For the LORD will deliver Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. -Jeremiah 31:11

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 30, 2020): Jeremiah 31

Our national reactions to certain stimuli are often based on national experience. We expect different things. For instance, Nate White, a London (England) based copywriter, wrote a piece trying to explain why British people do not like Donald Trump. Is it because he stops in the middle of a field and forces the 90- year old Queen of England to walk around him? (The real question should be, what was President Trump doing walking in front of the Queen in the first place? Doesn’t he know how to walk?) Probably not. But the basic idea of White’s piece really comes down to a difference in the social situation.

For instance, the British don’t like bullies, and that is part of the character set for President Trump. He is often like a big, petulant child who wants his way. And when he doesn’t get it, well, he begins to lash out at those less powerful than he. Of course, that all changes when he is the company of bullies. Then, suddenly, the President of the United States “transforms into a snivelling sidekick.” For White, it is an almost inexplicable transformation.

There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down (Nate White).

Of course, this fits the national reality. There is no opponent in the same weight class as the United States. They are the world’s superpower; all the rest of the nations are only the want to be or hope to be’s. If the United States is going to punch, it is going to have to punch downward, a case that Donald Trump frequently makes. All of which makes his behavior when in the company Vladimir Putin and other national bullies even more mystifying. Not all American’s are comfortable with that reality, but enough are comfortable to make Donald Trump President.

Israel, during the reign of David, seemed to be at least a regional superpower. They were feared by their neighbors, and probably those who lived around them felt like they were the bullies residing on the block. But that reality was stuck solidly in the past; God does not seem to make a promise that those days would ever be revisited. Instead, God makes it clear that he will restore Judah from the hands of those who are stronger than they. And in making that comment, God makes explicit something that we understand about his nature. God could be a bully, as many of the other local gods were considered to be. But Yahweh was not. He was the one who continued to stand up against the bullies for “the least of these.” And in the current situation, that meant that he stood in the corner with Judah, promising help and restoration.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 32