A Basket Of Figs

Introduction

Thank you, brother, for leading us in those songs. We do serve a great God, and it is our privilege to come together at this place to worship him. I believe it’s been a good day. I’ve been edified and encouraged by the time I’ve been with you, brethren. I thank you again for the opportunity to come and be here. I hope that your time together, as you have worked and worshiped with the saints at this place, you found to be in a time of edification as well. But Tony mentioned that a brother’s here, and I’m delighted that he and his family have come to be with us.

Tony joked that puts me under pressure. I want to tell you, I have the utmost respect for my brother. I have learned so much for him. So if I get it wrong tonight, you know who to blame.

Turn to Jeremiah chapter 24, please. Please turn to Jeremiah chapter 24. I mentioned that several of us, as Tony had mentioned as well, last Thursday and Friday, we’re engaged in a study, intensive study of the book of Jeremiah. Unfortunately, this study was not done before that study, but I think there are still some great points that can be made as we look together at Jeremiah chapter 24. And I’d like us to begin reading in verse 1, and we’ll go down to verse 10. Jeremiah through the Holy Spirit writes, The Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord 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.

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. Then the Lord said to me, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs, the good figs, very good, and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad. Again the Lord came to me, saying, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have set whom I have sent out of this place, notice, for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land.

I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. Then I will give them a 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 to me with their whole heart. And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad. Surely, thus says the Lord, so will I give up Zedekiah, the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt, I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword and a taunt and a curse in all places where I shall drive them.

And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them until they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers. As we read through this rather curious object lesson that is offered to, in a very dramatic way illustrate some things that the Lord wants Jeremiah to understand about what was going on. I call to your attention that here as he sets before him these two baskets of figs, I want you to notice what to me, and I don’t know about you as you read through this, but to me, one of the most unusual aspects of this object lesson is.

Them, then they are serving the Lord as they ought to. They are pleasing to him. On the other hand, if things are difficult for them, then somehow they have sinned against God, and so God is disciplining them because of that. You know, the history of this time period that is described is important for us to understand. We recognize that after the Lord brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, that he intended for them to follow his law, and he had told them that he would set them up as a kingdom in the land of Canaan. And we understand that initially they, before they had a king, they would struggle back and forth between faithfulness and unfaithfulness. When finally the Lord relented and gave them a king, you’ll remember that Saul, as we talk about from time to time, he would serve the Lord in some areas, but then he would violate God’s will in other areas.

And so God raised up for the Israelites a man after his own heart, David. David was not a flawless man, and we recognized that because of his sin with Bathsheba, his house would be divided, and ultimately, though his son would be faithful to the Lord for the beginning of his life, even he would turn and worship other gods, and David’s grandson would face a time in which the kingdom would be divided. And what would become the northern kingdom of Israel as a result of that division would never really be faithful to the Lord. And ultimately it would be carried off into captivity by the Assyrians. That the southern kingdom of Judah would waver back and forth between faithfulness and unfaithfulness. And God demonstrated great patience with Judah until ultimately the time would come when God would impose Babylon as an act of discipline, as a way to punish the unfaithful Israelites in Judah.

Now, I want you to think about the condition that they were in the difficult task that Jeremiah has given. Imagine that in a situation today, a prophet were to come along and say that because of America’s unfaithfulness to God, we need to simply just yield to Al Qaeda and allow Al Qaeda to do whatever Al Qaeda chooses to do. That’d be a hard pill to swallow, wouldn’t it? That’d be difficult to hear. That’s not that much different than what those in Judah were asked to do. And Jeremiah was the spokesman for that message. Jeremiah had to tell the people, yield to Nebuchadnezzar. If you resist him, it’s going to be worse. If you submit to him, then it will go better for you. And sadly we see that they did not follow his will.

And as a result of that, ultimately, Jerusalem will be destroyed. The temple will be destroyed. The king that’s mentioned in the last part of this text that we read a few moments ago, Zedekiah, will have his eyes gouged out and his children killed in front of him because he didn’t do what God said. But think with me about what this parable or this illustration or this object lesson is teaching. Because as it describes this period in which Jehoiachim and some of the others are carried away, Jeremiah is told you need to look at things a little different. We talked in our first lesson this morning about having a good eye or an evil eye. You know, they could have very easily looked at that and said, Oh, what have these done that they are carried away captive?

