This article examines the Shepherd's Chapel teaching on the "Good and Bad Figs" from Jeremiah 24, which claims that the passage refers to Kenites (bad figs) and true Jews (good figs) returning to Israel in 1948, marking the start of the "generation of the fig tree." This interpretation, however, relies on eisegesis—imposing external ideas onto the text—rather than a faithful exegesis of Scripture. A careful reading of Jeremiah 24 reveals that it addresses the Babylonian exile and God's plans for judgment and restoration, not modern events or ethnic groups.
Jeremiah 24: The Good and Bad Figs
Here is the text of Jeremiah 24 (ESV) for reference:
Jeremiah 24: The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
1 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord.
2 One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten.
3 And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me:
5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.
6 I will set my eyes 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 pluck them up.
7 I will give them a heart to know 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.
8 “But thus says the Lord: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.
9 I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them.
10 And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.”
Overview of the Passage
Jeremiah 24 presents a vision of two baskets of figs: one good and one bad. The good figs represent the Judahites exiled to Babylon in 597 BC, whom God will preserve and restore. The bad figs symbolize those who remained in Jerusalem or fled to Egypt, defying God’s command to submit to Babylonian exile (see Jeremiah 21:9). The passage underscores God’s purposes of judgment (for the disobedient) and salvation (for the exiles), showing that repentance could no longer avert the exile God had ordained.
Verse-by-Verse Analysis
Verse 1: The context is set after Nebuchadnezzar’s exile of King Jeconiah, Judah’s officials, craftsmen, and metalworkers in 597 BC. God shows Jeremiah a vision of two baskets of figs before the temple (compare with Jeremiah 1:11–16).
Verses 2–3: Jeremiah describes the figs: one basket contains good, ripe figs (representing the exiles, v. 5), while the other holds bad, inedible figs (representing those who stayed in Judah or fled to Egypt, v. 8).
Verses 4–5: God identifies the good figs as the exiles in Babylon, whom He will regard favorably (see Jeremiah 29:10–14 for similar promises).
Verse 6: God promises to restore the exiles, building them up and planting them in the land (echoing Jeremiah 1:10; 12:2; 18:9).
Verse 7: God will grant the exiles a heart to know Him, restoring their covenant relationship as His people.
Verse 8: The bad figs are explicitly identified as King Zedekiah, his officials, the remnant in Jerusalem, and those in Egypt—not Kenites or any modern group.
Verses 9–10: God pronounces judgment on the bad figs, promising they will face sword, famine, and pestilence until they are destroyed (see Jeremiah 15:2–4).
Refuting Shepherd’s Chapel’s Interpretation
Shepherd’s Chapel claims that the good figs are "true Jews" (whom they associate with European Caucasians via British-Israelism) and the bad figs are Kenites (alleged descendants of Cain posing as Jews), with the prophecy fulfilled in Israel’s 1948 statehood or the 1967 Six-Day War. This interpretation lacks biblical support for several reasons:
Historical Context: Jeremiah 24 clearly addresses the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC, not events in the 20th century. The good figs are the exiles in Babylon, and the bad figs are those who resisted exile, not ethnic groups like Kenites or modern Jews.
Explicit Identities: The text identifies the bad figs as Zedekiah, his officials, and those in Jerusalem or Egypt (v. 8). There is no mention of Kenites, a group referenced elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Genesis 15:19) but not in this context.
Eisegesis vs. Exegesis: Shepherd’s Chapel imports ideas like British-Israelism and a "fig tree generation" into the text, ignoring its plain meaning. The passage focuses on God’s judgment and restoration in the exile, not a prophecy about 1948 or a final generation before Christ’s return.
Theological Implications: The teaching distorts God’s covenant promises, which are tied to His work through the exiles, not a modern geopolitical event or racial categories.
Conclusion
Jeremiah 24 is a straightforward prophecy about God’s plans for the Judahites during the Babylonian exile: those who submitted to exile would be preserved and restored, while those who resisted would face judgment. Shepherd’s Chapel’s interpretation, which links the passage to Kenites, true Jews, and 1948, is an unsupported eisegesis that ignores the text’s historical and theological context. By adhering to proper exegesis, we see God’s faithfulness in judgment and salvation, fulfilled in the return of the exiles, not modern events.
Soli Deo Gloria!