God explains to Jeremiah the meaning of the vision of the two kinds of figs that Jeremiah saw, vs 1-3.

The interpretation of the same gives us an understanding about the heart of God. God is most eager to forgive and redeem His people, inspite of their many backslidings, however, His righteousness demands that He simply cannot overlook their sin in order to do so, unless they radically repent of the same!

Those who acknowledge their sin and submit to God’s disciplining hand on account of the same, are considered as the ‘good’ figs, and God promises to look after their welfare and restore them to their land, where He will build them up and will not tear them down, but plant them firmly so as to ensure that they will not be uprooted. He will also give them the desire to acknowledge that He is the LORD, and He will be their God and they will be His people, all because they chose to wholeheartedly return to Him, vs 4-7.

However, those who refuse to acknowledge their sin and repent of the same and refuse to submit under God’s disciplining hand, but choose rather to rely on ‘Egypt’, (representing the arm of flesh or their own schemes which contradict God’s Word) in order to solve their problems, represent the ‘bad’ figs, which God will invariably bring such disaster upon that all the kingdoms of the earth will be horrified, vs 8-10!

So, although we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, we can still be considered to be part of the ‘good’ figs, if we only humbly acknowledge our sin and submit to God’s righteous discipline upon us on account of the same, in a spirit of repentance and gratitude.

God then promises to be our God and we will be His people whom He promises to care for and generously provide for too! Let us, therefore, not lose any more time, but instead use the opportunities that our trying circumstances present us with to repent, in order to be restored to walking in fellowship with Him once again.
Amen.

Rowena Thomas
Mumbai, India.