We are being preserved by staying here. Jeremiah is told, you’ve got to look at this whole thing differently. They are the ones that I am preserving. The ones that stay, they’re like that basket of bad things. I want you to think about what’s specifically said in the text that we read. I want you to notice that the Lord indicates that this was allowed for their good. That’s important for us to understand that when Scripture will speak, either rather directly about something that God does or something that God allows. That does not mean that God forced evil things to be done, that God forced people to do those things which were sinful or evil. But we see very clearly that there are times in which God allows either hardships to come within life, or as we see in the Old Testament in particular, the law of Moses has made it very clear, if you obey me, the physical nation of Israel could expect certain blessings.

If you disobey me, the physical nation of Israel could expect direct kinds of punishments and consequences. If you haven’t read the book of Deuteronomy in a long time, go back some time and look at the blessings and curses or the woes that are offered. You know, we certainly can’t parallel that, the things that we experience today. It will even declare, if you don’t obey me, your house is going to have mildew. I know many of you have struggled as a result of the hurricane. And we were talking at lunch with some that were flooded. I don’t believe if you got any mildew in your house because of that flood, it is because of your sin. But the Israelites were in a different kind of condition and a different kind of circumstance in which they absolutely could draw connections with some of those things in many cases.

1. They Most Likely Felt Mistreated

This is a little bit different situation. Because in this situation, God is in essence telling them that’s not the same kind of thing. That’s not what’s happening here. Those that are being carried away, this is happening for their good. I want to ask you a question. I want you to put yourself in their circumstance. Do you think they felt like that was something that happened for their good? You know, think about this. This is people that are forcibly removed from their homeland. We’ve got relatives. I have Cherokee in my background. And we have relatives that, from what we can understand, looking at some of the timing and places of where some of our Cherokee ancestors lived, it may very well be that some of them participated in or were a part of what history knows is the Trail of Tears.

If you don’t know what that is, I would encourage you to do some study about that, because it was a circumstance in which, in spite of the fact that the Supreme Court had said that this couldn’t be done, the executive branch gave the decision to forcibly remove Cherokees from Georgia and Alabama. And sometimes, with very little notice, you know, many of the Cherokee chiefs have been telling them, no, it’s not going to happen, it’s not going to happen. And what ended up happening in some cases was with the clothes on their back, at a very difficult time of year, they were forcibly removed from their homes and taken into Indian territory of what is now Oklahoma. I would guarantee you that they did not feel like that was something that was for their good.

Do we have any indication of what the Israelites would have thought about this? Well, look with me over in the book of Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter 18. This is sometime, most likely later, but maybe not a long time later. We read at the beginning of Ezekiel chapter 1. It places it five years into this time period. And if we are talking about a similar kind of circumstance, we have a little bit of a snapshot of what some of those that were taken away captive might have felt. Now, if you haven’t looked at Ezekiel 18 in a while, I would encourage you sometime to do that. Read this. It’s a great chapter. Because we mentioned this morning, it is one that once and for all refutes any kind of notion that, well, my grandfather sinned, and I’m being held guilty for that sin.

Or the idea the religious world has, that Adam sinned, and so all of us are sinners because of Adam. Verse 20 of Ezekiel chapter 18 makes it clear that’s not the case. Soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. But before the Lord makes that declaration and gives some illustration showing you’re accountable for your own sin, I want you to notice why the Lord says that. Look with me at verses 1 and 2. The word of the Lord came to me again saying, What do you mean when you use the proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge.

Now I want you to think about that in the light of the question I asked here. What do you think they felt? You know, the idea here seems to be that they were feeling as if, wait a minute, we haven’t done what our fathers did. We haven’t worshipped the Baals, we haven’t sacrificed our children to pagan gods, and yet we are the ones that are being held accountable for that. Now, the Lord will go through in the rest of the chapter and point out that’s not what’s going on. Don’t say that anymore. And just as a side note, you know, if God was not pleased with them simply saying that the fathers ate sour grapes and our teeth are set on edge, how do you think God feels when an entire religious world tries to say, Adam sinned and we are born guilty of sin because of that?

