Full article at: What Do The Good And Bad Figs Of Jeremiah Represent? | World Events and the Bible
If you’ve read the prophetic Book of Jeremiah, you’ve probably wondered what the good and bad figs represent. We’ll learn, they represent good and bad Israelites…
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So, whomever the bad figs are, they are all dead.
But there are people who says the two kind of figs are now in the nation of Israel. Ones are kenites and the other are of the house of Judah.
I think the creation of the nation of Israel must have some meaning after all.
I do not share this opinion, I’m with Bran on this one. But it rings my ears someway
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I think, with deep study in Ezra, you will find there was no infiltration of the priesthood.
In 538 BC, Zerubbabel took the 1st group back to Jerusalem, they took a record of genealogy with them.
Among them were, 4289 priests. (of Aaron) The priests had to be from the lineage of Aaron. The other Levites were taken as the first born of Israel to the service of the Lord, assist the priests and do temporal duties. (Num 3:12)
All priests were Levites but not all Levites were priests. The other 341 Levites listed, held other duties for the sanctuary. (Ezra 2:40-42)
Those who could not show who they were, among the children of the priests, were considered polluted and put out.
Even the Nethinims and Soloman’s servants were censored.
Moving forward to 458 BC, (80 years later) Ezra took another group. Before he traveled too far, he inventoried the people, including the priests (sons of Aaron) but found no sons of Levi.
Remember, you had to be a Levite to be a priest, but only the sons of Aaron. (also, of Levi) Only they could enter certain areas of the sanctuary, God’s house, to perform the duties.
The people lacking in attendance were not the priests, they were the Levites who did the other work for the house of the Lord, excluding the priestly duties. (Singers, Porters etc.)
Ezra sent for a group of Israelites to go back to Babylon and bring Levites, back for the trip. (He had priests, not the worker bees)
They were sent to Iddo, and his brethren the Nethinims. (Nethinim means, one dedicated to duty or service) We know Iddo was a chief Israelite, not a foreigner.
The term “brethren” has a wide application. It would either be blood family, or spiritual family. Here it would be spiritual. They didn’t travel 900 miles back to Jerusalem, so their offspring could plot and kill Christ over 400 years later.
Those who chose to go with them back to Ezra and on to Jerusalem were Israelites. 3 of them are listed as sons of Merari (Levi’s son) and Sherebiah who was one of the chiefs of priests.
The Nethinims that came with the 2nd trip, too, had to specify who they were.
So, we can see, there was no covert action to pollute the priesthood at this time that some would believe. It just isn’t scriptural. After Nehemiah, other than Malachi, biblical history of the Old Testament was over. The next wait was Christ.
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Hi Snowflakes, thank you very much. Very detailed and sharp explanation.
The only thing that makes me think is the creation of the nation of Israel.
Thank you for teach me something useful.
Regards
Thank you very much, this is because I didn’t reply to you in the post before