After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. One basket contained very good figs, like early figs, but the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad they were inedible. The LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I said, “Figs! The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are extremely bad, so bad they are inedible.”
The word of the LORD came to me: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will keep my eyes on them for their good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not demolish them; I will plant them and not uproot them. 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 because they will return to me with all their heart.
“But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible, this is what the LORD says: In this way I will deal with King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land or living in the land of Egypt. I will make them an object of horror and a disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, an example for disgrace, scorn, ridicule, and cursing, wherever I have banished them. I will send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they have perished from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.”
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Are your actions actively surrendering to God’s difficult pruning, or are you stubbornly fighting to maintain your own control?
What practical, deliberate actions are you taking right now to cultivate a heart that genuinely knows and obeys God in this season?
Reflect on your actions this week:
Watch this video by John Mark Comer titled "Abide and Bear Fruit."
Pruning requires a painful cut for the sake of future fruitfulness. Look at your calendar and your daily habits. Identify one specific habit, commitment, or entertainment choice that is taking up space but producing no spiritual fruit. Take action to cancel it, delete the app, or block the time off this week confessing to God how you have prioritized distractions over spiritual fruitfulness.
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.
— St. Augustine of Hippo
If you are also following the BibleProject’s One Story That Leads to Jesus reading plan, complete today’s reading.