2. I Will Set My Eyes on Them for Good

I don’t think he’s any more pleased with that false doctrine. And I want us to think about another aspect of this because I think it’s very clear, excuse me, that they most likely felt mistreated. Even though God tells Jeremiah this is something that ultimately is going to be for their good, at the time, I would suspect they didn’t feel that way about it. They might have felt as if they’d been abandoned, or they might have felt as if God doesn’t care about us. But remember one of the other things that was said in the first part of verse 6 in a reading in Jeremiah chapter 24, God said, I will set my eyes on them for good. Even in that circumstance. Even when they are carried off from their homeland.

They are in a condition in which they are feeling as if they are mistreated. God is setting his eyes on them for good. You know, I’ve had occasions, and I’m sure Tony has as well, have opportunities where you talk to someone that’s become discouraged in their faith. And it’s not unusual for that to be a circumstance in which things that have happened in life lead them to a point at which they feel like if God cared for me, this would not happen. I want us to think about what we see here in Jeremiah chapter 24, and how that fits into that kind of mindset. Because God says it’s not the way you’re thinking about it materially.

They are the ones that I am doing this for their good. They are the ones that ultimately, this is going to be for their benefit. Ultimately, I am setting my eyes on them for their good. The fact is, now, this is not saying, well, it was a good thing that they were being mistreated. They were taken away from their homeland. I think the point is that God was looking to their future. Notice a couple of things that are said. The second part of verse 6, I will bring them back to this land. Notice the last part of verse 6 I will build them and not pull them down. And I will plant them and not pluck them up. Now he’s not talking about something that would necessarily be a quick fix.

We understand that the exile would be 70 years. Some of those that live might see that, but perhaps some would not see that. But God is looking further down the line. God is recognizing there are some things that need to happen so you people will be what you need to be. Notice further, verse 7 in this reading says, then I will give them a heart to know me that I am the Lord. Notice the second part of verse 7. They shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. You know, we may not like it, but how often has it been the case that we see either in our own lives or in the lives of people that we know?

That there’s just not much reason for them to even think about spiritual things until some hardship comes upon them. You know, think about our world and think about how things have gone in our generation or in our life within the last several decades. You know, there came a point at which you’d actually have broadcast in the media, God is dead. You would have those that would say that it doesn’t do any good to serve God. You have even now those that will very forcibly try to argue against the very existence of God, tell you that it’s foolishness to serve God in Christ. And yet, do we remember that surge of religious interest that happened immediately after 9 11? You know, it’s pitiful that so often it takes something that shakes us to our core to make us realize wait, I need to look at things different.

That good eye, that evil eye. Why is that the case? Well, I wish it wasn’t the case, but I think here we see in this, the words here, that’s part of what was going on. Those in Judah did not have the heart that they needed to have. They were not recognizing and serving God, as verse 7, the second part puts it there, with their whole hearts. But we have but to look at the record of Scripture to see how God would fulfill this after the exile was over. When we read about Ezra and Nehemiah, souls that would come back after the exile. These are people that are zealous to serve the Lord, no matter what it takes. They are on fire to do that which is right.

3. We Can Expect to Suffer Hardship

They feel shamed for what had been done in the past, and they are committed to do that which is right. Well, what does this have to do with us today? Well, I want us to think about the fact that in Christ, Christians have been promised some similar things. Now, we’re not necessarily promised that a nation will be carried off exile and then it’ll be returned and built up. I think we are promised things that all of those things were to prefigure. That is, we are promised things that are spiritual in nature. That being the case, think about the life that we face. When you obey the gospel, as this brother did this morning, you know, sadly, you can’t expect that from this moment on you’ll never face any difficulty.

Because that’s really not what life in Christ is. In fact, notice with me a few things that the Bible teaches us that shows we can expect that we are going to be allowed to suffer hardship. Matthew chapter 13 to start with, in the parable of the sower, I want you to notice with me in an explanation that the Lord gives. He doesn’t always explain his parables, but this is a case in which he does. And in Matthew chapter 13, if you notice with me, verses 20 and 21, we’re not going to talk about the parable as a whole, but what I want you to notice is the wording of this explanation. Verse 20 says, But he received the seed on stony places. This is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.

