elect. God is the one who justifies.

Can any man's condemnation of a child of God stand up to the justification that God Almighty has already declared. I can't. Possibly. Who is the one who condemns Christ Jesus. Is he who died. Yes rather he who was raised who is at the right hand of God who also intercedes for us.

Someone has something against you because you're a such-and-such. And you've never done this or that or experienced this or that over here. So there's something fundamentally wrong with you. I don't care.

If you're a believer in Christ there's something wrong with you. They bring a charge against one of God's elect. And what do you have to say. You're gonna talk to Jesus about that. If you feel that his death upon the cross has not satisfied the justice of God in some way you're gonna have to talk to him about that.

Because you got nothing on me. I'm gonna follow Jesus and he's declared me righteous. So if you got a problem with me being who I am in Christ you're gonna have to talk to Jesus about it. Justification.

I think that also brings us some protection against predatory preaching. Predatory preaching what is predatory preaching. Most people unless you're a sociopath feel that you don't do well in some area in your life.

Right. I'm not. You know I need to do better here and you do better there. I'm not as much of a something as I should be. Predatory preaching tries to find that and then hammer it home without any thought of your justification in Christ looking for you to justify yourself by changing who you are what you say.

So on and so forth. Now notice. Also the language of grace is not only justification but restoration. Verse 6. For I will. This is an explanation. God says. For I will set my eyes on them for good. Why will I regard them as good.

I'm gonna set my eyes on them for good. They're not good in my eyes. I will set my eyes on them for good. You see the difference. And I will bring them again to this land. And I will build them up and not overthrow them.

I will plant them and not pluck them up. So all that was lost is now regained. That is the language of grace. That is the pattern of grace. What God has overthrown he will restore what he is uprooted he will plant in the destruction and the restoration of Israel.

God does nothing new and out of ordinary for him. For he also has set his eyes to take this creation this creation that has been subjected subjected to the curse in hope. And he will restore and make a new creation for his son Jesus Christ.

And this is this not also the pattern of our salvation. That we die on the cross with Christ. We take up our cross daily. We are crucified to all that which we once were and that we are now alive in Christ.

That sin is undone. The idols are overthrown and we are raised with Christ in new life. This is the language of grace. Notice verse 7. The language of grace in terms of regeneration. God gives us foolproof hearts.

Verse 7. I will give them a heart to know me. Fool has said in his heart. There is no God that's no match for the God who gives you a heart to know him. So I will give them a heart to know me for I am the Lord.

And they will be my people and I will be their God. And they will return to me with their whole heart. What heart. The whole heart. The heart he gave them to know him. It's foolproof. It's foolproof. That's the language of grace.

That's the language of grace. So what we see is that the we have the figs that are parted to two groups. That's a biblical that there's division. We do it very badly. But God does it very well. And he makes a distinction between the prized figs and the putrid figs.

And what makes the difference. Grace makes the difference and it's a real difference. Like when God makes a difference in someone's life it's a real difference. There's actual change. And then there's the other basket the rotten figs the putrid figs.

And this is a figure of God's wrath. Verses 8 through 10. Remember that grace makes the difference and justice makes that difference permanent. Here are the deplorables in verse 8. The others are deplorables too.

But God changed him. But like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness. Indeed thus says the Lord. So I will abandon or give up or leave behind Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land.

And the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt. So God does not say here I will regard them as bad. No he says he says he will give them up leave them behind like so much debris on the side of the curb on big trash day.

Walk away. That's the idea. See having examined our resume or indeed our rap sheet from Romans 3 8 or 9 through 18 I think we can understand this notion of wrath. See what does it take for God to show his wrath.

He just leaves you alone. Just leaves you alone. Romans chapter 1. Verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men who suppress the truth and ungodliness all the wrath from heaven.

That's like a big fire. Right. Sometimes. What does it look like here. Verse 24. God gave them over. See that word gave God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity so their bodies would be dishonored among them.

Verse 26. Another expression of God's wrath. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions. For the women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural. And in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another.

Verse 28. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper. There's a whole list of sins that follow. That is the expression of God's wrath toward those who continually rebel against God.

They say no I don't want you. No I don't want you. No I won't follow you. And then God finally in his wrath says fine. Okay. That's the illustration in Jeremiah 24. I will regard as good this basket of figs.

But I'm going to walk away from this basket and just leave them through their own devices. That is an expression of the wrath of God. And God says in Jeremiah 24 that this basket of the damned is a lesson for everyone.

The lesson for everyone. Verse 9. I will make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth as a reproach and a proverb a taunt and a curse in all places where I will scatter them. I will send the sword the famine and the pestilence upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.

This is no surprise. It should be no surprise to them because God said it over and over again through Moses and the prophets verbatim he said this in Deuteronomy. This is going to happen. And they didn't believe him.

We have trouble believing the wrath of God. Don't we. We just have trouble believing that he ever would express his wrath or his anger his judgment in any way possible to anybody we know or don't know.

We don't believe in the wrath of God as a country. We don't believe in the wrath of God as expressed in the scriptures in our churches. The wrath of God is not mentioned is not preached is not dissected is not taught and shared is not applied to our lives.

It's no wonder we do not fear God anymore. God says Judah's destructive end instructs every abomination loving baby killing justice perverting God rejecting self-righteous excuse making nation including ours.

It is for our good that we see the way in which God dealt with wicked nations that we would learn and be instructed and led to repentance if we pay attention. If you pay attention we are taught here four words.

Or approach a proverb a taunt and a curse. Or approach meaning a rebuke. Hey what you're doing is wrong. Okay. A proverb or a parable of something that is witty and and catching. And a story that you can remember.

A taunt that's a cut down to rile you up. And a curse a sentence of judgment. God says this is what this is what the basket of rotten figs is all about is I'm gonna highlight them so that the nations will have this reproach proverb taunt and curse so that they will know who I am and how I deal with nations.

Now back to verse 1. And we'll conclude here. Two figs. Two baskets of figs. Two types of figs. Two baskets of figs. And one of them is full of the very good figs the right figs the the delicacy type of figs.

And then the other basket is full of putrid rotten figs that nobody in a right mind would ever eat. Now where are these two baskets of figs located. They are set before the temple of the Lord. And as these two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord so all humanity will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment of the temple.

And he will separate them into two groups. Sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. What makes the difference. Grace makes the difference. Do you know that grace today. Do you know the life of Christ.

The forgiveness of God through his son Jesus Christ. Grace makes the difference. And justice will make it permanent. And there is a day of justice that is coming. We know that for many reasons not least of which the examples that God gave us in the scriptures including Jeremiah 24.

All humanity is going to be set before Christ in two groups. Grace makes the difference and justice makes it permanent. Let's close in prayer. Father I thank you for the clarity of your word. There are parts that delight us and parts that even amuse us.

Parts that intrigue us. There are parts that warn us parts that sadden us. God. You would have your way in us through your word. And I pray. I pray. We would believe your word believe the message God.

I pray. You would humble us in reflections upon your grace. That we would in humility humility with all with all speed turn from ourselves into Christ. Give us compassion. Give us a heart. Give us zeal to warn our loved ones our neighbors our co-workers.

We do not come. Oh father. We do not come with haughty spirit that we have figured it out. Grace makes the difference. Help us to be a people of grace. You proclaim it and live it. Pray these things for Christ's sake.

The one with whom you are well pleased.