Visionary Good Figs

4. What comforting message did the vision of the figs hold for faithful Israelites?

⁴ After questioning Jeremiah about what he saw, Jehovah went on to say in Jer 24 verses 5 to 7: “Like these good figs, so I shall regard the exiles of Judah, whom I will send away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans, in a good way. And I will set my eye upon them in a good way, and I shall certainly cause them to return to this land. And I will build them up, and I shall not tear down; and I will plant them, and I shall not uproot. And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah; and they must become my people, and I myself shall become their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.”

5, 6. (a) How were some Israelites ‘sent away in a good way’ to Chaldea? (b) How did Jehovah ‘set his eye in a good way’ on faithful Israelites in exile?

⁵ So it seems from what Jehovah said here that better times were ahead, that the nation of Judah would not be completely wiped out. But what is the significance of this basket of good figs?

⁶ Jeconiah, or Jehoiachin, had been king over Judah for just three months and ten days before he willingly surrendered Jerusalem to King Nebuchadnezzar. Among the ones carried captive with him into exile were Daniel and his three Hebrew companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, as well as Ezekiel. Their lives were preserved by the king of Babylon, so it could be said that Jehovah looked upon all these captives as being sent away in a good way to the land of the Chaldeans. Did you notice that Jehovah also promised to ‘set his eye upon them in a good way’? How was this fulfilled? In 537 B.C.E., 80 years later, Jehovah caused King Cyrus to issue a decree allowing a remnant of their descendants to return to the land of Judah. These faithful Jews rebuilt the city of Jerusalem; they erected a new temple for the worship of their God, Jehovah; and they returned to him with all their heart. So in all of this, to Jehovah these captives and their descendants were like very good early figs.

7. When and how was Jehovah’s eye on the modern Jeremiah class “in a good way”?

⁷ You may remember that in the previous article regarding Jeremiah’s prophetic words, we learned that they have meaning for our 20th century. And Jer chapter 24 is no exception. During the dark years of World War I, many of Jehovah’s dedicated servants came under the influence of Babylon the Great in one way or another. But Jehovah’s watchful eye ‘was upon them in a good way.’ So it was that through the Greater Cyrus, Christ Jesus, Jehovah broke the power of Babylon the Great over them and gradually brought them into a spiritual paradise. These spiritual Israelites responded and returned to Jehovah with all their heart. Then, in 1931, they rejoiced to accept the name Jehovah’s Witnesses. Truly, it could now be said that they had become like a basket of very good figs in Jehovah’s eyes.

8. In what way have Jehovah’s Witnesses heralded abroad the figlike sweetness of the Kingdom message?

⁸ And Jehovah’s Witnesses have not missed the purpose of God’s undeserved kindness in freeing them from Babylon the Great. They have not kept the figlike sweetness of the Kingdom message of good news to themselves, but they have heralded it abroad in keeping with Jesus’ words at Matthew 24:14: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations.” And the result? More than 4,700,000 sheeplike ones who are not spiritual Israelites have broken free from Babylon the Great!

15. How have spiritual Israel today and their sheeplike companions responded to Jehovah’s compassion?

¹⁵ Well, then, what about our day? Jehovah has shown much compassion toward his remnant of spiritual Israel and their sheeplike companions. His eye has been upon them constantly since their spiritual deliverance in 1919. As he foretold through Isaiah, they daily receive divine instruction from the greatest Teacher in the universe, Jehovah God. (Isaiah 54:13) This divine teaching, directed through his dear Son, Jesus Christ, has resulted in abundant peace among them and has steadily brought them into a closer relationship with Jehovah. What a wonderful spiritual environment this provides for all of us to know Jehovah, to listen to him, and to continue to produce good fruitage in our lives​—fruitage that brings praise to Jehovah! It means our very lives!