Listen to this. Yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Isn’t it interesting? Because it’s stated there almost just as kind of a passing matter of fact. It’s almost as if the Lord is saying, you know, when the sun rises, this is what happens. In Christ, we can expect that there will be some time in which we face tribulation. What’s tribulation? Well, it’s hardship, it’s difficulty. It’s some kind of difficulty. Sometimes perhaps, because of, notice the second thing, persecution. Sometimes it may just be things related to the trials of life. There’s sickness, there’s illness, there’s job layoffs, there’s times in which you may have hurricanes and disasters that will cause problems in life.

The Christian will face tribulation and persecution. Look at me over in John chapter 16 at our Lord’s words again in John chapter 16. And let’s look together at verse 33 in much the same way that in this parable, he describes it as something you can just expect. What did he tell his disciples? You know, you might imagine, and when you hear people teach this gospel of prosperity, some try to make it seem as if you put your faith in Jesus, you know, you’re going to get a bigger car, you’re going to get a raise at work, you’re going to you invest in the stock market, and that’s going to really pay off. Well, God cares for us, and God is always with us. But listen to what Jesus says to his disciples who are following him.

He says, These things I have spoken to you that you may have peace. In the world, you will have, once again, tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. The great hope we have in Christ is not that serving Christ is going to get me a better job. It is that in serving Christ, I have access to the one that overcame the world. And that’s where my hope must rest. One last example, look over in 2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3. And let’s read together verse 12. Not our Lord speaking this time, but the Apostle Paul will put it perhaps even more explicitly by talking about those things that he had endured, those persecutions that he faced. Was he free of all difficulty?

No. He describes some of them and then says in verse 12, yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. I did a study on that one time. Trying to say, well, what does persecution mean? Greek word dioko means to pursue. And it often is describing those kinds of things by which an enemy of the cross is pursuing those that are teaching the cross. But you know, think about that. Are there ever times in which you and I, we may not be put in jail for our faith. We may not be thrown to the lions, but will we be pursued by some enemy of the cross? Absolutely. Whether you’re talking about our friends at school that may laugh at us because we’re trying to do those things that are right, or our co-workers that pass us over for certain things because we’re not going to go out drinking with them.

We’re not going to cheat to make a business deal or things like that. Is that a form of persecution? Absolutely. And Paul says here, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But I want us to understand as well that along with this declaration, we also have the promise that these things can bring good.

4. These Things Can Bring Good

And I want you to notice what the Apostle Paul tells us in this passage in Romans chapter 5, begin with me in verse 3. After talking about several things related to the grace that God has brought to us, verse 3 says, and not only that, but we also, listen, glory in tribulation. Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character and character hope. Now think with me about that for a moment. Why in the world would Paul say, and we may look at this and say, this fellow lost his mind, to say we glory in tribulation. Is this saying that the Christian somehow is out of touch with reality and a bad thing happens and they are happy about that? No, bad things are bad things. But the Christian, unlike any other souls that live on this planet, when bad things happen to the Christian, we are in a position in which we can draw something good even out of the most horrible times of circumstances.

And I want you to notice what Paul says here. One thing we can recognize is that when we do this, tribulation produces perseverance.

We’re going to have the endurance that we need to when we’ve gone through that. And that can lead us to have character. And that can lead us to have even greater hope than we did before we faced those kinds of things. Let me illustrate it this way. I don’t look like it much now, but back when I was in high school and all the way from fourth grade until I was a senior, I played football. I hate to run sprints. I know there are people that get enjoyment out of maybe running laps or that kind of thing. I’ve never understood that in my life. I hated the fact that in order to be strong enough to do what I wanted to do on the ball field, I had to run the laps.

I had to lift the weights, I had to do those kinds of things. We understand that when it comes to something really as insignificant as sports. But sometimes when it comes to our spiritual life, we somehow imagine I want to be strong. I want to be able to have a faith that can resist anything, but don’t ever test my faith. Don’t ever put me in a position in which I have to face some difficulty. That makes about as much sense as me saying, okay, coach, I want to have endurance on the field. I want you to put me in, but I don’t ever want to run laps. I don’t ever want to have to lift weights. I don’t ever want to run laps to get stronger.

