Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour. (Jeremiah 12:9 KJV)
John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes – “The birds round about – It is usual for other birds to flock about a strange coloured bird, such as they have not been used to see.”
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary – “speckled bird — Many translate, “a ravenous beast, the hyena”; the corresponding Arabic word means hyena; so the Septuagint. But the Hebrew always elsewhere means “a bird of prey.” The Hebrew for “speckled” is from a root “to color”; answering to the Jewish blending together with paganism the altogether diverse Mosaic ritual. The neighboring nations, birds of prey like herself (for she had sinfully assimilated herself to them), were ready to pounce upon her.”
“hyena’s lair” – ESV
All these variances make it hard to show a picture, but the ones shown are guesses.
Also, the application should give those today a stern warning about bringing the “worldly practices and beliefs” into our church services. I see it today in churches that do things that are clearly taught against in God’s Word, the Bible. Many things could be named, but one that disturbes this writer alot is the denial of God’s Creation of this world. More and more supposed Christian leaders are teaching different theories to “blend” the world’s theory of evolution with the Lord’s clear teaching in Genesis.
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. (2 Peter 2:1 NKJV)
* Pictures in Order – White-backed Vulture, Ruppell’s Vulture, Hartlaub’s Bustard
See also:
Great Speckled Bird
The Great Speckled Bird (song) from Wikipedia
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