You may have noticed that the verse Jeremiah 11:11 has been trending in the last couple of weeks: “Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I am about to bring on them disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to me, but I will not hear them” (Jeremiah 11:11, CSB). Why this text? And why the sudden interest?

"Us" the Movie with Jeremiah 11:11

A little over a year ago, Jordan Peele’s horror movie "Us" premiered nationwide starring Oscar® winner Lupita Nyong’o as Adelaide Wilson. The story focuses on Adelaide and her family’s terrifying encounter with their doppelgängers. The doppelgängers are not a friendly family who happen to live down the street. No. They are from a group of people known as the Tethered, people who live underground and who have never been heard. Instead, they “speak” in guttural clicks that sound almost like someone who is being choked. The doppelgängers come above ground and terrorize the Wilson family mercilessly, until at the end, we find out that not all has been as it had seemed.

Twice in the movie Adelaide sees a homeless man carrying a cardboard sign on which is written Jeremiah 11:11. In the first instance, the man is on the beach. In the second, his corpse is being loaded into an ambulance. And throughout the movie, 1111 pops up.

In the context of a horror movie in which underground-living people who cannot talk are rebelling and terrorizing others, Jeremiah’s words make sense — words of people experiencing a “disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to me, but I will not hear them.”

"Us" was released in the theaters in March 2019. It came out on demand in the last couple of weeks. So suddenly, Jeremiah 11:11 is trending. People want to know — what does this verse say?

The text itself is ominous:

“Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I am about to bring on them disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to me, but I will not hear them” (Jeremiah 11:11, CSB).

What a seemingly unsympathetic word from God! The text is trending in part because it reflects what many people are feeling today.

Us Living with COVID-19 Today

Who would have ever thought we would see what we are seeing today? We get daily infection and death counts related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Suddenly people in protective clothing are on the news daily. Face masks. Gloves. Sanitizers. Safe distances. Social and physical distancing. These have become commonplace in our world. It’s not out of paranoia or fear. People are rightly concerned for their health, safety, and protection.

The other day I was in the checkout line and was keeping an exaggeratedly large gap between my cart and the person in front of me. I heard a cart rolling up behind me and turned to see that the person’s cart was almost at my heels. I turned around, snapped my hand in a palm-outward “Stop!” position and said, “That’s close enough!”

Two things surprised me about the moment. First, I was surprised that I would have ever done that. I said to myself, “GB, what are you doing? Your granny would have pinched you if she had ever seen you do that!” I didn’t mean to say it. I hadn’t planned on saying it. But there it was. I said it out of concern for my health and for my wife’s when I got home. Second, I was surprised at the reaction of the shopper. I am happy to report that he did not punch me right square in the mouth! Instead, he looked rather stunned and replied sheepishly, “I am sorry. You are right.” Then he backed up. This is the world we are living in.

We are inundated with news of the tragedy and horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic. It certainly feels like God is bringing disaster on us — disaster that we cannot escape. I thought to myself, “That’s why the Jeremiah 11:11 verse is trending.” Well, maybe — but maybe not exclusively.

Us Confronted with Fear, Longing for Hope

So are the words of Jeremiah 11:11 some kind of omen? Does the fact that this reference is popping up have a foreboding message to us? Or is there more to it?

For us to appreciate the significance of Jeremiah 11:11, we should understand the context. Jeremiah lived and prophesied in the days prior to the fall of the Southern Kingdom of Judah to the Babylonians in 586 BC. God’s people had disobeyed God and had forsaken their covenant. Thus Jeremiah had a word for them:

The LORD said to me, “A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. They have returned to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to obey my words and have followed other gods to worship them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke my covenant I made with their ancestors.

“Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I am about to bring on them disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to me, but I will not hear them. Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods they have been burning incense to, but they certainly will not save them in their time of disaster. Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, Judah, and the altars you have set up to Shame—​altars to burn incense to Baal​—​as numerous as the streets of Jerusalem.” — Jeremiah 11:9-13 (CSB)

Indeed, God’s people did see catastrophic loss — a disaster from which they could not escape. The Babylonians destroyed the Jews’ beloved temple and carried His people by waves into captivity.

But not the entire book is as foreboding as Jeremiah 11:11. Jeremiah 29:11-14 carries a promising word of hope for the people in exile:

“For I know the plans I have for you" — ​this is the LORD’s declaration — "plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you" — ​this is the LORD’s declaration ​— "and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you" — ​this is the LORD’s declaration. "I will restore you to the place from which I deported you" (CSB).

Yes for the people of Judah, judgment was inescapable. But hope was still promised. Jeremiah was fulfilling what God foretold when He called the prophet to ministry.

“See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant” (Jeremiah 1:10, CSB).

Because of COVID-19, people are experiencing the loss of jobs and income, security and stability — or more tragically the loss of loved ones. Many today feel like their lives are being uprooted, torn down, destroyed, and demolished. Truthfully and tragically, they are right.

Let us remember, though, that our God also​ ​​builds and plants. He does listen to us and allows Himself to be found when we seek Him with our whole hearts. He never promises that we will not experience disaster and heartache. Instead, He promises that He will walk with His children in times of disaster. We do not have to face the future with fear and dread but we can do so with faith and with the assurance that we do not face the challenges by ourselves. The apostle Paul wrote to believers living in Philippi:

“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, CSB).

We don’t have to be filled with fear. We can have a sense of peace that is beyond human understanding or logical explanation. What a great promise the Lord has given to us!

G.B. Howell Jr., is a writer and editor living in the Nashville, Tenn., area. He is the editor of Biblical Illustrator.