Why does the Lord regard the exiles as “good figs” that he will “set his eyes on” for good?

The Lord’s message to Jeremiah is only complete once he has explained the meaning of the vision to his prophet. Jeremiah introduces the explanation with the words, Then the word of the Lord came to me. This makes it clear that not only is it the Lord who explains the vision, but that the explanation is not just for Jeremiah, it is the Lord’s word that he must proclaim to the Lord’s people.

The first part of the explanation concerns the basket of good figs. The Lord says, Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. The word exiles comes from the Hebrew word gala and it implies a forced removal from the land.¹ This point is affirmed by the phrase, whom I have sent away. The first surprise in this vision is that the good figs represent the part of the population of Judah that is sent into exile. It would have seemed more likely to those listening to Jeremiah in Judah that being sent into exile was a sign of being rejected by the Lord, the bad figs, while those who remained in the land were still in the place of blessing, the good figs. But the Lord says, I will regard as good the exiles from Judah. The word regard describes the Lord’s personal care for his people (see Psalm 103:16; Psalm 142:4).² The Lord continues and says, I will set my eye on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not uproot them. The Lord is applying covenant language to the exiles in Babylon.³ Nine times the word I is used in Jeremiah 24:5–7. The Lord is the main actor in these verses. It is the Lord who sent the exiles to Babylon, but he will regard them as good, set his eyes on them, plant them and build them up.⁴ The phrases, build them up, tear them down, plant them, uproot them, take the reader back to Jeremiah’s commissioning in Jeremiah 1:10. The Lord had promised Jeremiah that his preaching would determine the fate of nations, including Judah. The difference here is that it is the Lord himself who is doing the building, tearing down, planting and uprooting. It was always the Lord who would be working out his plans and purposes through his word proclaimed by his prophet and that reality is made explicit in this vision. The surprise is that the Lord will use the exiles, and not those who remained in the land, to bring about his plans to bless. The implication is that  the exiles are not good because they are morally or religiously better. The Lord chooses to regard them as good because of his sovereign plans and purposes. This sovereign grace is made more obvious in Jeremiah 24:7.