旧约 - 耶利米书(Jeremiah)第24章

After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.
One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
Then the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "Figs," I answered. "The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten."
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.
My eyes will watch over them for their 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.
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, for they will return to me with all their heart.
"'But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,' says the LORD, 'so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.
I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them.
I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers.'"
耶利米书第廿四章   第 24 章 

  耶 24:1> 耶哥尼雅──约雅斤,最后一位犹大王被掳…… 

  24:1 公元前 597 年,犹大王约雅斤被掳到巴比伦,西底家成了傀儡皇帝。在一般情况下,皇室人员及军中领袖必然被掳成为阶下囚,以免他们行使权力策动叛乱。至于技艺优秀的工匠和铁匠,则是建设巴比伦的人才,所以也一并被掳到巴比伦去了。耶利米在 22 章 24 至 28 节曾预言这件事必然发生。 

  耶 24:2-10> 被掳──世人眼中是苦难,在神眼中却是── 

  24:2-10 “好的无花果”代表被掳到巴比伦去的犹大人。这不表示他们本身是好国民,只是他们的心仍尊敬神,所以,神必看顾他们,领他们归回故土。“坏的无花果”代表仍留在犹大国或逃亡埃及的人,他们自以为是,认为留在犹大或逃到埃及必蒙祝福。这与他们的想法恰恰相反,神乃要藉被掳的过程锻炼祂的百姓,看顾、赐福给他们。我们可能会认为生活顺利就是蒙祝福,不顺利就是受咒诅。然而,如果艰难困苦能令我们更加坚毅,逆境也是祝福;万事顺利若令我们离开神,顺境也是咒诅。因此,遇到困境时,求神帮助你为祂刚强起来;生活顺利时,求主教导你善用机会服事祂。 

  耶 24:6> 犹大人被掳至巴比伦的情形── 

  24:6 被掳到巴比伦的犹大人都蒙耶和华眷顾,他们虽然是俘虏,身处异乡,却不至沦为奴隶,甚至还可以经营生意,有自己的住所。更有些能在巴比伦的政府中担任要职,但以理就是其中之一。(参但 2:48 )──《灵修版圣经注释》