5. God Promises He Is Watching Over Us

Paul tells us there is good that can come from even difficulties. Now, when we face those difficulties, if we’re not careful, we like the Israelites might feel as if, well, I’m being mistreated because of that. But we must understand that just like the Israelites, we are given a promise too. God promises that He is watching over us even through the most difficult things that we may ever face. Notice a few passages. Go to Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5. In the context of talking about avoiding covetousness. You know, covetousness basically says, all right, God, you’ve given me this, whether you’re talking about relationships, whether you’re talking about material things, the condition of your life, whether you have hair or don’t have hair.

You’re saying, all right, you’ve given me this, but that’s not enough. I need more. The reason that the Hebrew writer will connect covetousness to God’s care is because of what he’ll say here. Notice Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5, let your conduct be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have. Why? For he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me? The next time you struggle with covetousness, the next time you struggle with lust, or you struggle with not being happy with the condition that God has given you, I urge you to think about it in this sense. You are, when you practice that kind of mindset, saying to God, You have given me enough.

You’re not loving me enough, you’re not watching over me enough. The Hebrew writer says, He has promised, I will never leave you or forsake you. Matthew chapter 28 and Matthew’s account of the Great Commission. I want you to remember the way that this ends. And in many respects, this echoes what the Hebrew writer has just told us about God’s Jesus’ promise that he will never forsake us. You remember after instructing his apostles to, verse 19, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. Now, if we stop there, you know, the one who’s given this commission might well be tempted to say, wait a minute, you don’t know what this is going to involve.

You don’t know what kind of persecutions. Well, yes, he did. Jesus endured things far greater than you and I will ever face. But also in Matthew chapter 10, when he sent out his apostles, he warned them of the very kinds of things that they would face very soon. He didn’t end, which is the commission, does he? Because listen to these words. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. We have a promise that whatever it is we go through, the loss of a family member, the difficulties we face in life, God is with us. His eyes are on us through those circumstances. And like those in Judah, we can have the assurance as well that God is looking to our future.

6. God Is Looking to Our Future

I want you to notice a few things related to this. First of all, you remember the Israelites are promised that they’re going to be brought back into the land. Now we’re not promised that we’re going to have a geographical land on this place and this world, but we are given a promise that we have a better land that we can look forward to. Go to 2 Timothy chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4.

2 Timothy chapter 4. Notice with me verses 16 through 18. Paul says, at my first defense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me to that message, that message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for, notice this, his heavenly kingdom, to him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. You know what’s remarkable that all the things that Paul faced, we have no record of there ever being a time in which Paul said, Lord, why did you do this to me?

Lord, where are you? You have forsaken me. In fact, in this text, even though there are others that had forsaken him, we are told the Lord was with him. You know, it reminds me of Joseph. You read about Joseph and all the things that Joseph had to go through. You look at that, and you might be tempted to say, how could the Lord do that to Joseph? But how often does it tell us the Lord was with him? And we can look at that story and we could see that ultimately the salvation of his whole family wouldn’t have come about if he hadn’t gone through that fiery trial. And if it hadn’t been true that the Lord was with him. We need to recognize that the same thing is true for us.

You know, when it describes him being delivered out of the mounds of lions, I know that in later times there certainly would be Christians that would be thrown to the lions. We don’t know if here that is literal or if it’s more of a figure of speech describing the difficulty, but we do know that the Lord was with him. Now ultimately, if history is correct, he died because of his faith. Did that mean the Lord was not with him? No. The Lord was with him even then. Like that basket of good figs. He had to go through a great trial and a great period of difficulty, but the Lord was with him, and he was looking out for his future. You know, in Christ, it is true as well that the Lord builds us up.

He doesn’t tear us down. You know, we face difficulty, but we have a great assurance that is offered to us that the Lord is not going to put before us too much for us to be able to bear. We sometimes have a tendency to think, you know, this was just too much. Why did you put all of this on my plate? I don’t know what things those of you are here going through, but maybe you sometimes struggle with that, thinking, you know, I could have done so much, but the Lord just put too much on my plate. Listen to what Paul says here in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13. Paul writes, no temptation has overtaken us except such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it.

