on good figs and bad figs

was led to this passage in Jeremiah during the 24/7 prayer sessions:
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Jeremiah 24 (New International Version)

Two Baskets of Figs

 ¹ After Jehoiachin ^[a] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. ² One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten.

 ³ Then the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
      "Figs," I answered. "The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten."

 ⁴ Then the word of the LORD came to me: ⁵ "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. ^{[b] 6} My eyes will watch over them for their 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 uproot them. ⁷ I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

 ⁸ " 'But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,' says the LORD, 'so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. ⁹ I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. ¹⁰ I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers.' "

(Taken from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+24&version=NIV)

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I came across it twice in the span of a few days during the deadman's watch. Was still keeping it within my heart, due to the enormity of the message. At the invitation of one of the facilitators, I shared this with one of the morning groups. To me, this is a call to repentance.

Interestingly, the facilitator went on to further clarify that things are not always as it seems. From the above passage, to the world it would have seemed the exiles are being punished for their sins, and the remnant in Jerusalem is being "saved". Not so in God's scheme, for He promised to be the deliverer of the exiles, and destroy the remnant at Jerusalem.