NOTES for Jer 24:1-10
The two baskets of figs represent two parts of the people. Yet the difference between them is not that some are already in captivity and have tasted the disasters and hardships of wartime while the others still face these things. Their response to trials is more important. The two robbers crucified beside the Savior underwent the same sufferings on the cross. But their responses differed, and the conclusions they drew in the face of death were opposite. So it is here: different members of the same people respond differently to the same sufferings. Yet part of the people, though still the smaller part, has already entered the path of repentance. The path will be long, but it will bear good fruit.
Those who are likened to the bad figs and have not yet set out on the path toward the Lord also have the possibility of repentance. But at present they are not so disposed and are walking toward death, vividly represented by the rotting of the discarded fruit.