Notice with me a few things that I think that teaches us very clearly. First of all, I think it teaches us that God in his law is not going to expect something of his creation that we are not capable of doing. If that was true, then we would be faced with the temptation that we could not escape. Secondly, I want us to notice that I think this also addresses to some extent the providence of God. God is not going to allow circumstances to come into our life that put us in a condition and a position in which sin is irresistible. Now, with that said, understand, you and I may put ourselves in those circumstances. If I go places I shouldn’t go, if I look at things I should not look at, I expose myself to things that I should not expose myself to.

Can I blame God then when I fall to temptation? No. But a third thing I’d call to your attention from this passage is that Paul through the Holy Spirit promises that whatever difficulty we face, God in his providence, God in his word, God in his oversight and care for us, there is always a way out of that. There is always a way of escape. And if we’ll just find it, we can bear it. We can avoid temptation. He builds us up, he doesn’t tear us down. And finally, hardship is something that can shape our hearts, just like it did those in Judah to turn to the Lord. One of my favorite passages in all of Scripture is Romans chapter 8. I describe it as kind of the climax of the whole book because, as we mentioned this morning, after dealing with the problem of sin, all of the first seven chapters have built to the declaration at the beginning of Romans chapter 8, that there’s therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

In the course of resounding this great crescendo, Paul in chapter 8 says some amazing things. And I want to read with you in the context of what we’re talking about, one example of that. Notice verse 28 begins. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. Now, stop there for a moment. I’ve heard times where I think brethren sometimes have taken that passage to say something it’s not saying. Sometimes I’ve heard brethren say, when bad things happen to other Christians, well, it was for the best. That’s almost as if to say that bad’s good. I don’t think that’s what it’s saying. I think instead it is describing what we read in Romans chapter 5.

That when we go through bad things, there can be some good that the Christian can bring out of it. And I think that’s what we’re looking at here. No matter what the child of God faces, if they’re not going to be tempted beyond what they are able, they can bear through that. There is some good that can come out of it, like Joseph. That was a horrible thing that his brothers sold him into slavery. It was a horrible thing that his boss’s wife lied about him, and yet there was a good at the end of that trial that ultimately ended up blessing not only Joseph, but his whole family. Continue reading, verse 29. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover, whom he predestined, them he also called, whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, these he also glorified. Now, oftentimes when we hear that word predestined in Scripture, our eyes kind of glaze over, or we struggle with knowing how to understand that. Is that like the Calvinist idea that he’s chosen individuals to save and individuals to condemn? No. If we had time, we could look at Ephesians chapter 1 and see there how often in Ephesians chapter 1, Paul will emphasize, he has chosen us in him. The Bible teaches that all who are in Christ will be saved. But God didn’t make you obey the gospel this morning. You chose to obey the gospel. We have the free will to choose whether or not we will be in Christ, but we can have the assurance that as we abide in Christ, all who are in Christ have been predestined to be saved.

He has predestined the group, he is not predestined the individuals. But notice, verse 30.

Moreover, whom he predestined these he also called, whom he called, these he also justified, whom he justified, these he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things, if God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies, who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore, is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?

As it is written, for your sakes we are killed all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created things shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. You know, as we think about these things, we’re not going to face, most likely, sword or the kinds of perils that are described here. It’s sad that far too often we get discouraged by things that are much less severe. But the same lesson must be learned. We are not talking about something in which when we go through some difficulty, God has forgotten about us.

Conclusion

And I think that’s a great lesson that we can learn from this. Well, let’s tie all of this together as we bring our lessons to a close. And you may say, a basket of figs, this illustration given to Jeremiah. What in the world does that have to do with me, preacher? Well, let me just point out to you very quickly some lessons we can learn from a basket of figs. First of all, we can learn the lesson that we should not be too quick to see hardship as mistreatment. Go to the text we looked at this morning. I told you that it’d probably take you here several times this week. Here’s an example. This, along with Romans 8, are probably two of my favorites. But 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 16 through 18.

