I’m gonna say it. There are a lot of really stupid people in the world. Here’s the proof.

🤨 Really? Surely no one is that stu… 🔥💥

Oh, no, I assure you, they are.

Let me show you my favorite one…

😲😳🤢

There was a warning label on the Covenant God made with Israel.

“But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

⚠️Warning: Unfaithfulness is deadly.

God has to explain this to the people because it’s doubtful that many of them (even the leaders and priests) have bothered to remember or believe the Word of God. Yahweh is telling them why they are about to be destroyed by Babylon. It’s not because He’s in a mood.

In the United States (18 USC 2381), there is only one crime that carries a federally-designated punishment of death. Treason.

The nation of Israel is facing destruction because they have broken the Law. This is not God throwing a temper tantrum. This is the legal penalty for their crimes.

Deuteronomy 27:15-26 gives the full list of warning labels; or, the penalties for breaking certain laws. There are 12 curses pronounced for 12 violations. And the people say “Amen” to each one. The very first one is:

“‘Cursed is anyone who carves or casts an idol and secretly sets it up. These idols, the work of craftsmen, are detestable to the Lord.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭27‬:‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is part of their nation’s law. Idolatry comes with a curse. Every citizen knows this. But they have collectively decided to ignore it.

The final one is a catch-all:

“‘Cursed is anyone who does not affirm and obey the terms of these instructions.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭27‬:‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jeremiah 11 begins by referring back to this.

“Remind the people of Judah and Jerusalem about the terms of my covenant with them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Cursed is anyone who does not obey the terms of my covenant!’”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭11‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

And since no one else is gonna say it, Jeremiah says, “Amen!”

LET’S TALK ABOUT AMEN

Some of you may remember in 2021 when a U.S. Representative prayed at the opening of congress and ended his prayer with “Amen… and a woman.”

The congressman later said he meant it as a pun to acknowledge the record number of women sworn into office, but his little stunt stirred up some heated debate.

Depending on where you live, you might hear the word “amen” pronounced as…

• Ah-mehn
• Ah-min
• Ay-men
• Ay-min
• Ay-man (which sounds like: A man.)
• Ay-ma-yuhn (only in the deep south)

I can’t believe there are people out there who might think that the word “amen” means “a man,” but here we are.

Amen is a Hebrew word. And, according to Strong’s, none of us say it right.

In the KJV, Jer. 11:5 has “so be it.” This was the expected response to the pronouncement of this curse.

😐 Aren’t you gonna do the thing with the Paleo Hebrew?

Uh… No. I don’t think so. Or at least, I need to work on it some more. All I can come up with is “Chief Shining Waters.” And that sounds like a character in a old-timey Hollywood western.

Amen is concurrence; entering into agreement. And it just sounds better to say “Amen!,” when the preacher makes an especially good point than it would if people shouted, “I concur!” “Agreement!”

Amen is more like Yul Brenner as Ramses in The Ten Commandments…

👋🏼😯 Oo! Ooo! Hey! I have an idea!

What’s that?

🤔 I noticed that Ramses and Chief Shining Waters have something in common! They’re both chiefs! (And they both have cool head-gear.) And “amen” is like a chief-word. Strong. Like with power. “So let it be done!”

Okaaaaaaayyyy… That’s Alef, the chief part. What about the Mem for waters?

🤔 Well, one of the meanings for mem is “lift up,” right? Like waves lift up?

Yeah…. So what is being strongly lifted up?

🤔 That would be the N right? Nachash? The shiny serpent?

Yes. Shiny. Reflecting God’s light.

☝🏼😲 So is it… strongly lifting up a reflection? Like a big mirror that says, “Yeah! Right back at cha!” 🪞

Ya know something… I think you might be on to something. Maybe it’s where we get the idea of “I’d like to bounce an idea off you.” Like, we want to know if someone else will agree. Will they reflect back to us? Will they say “so be it,” “that’s a good idea.”? The next time I say “amen” in church I’m probably gonna imagine myself lifting up a big mirror and strongly reflecting back what was said.

😐 Only, the people Jeremiah preached to weren’t saying “amen,” were they?

No. They were trying to kill him.

😬

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CHAPTER 12

So Jeremiah prays.

😬 Yeah. I’d pray too if people were trying to kill me.

And to start his prayer, Jeremiah asks a question that I’m sure most of us have asked:

“Lord, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you. So let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy? You have planted them, and they have taken root and prospered. Your name is on their lips, but you are far from their hearts.” Jeremiah‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In the early 1900s a preacher wrote a hymn based on Jeremiah’s question.

Farther Along (This is a fantastic rendition by a bluegrass group I’ve never heard of.)

Jeremiah asks how long must this be tolerated. And the LORD replies like a good coach: “Cowboy up, there, young fella. It hasn’t even gotten hard yet.”

In the middle of His reply, God compares Judah to “a speckled bird.” And this one tiny line was turned into a song made famous by Roy Acuff. My grandpa was a big Roy Acuff fan and he used to sing this song all the time: The Great Speckled Bird.

It’s a rather good song on its own merits and it has massive nostalgia-points for me so I’m going to apologize right now for how I’m about to pick it apart.

If you listen to the lyrics closely (or look them up online) it becomes apparent that the songwriter sees the great speckled bird as a figure of the Church.

There’s only one problem with this. And it’s a big one.

🫤 What’s that?

The Great Speckled Bird gets eaten. 🪶

First off, we need to look at verse 7.

“I have forsaken My house, I have abandoned My inheritance; I have handed the beloved of My soul over to her enemies.” Jeremiah 12:7 NASB2000

This is the context. God has abandoned His people to her enemies. It’s like saying I handed over the chickens 🐓 to the fox. 🦊

In verse 8, Yahweh first compares His people, (His “heritage” or “inheritance”), to a lion roaring at Him. If you’re in the woods and a cougar or a panther screams at you, you’re not its friend. That means you are enemies. So Yahweh says, when this lion roared at Him, “Therefore I have come to hate her.” The word for hate means to regard as an odious enemy or foe.

So that’s comparison #1. Next, He compares His people to a “speckled bird.” Some translations (LEB, ESV) say a “hyena’s lair.” This is based on the Septuagint but I don’t think it was referring to an actual hyena but perhaps the spotted coat of a hyena.

The word translated “speckled” is difficult because it appears nowhere else in the Bible for comparison.

And here is its root word:

Anybody else picking up a nod to Joseph’s coat? 🦜🦚

The word for “bird” means any “bird of prey,” 🦅 not specifically a vulture as in the NLT. I’m no translator but it seems to me that the NASB gives a solid rendering, but it strangely gives the lion comparison as a statement, but the bird comparison as a question. Other translations have them both as statements.

So here’s a conglomerate wording of verses 8-9 that pulls together the best language (IMO) from a few different translations:

“My inheritance – my chosen people – have roared at me like a lion in the forest; therefore I regard them as my hateful enemy.

My chosen people are like a colorful bird surrounded by birds of prey. Go, gather all the wild animals. Let them come and eat.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭12‬:‭8‬-‭9‬

David slew the lion that attacked his flock. Satan goes about as a roaring lion too.

Joseph was like a colorful bird surrounded by his jealous, predatory brothers. And what did his father say when he saw the bloodied coat? “A wild beast has devoured him.” Only this time, it’s true.

Israel was Father’s favorite among the jealous nations. And what did they do? They sent him into captivity far from home.