I know that the reading schedule has only chapter 24 for today, but 25 and 26 are both longer chapters while 24 is short. So I’m shifting. Again.

After King Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) and the royal family went out and gave themselves up to the Babylonians, Jeremiah received this prophetic vision of good and bad figs.

Just to clarify, the king going out and surrendering to the Babylonians didn’t mean that the siege was over and everybody could go home.

It was kinda like an ancient version of the Beast Games.

In case you’re like me and out of touch with the latest insane American trends, Beast Games is a kind of game-show / reality-show crossover where contestants are pressured take bribes of anywhere from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands. If they take the bribe, they get the money but they’re out of the running for the 5 million dollar grand prize. Oh – but their teammates get knocked out of the competition too; only without winning anything. So there is tremendous pressure on the other side to not give in. It’s a bizarre show. I would think people would need therapy afterwards.

Anyway – Jehoiachin took the bribe. His life.

And his whole household went out with him. But the rest of the “contestants” in Jerusalem are still in the game.

And so Jeremiah has this vision…

Jehoiachin and all the others who have voluntarily taken the walk of shame out of the city to the camp of the Babylonians and turned themselves in, they are the good figs. And from them Yahweh will raise up the remnant who will return.

But the rest…

😏 Those look like that bit of cream cheese you found in the bottom of the fridge drawer.

You don’t need to tell everyone about that.

😏 You know you can buy blue cheese. You don’t have to wait til it turns blue in the fridge.

Ok. That’s enough.

😏 And grows that white fuzz.

🤦‍♀️

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CHAPTER 25

This prophecy is from approximately 8 years before the vision of the figs. In it, Yahweh – for the first time – specifies exactly how many years the people of Judah will be in exile in Babylon. 70 years.

But this prophecy is mainly directed at other nations.

Assyria was God’s weapon to punish the northern kingdom of Israel. But that doesn’t mean that the Assyrians were innocent. It’s not like God forced them to conquer Israel. Yahweh used their natural bent and choices to achieve His purpose. And then He punished them for all their atrocities. He will do the same with Babylon.

And then we get the names of nations and lands we haven’t heard about since Genesis and Job: Uz, Buz, Dedan…

This chapter may be primarily addressing the destruction of ancient kingdoms, but it uses language that is repeated in other “day-of-the-LORD” passages so it has a sharp end times flavor.

THE CUP OF THE WINE OF WRATH 🍷

I don’t know if Jeremiah traveled around and showed up in the royal courts of all these nations and stood there with a cup of wine and told the king to drink it. If he did, there’s no suggestion of it in the text.

Jeremiah is not the first one to be given this wrathful cup of wine imagery.

“For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭75‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This cup is the sworn portion of all who participate in another “Beast Games.”

“And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭14‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The Great “Mystery Babylon” must also drink this cup:

“The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭16‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This is describing a planet-wide catastrophe, the likes of which have not been seen since the flood of Noah; which erased the entire pre-flood world. It’s serious business.

The world does not like a God who destroys. Unless it’s the frightful Hindu goddess Kali – sporting her necklace of human skulls, her skirt of severed arms, and holding in her (at least) 4 hands weapons and a severed head and a bowl to catch the blood – her own “cup of wrath.” They like her just fine. Her destruction is considered part of the “circle of life.” But Yahweh… His destruction is considered oppressive and tyrannical.

Go figure.

I think the Church has become rather embarrassed by the wrath of God.

I get it. It can be very challenging to explain why God would destroy people whose sins society completely excuses.

I’m not saying that I think we need to frighten people into the kingdom. But we don’t need to molly-coddle them either.

Humanity needs to know the whole truth about our Creator. He is more gracious and gentle and patient and kind than Mr. Rogers. And He is also FEROCIOUS. Deadly. He is not a tame lion. He is utterly GOOD. So we can completely trust Him. And He is also just. He will not allow sin to go unpunished. Ever.

We will either come humbly to Christ and put our faith in the fact that He bore the punishment for us. Or we will face the punishment on our own.

It’s kind of like how Jehoiachin and his family chose humiliation; to go hat-in-hand out to the Babylonians. God will soon warn Zedekiah and the people that if they would do likewise, they would be spared, (Jer. 21:9-10, 38:2).

Christians are those who humble themselves and share the reproach of Christ outside the camp (Heb. 13:12-14). In so doing, we are spared from the wrath to come.

The ones who thought they could ignore God’s warnings and figure out a way to save themselves on their own terms – they were doomed.

That’s why, in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, the first thing Pilgrim must do is to leave the City of Destruction. Because everyone who stays isn’t going to make it.