Remember this morning we talked about them in the light of what we allow our eyes to see. Do we look at the things that are seen and think that’s what is enduring? Look at it now in the light of these difficulties that we may face. Verse 16, therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For, notice this, our light affliction, which is but for a moment. Stop there for a second. The Apostle Paul said that. The Apostle Paul faced some of the most difficult persecutions short of what our Lord Himself suffered of anyone that’s recorded in Scripture. And yet I want you to notice what it tells us about his spiritual mindset, what it tells us about his good eye in the way it describes it here.

He speaks of it as light. How in the world can you look at being stoned and left for dead as light affliction? Because Paul understood that the things that are seen are temporary. Notice he goes on to say, our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding an eternal weight of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. In the context of our discussion, what that needs to tell us as we think about this basket of figs is if I’m going through some difficulty in my life, I cannot look at that and just say, God doesn’t love me.

Why is he allowing me to go through this? It may very well be that is something that can help us. That is something that ultimately God can bring some good out of. It’s ultimately something that may even be able to shape my heart to be what it ought to be, rather than the stubborn, disobedient attitude that far too often it is. Secondly, notice things are not always as they seem. You know, it seemed when that happened that those that were still in Jerusalem, boy, they’re better off. But that wasn’t the case, was it? As we mentioned, some of the things that would happen to them would demonstrate quite clearly that it was those that have been carried off that were actually the ones that were being preserved.

Thirdly, hardship for the Christian has the potential to shape our hearts and to build us up for good. I don’t like it that it’s that way. But it certainly is.

But you know what’s interesting? Because now when brethren that maybe are some years older than I am, go through some difficulty, I can understand what they’re going through. I’m in a position in which I can sympathize in a way that I wouldn’t have even been able to imagine if I hadn’t faced a time where I was lying in a hospital bed, maybe a few days or hours away from death. Now there are other ways as well. Sometimes it can be simply a matter of causing us to recognize our mortality. But we need to recognize that hardship has that potential to shape and to build us for good. And finally, we need to recognize that God is always looking out for our future. That’s why Christ died for us.

Because he didn’t want us to be separated from Him eternally.

Go with me to Philippians chapter 3. And I want you to notice with me as we bring our lesson to a close, a beautiful statement that is made in Philippians chapter 3. Let’s look at verses 12 through 14. I’ll admit that I think often in my consideration of this passage, I have looked more at what this tells us about the Apostle Paul. That he was pressing on, that he was really striving for the goal. And that’s an element of what this passage is talking about. But I want you to notice something. Philippians 3, beginning verse 12. Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may let hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Rather, and I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press towards the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I want you to notice this does address Paul’s faithfulness, Paul’s determination. He’s like a runner that’s pressing towards that finish line, and that’s true. But don’t miss one thing that he says there as he describes this. He is pressing on, he is striving to lay hold of that, notice, for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. God wants us to be saved. He didn’t have to send Jesus to die, but in his love and mercy and grace, he looked at poor, frail, pitiful Kyle Pope, and decided, I want to save him.

And I want to, as we talked about in our second lesson this morning, provide a way that in spite of his sin, he could be a child of mine. And we need to appreciate that. No matter what we go through, we need to recognize that he is looking out for our future. Don’t imagine that because we face some difficulty here, that somehow means God doesn’t care about us. You know, we haven’t been through what Jesus went through. We haven’t been through what Paul went through, we haven’t been through what Job went through, and yet God was with all of them in those circumstances. We need to be assured that he is with us as well. An awful lot we can learn from a basket of figs, isn’t it?

If you’re here tonight, and you’ve never been obedient to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that you will recognize as we talked this morning and as we have, we haven’t directly talked about the need to obey the gospel tonight, but we have talked about that care that God has for his people. And if nothing else, isn’t that a reason to want to be one of his people? Would you not this even put your faith in Jesus as the Son of God? Confess that faith before men and repent of sin that separates you from God. Be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins, and the Lord will add you to his people. You will be in his care.

You don’t have to fear. You don’t have to feel as if you’re alone because his eyes will be on you for good. If as a child of God, maybe you’ve lost the right kind of perspective and you somehow thought that it’s just not worth it being a Christian. Maybe you went through some difficulty, and that’s made you throw your hands up in the air and just turn back to the world. That’s not the way to go. And you have brothers and sisters in Christ here at this place that are ready to go to God in prayer on your behalf. If we can help you, won’t you come while we stand?