Jeremiah 24 is a short chapter with a vivid picture: two baskets of figs placed before the temple, one full of good fruit and one full of rotten fruit. Its message concerns God’s judgment and mercy toward exiles and those who remained in Judah, and the questions below are written for a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study. Each set is built so a leader can read the text, ask the question, and guide the room without preparing separate notes.
Jeremiah 24 at a Glance
The chapter opens with a vision Jeremiah receives after Nebuchadnezzar has carried Jeconiah and many leaders of Judah into Babylon. The Lord asks the prophet what he sees, and Jeremiah describes two baskets of figs, one very good and one so bad it cannot be eaten. The Lord then interprets the vision: the exiles already taken to Babylon are the good figs, and God promises to watch over them for good, restore them, and give them a heart to know him.
The second half turns to the bad figs, which stand for Zedekiah, his officials, the remnant in Jerusalem, and those who fled to Egypt. The Lord declares that they will be scattered, shamed, and destroyed by sword, famine, and plague. The chapter moves from a single image to a clear contrast between two groups under the same Lord, which is why the questions below trace that contrast.
Observation Questions
Use this set first, before any interpretation. Ask the group to point to the text, and keep discussion close to what the words actually say. Let people answer from the page before offering opinions.
Jeremiah 24:1-3
1 The LORD showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs were set before the LORD’s temple, 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 asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs. The good figs are very good, and the bad are very bad, so bad that can’t be eaten.”
(WEB)
This opening passage sets the scene and introduces the image of the two baskets. Read it early so the group has the full picture before any interpretation begins. It also grounds the vision in a real historical moment of exile.
Jeremiah 24:5-7
5 “The LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans, for good. 6 For I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land. I will build them, and not pull them down. I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God; for they will return to me with their whole heart.
(WEB)
These verses contain the heart of the promise to the good figs. Reading them aloud helps the group hear the language of restoration, planting, and a renewed heart. Pause after verse 7 to let the phrase “they will return to me with their whole heart” settle.
Jeremiah 24:8-10
8 “‘As the bad figs, which can’t be eaten, they are so bad,’ surely the LORD says, ‘So I will give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem, who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will even give them up to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I will drive them. 10 I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, until they are consumed from off the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.’”
(WEB)
This passage gives the sober counterpart to the promise above. Reading it aloud reminds the group that the chapter does not avoid God’s judgment. It is a useful reading before the application questions, since it frames the seriousness of turning away.
Jeremiah 24:6
For I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land. I will build them, and not pull them down. I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
(WEB)
This single verse holds the images of setting God’s eyes on the exiles for good, building, and planting. Read it alone so the group can dwell on the tender language of God’s intention. It works well as a moment of quiet reflection in the middle of the session.
Jeremiah 24:7
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God; for they will return to me with their whole heart.
(WEB)
Verse 7 names the goal of the whole chapter: a heart to know the Lord and a relationship in which he is their God and they are his people. Reading it near the end helps the group connect the vision to the deeper purpose of restoration.
Memory Verse for Jeremiah 24
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who have seen our own baskets of figs, some full of promise and some full of failure. Thank you that you watch over those who are scattered and that you promise to build and plant what seems torn down. Give us hearts that know you, and help us return to you with our whole heart, not halfway but completely. Where we trust in our own strength or in quick solutions, turn us back to you. Make us a people who care for the displaced and pray for those who have drifted, in the same mercy you have shown to us. Amen.
