What does it mean to return to God with your whole heart (Jeremiah 24:7)?

There were no intermediate figs. They were either ‘very good’ or ‘very bad’. This shows that God would not accept a middle ground or a neutral position. The good figs were the ones that accepted the discipline and bowed under it. God would bless them and bring about a complete change in their hearts: ‘And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart’ (Jer. 24:7).

This carrying away having been effected, Jeremiah in a vision sees two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord (Jer. 24), the only place where the true state of the people might be appreciated. One of these baskets was full of very good figs in God's eyes, like figs that are first ripe; the other of very bad figs. That which men saw was exactly the opposite of that which God reveals to Jeremiah. To the world the good figs were the people remaining at Jerusalem under Zedekiah; to God's heart they were those carried away from Judah. Their goodness rested upon the fact that they had submitted to Gods' judgment due their iniquity. This same principle holds true for us, only thanks be to God, we have suffered our judgment in the person of Christ, condemned in our stead upon the cross. Once the sentence was executed, God could look down with favour upon those who had been its objects. "And I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up" (Jer. 24:6). He was able to establish them in His presence forever. They must be perfect for that, and it was in this character that the Lord viewed the poor captive remnant. It is the same for us: in virtue of Christ's judgment God sees us perfect in Him, however wretched we may be in ourselves.

The Lord announces the restoration of the people. "I will bring them again to this land," but at the same time He proclaims that in the future He would give them moral perfection before him, the result of a new covenant in which everything would come from Him. He alone is its author; it will be a covenant of grace, not of responsibility. "And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart" (v. 7).

Jeremiah 24, the last of our section, shows by the sign of the two baskets of figs that a remnant shall be preserved, though the rest as bad figs are utterly rejected. Sad and solemn as it is to think of these latter, it is nevertheless cheering and comforting to think of these who are represented by the very good figs. Even in the land of the Chaldeans the eyes of the Lord are upon them for good. They should be restored again, too, and established in the land of Israel; but, better than the best of the land, they should know the Lord; and, better than returning to the place, they should return to Him, as He says: “I will give them an HEART TO KNOW ME, that I am the Lord: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: for they shall RETURN UNTO ME WITH THEIR WHOLE HEART” (v. 7).

Jeremiah 24 appears to conclude this collection of predictions given at different times, but brought together here because of their moral unity as clustering round the last kings of Judah in view of the fall of Jerusalem. The object was to set forth clearly, under the image of two baskets of figs, the wholly opposite fates that awaited those Jews who with Jeconiah were carried off to Babylon, and those who with Zedekiah remained in the land or dwelt in Egypt. "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. For I will set mines eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them a heart to know me, 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. And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus says the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt. And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave to them and to their fathers." (Ver. 5-10.) It is painful but of faith to bow to God's solemn judgment of our sin; for He cannot be unfaithful to Himself, and loves to exalt those who abase themselves in His sight. It was unbelief to cleave to the temple and the land when God was judging all, just because His name set there had been made an excuse for the grossest and most rebellious iniquity.

In this fresh message to the people Samuel clearly shows that, in turning to the Lord, all depends upon the way in which they take this great step. He says, as it were, "If you are to be restored to blessing, 'return to the Lord with all your hearts."' A half-hearted return will not avail. It is useless for the people of God to turn to the Lord with a partial condemnation of themselves accompanied by excuses. If we turn to the Lord there can be no compromise as to our sin and failure. If, however, the people return to the Lord with all their hearts, three things will mark them: —

Samuel's voice is now heard. "If ye do return to Jehovah with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts to Jehovah, and serve Him only: and He will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines." Observe the words, "with all your hearts" and "prepare your hearts." Note too the word "only." Nothing external or superficial could be accepted. Out of the heart are the issues of life (Prov. 4:23), and the heart must be really reached.

But, thank God, there is a bright side of the picture. There is mercy as well as judgement; and our God, blessed for ever be His holy Name, is something more than "a consuming fire and a jealous God." True, He is a consuming fire, because He is holy. He is intolerant of evil, and must consume our dross. Moreover, He is jealous because He cannot suffer any rival to have a place in the hearts of those He loves. He must have the whole heart, because He alone is worthy of it, as He alone can fill and satisfy it for ever. And if His people turn away from Him, and go after idols of their own making, they must be left to reap the bitter fruit of their own doings, and to prove, by sad and terrible experience, the truth of these words, "their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another."

But mark how touchingly Moses presents to the people the bright side of things — a brightness springing from the eternal stability of the grace of God, and the perfect provision which that grace has made for all His people's need, from first to last. "But," he says — and oh! how lovely are some of the "buts" of holy scripture! — "if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul" — exquisite grace! — "when thou art in tribulation" — that is the time to find what our God is — "and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient to his voice." — What then? "A consuming fire?" Nay; but "the Lord thy God is a merciful God, he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he sware to them."

Moreover, God revealed these things through Moses that Israel might be forewarned, and “do all the words of this law.” Still, in spite of all that Israel was, and would be, God had His secrets regarding them, and of this Moses also spoke, saying, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God” (verse 29), and these secret things are made known in the first ten verses of the following chapter. God would not only punish His people for their idolatry, but when they returned unto the Lord their God, he would turn their captivity, having compassion on them, and father them “from all the nations” whither He had scattered them. This was partially accomplished when the remnant returned under Zerubbabel, but what is spoken of in verse 6, their loving the Lord their God with all their heart, and with all their soul must await the writing of the law in their heart under the new covenant.

Verses 1-4. A return must be a return unto Him, Jehovah; anything less is insufficient. Their abominations must be judged and put away. Every return of backsliders must be in the same way--a true return to the Lord with confession of sin, self-judgment, and abandonment of evil. The circumcision of the heart means regeneration. (See chapter 31:31-34, and Ezek. 36:26.)

Notice that they seek “Him”; they seek to please Him, to be more like Him. This is not a merely “intellectual” activity, but it is a question of the whole heart being engaged. My heart yearning after Him day by day, all day long. “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart”, is the wonderful promise (Jer. 29:13).