The film Us, by Jordan Peele, is a horror movie about a family who goes on a beach vacation and encounters another family that is exactly like them. The doppelgangers are, of course, nefarious and the movie descends into a tale of fear, fleeing, and fights. But, early in the film, a man is holding a sign that says “Jeremiah 11:11” which has caused a surge in Google searches for that verse.

The scripture, which I will examine below, is appropriate in the context of the grim future of the family’s plight where disaster, in its varying, suspenseful forms, overtakes them and they desperately attempt to survive. So, there you go. For those who love horror movies, suspense, drama, and the like, this film is for you.

But, what of the verse?  What does it say and what does it mean?

Jeremiah 11:11

Jeremiah 11:11, “Therefore thus says the LORD, ‘Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them.'”

The context is dealing with ancient Israel. The Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah who commanded him to speak to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The Lord recounts how he had brought their forefathers out of bondage in the land of Egypt (v. 4). God had covenanted with them to bless them if the people would keep the covenant that God had made with them (v. 5). But, they did not. The following generations turned their back on the covenant of God and sought after the evil ways of their ancestors (v. 10) and followed after false gods (v. 12-13). It is in this context that we have Jeremiah 11:11. It is God’s promise of judgment upon the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem – which soon followed. But, as is frequently the case in the history of Israel, once the judgment of God comes upon them, they repent and God restores them.

So, Jeremiah 11:11 was lifted from Scripture, applied in the movie “Us,” and was used as a metaphor, a forth-telling of the disaster that was to come upon the family, who are the main subjects of the movie.  Yep, real Old Testament kind of stuff.