Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
“Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.  For I will set Mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.  And I will give them an heart to know Me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto Me with their whole heart.”
Jeremiah 24:4-7

Is it important to you; or is it important to us that when someone tells us they are going to do something good for us, that, they will do it? To many of us it is almost a top priority for people to do what they say they are going to do.

Humanity is fickle. We are all a bit or maybe  a lot fickle. That is not a word I use a lot, but it describes the way many of us are in life; easy to change, disloyal . You get the idea.

Why do I bring that up? Because the LORD God is not fickle. Neither was His Son Jesus Christ. God is constant, consistent, faithful, loyal, trustworthy, and He never lies; because He is Truth. Whatever contradicts Truth is a lie.

In our text for the day we have the LORD speaking to Jeremiah, asking him, “What do you see? The prophet answers “Two baskets of figs.” We notice in reading those verses that one basket has good figs, and one has bad figs.

Remember now that Jeremiah has warned the king and the people of Judah that in order for them to survive this judgment from God they needed to go out of the city and surrender to Nebuchadnezer king of Babylon who has the city of Jerusalem surrounded. The promise of returning to their land is given to the people who go out at the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah.

Of course the “Bad figs” represent the ones who refused to hear and do the word of the LORD.

Note also the promise of  a new heart. “They shall return to Me with their whole heart.” They will not be fickle about their faith in God, will be loyal and faithful to Him by hearing and being obedient to His word. They will also be “Built and not torn down,” and “Planted and not plucked up,” meaning that God will bless them in what they do; He will bless their building and their planting. The LORD also says of them, “I will be their God; and they will be My people.” The LORD will be faithful and do what He has said He will do.

The words of this prophecy was partially fulfilled by the return of the first set of captives who returned after Cyrus gave the edict for Ezra to go and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Did they return to the LORD with their “Whole heart?” Not really. The LORD has had many years to work in their lives to get them to the place to recognize their Messiah. Jesus the Christ (Messiah), was known to His people then, as Jesus of Nazareth. They hated Jesus, and with the help of the Gentile nation of Rome crucified Him on a cruel and rugged cross. They cannot, neither can anyone else, return to GOD with their whole heart, until they have received Jesus as their Messiah, the incarnation of God. That is when He gives you that new heart.

Yes, Jesus died on that cross for the sins of the whole world, and He was buried in a borrowed tomb, and He rose again defeating Satan, death, and Hell. That same Jesus will be returning. Has He given you that new heart? I pray so. If not call on His name now, before it is too late.