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Under
the Shadow of His Wings
by: Terry Mason, Deputy–International Development
Bridges
For Peace
Did you
have a positive childhood experience that continues to impact your life?
When I
was a tender, impressionable eight-year-old boy, my parents worked at a
college. A graduate student in biology took an interest in me and my twin
brother.
He would
often take us out in the springtime to check bird nests and do field research.
I was hooked; we saw God’s handiwork up close and personal as we watched the
eggs hatch and baby birds develop.
I bought
my first pair of binoculars at a household sale and have enjoyed watching and
studying birds ever since.
Combining
my love for the Word of God and enjoyment of the beautiful birds that He
created only seemed natural.
Over the
years I have found it interesting, even deeply insightful, to look at
references to birds in Scripture. It is wings that make birds unique in the
animal kingdom.
Let’s
look at some of the many spiritual lessons that we can learn from the birds,
especially their wings, which are mentioned so often in the Word.
After all, in Matthew 6:26 Yeshua (Jesus) admonished us to do just
that, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more
value than they?” (emphasis added).
Escape/Security
Wings are
a safety asset for birds.
In Psalm 55, King David looked at the birds and wished for the
asset of wings in the midst of his adversaries when he cried out, “Fearfulness
and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me. So I said, ‘Oh,
that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would
wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah’” (Psalm
55:5–7).
One of
the greatest benefits of having wings is that a bird can quickly spread them
and avoid danger, flying high above and far away from any perceived threat.
In fact, that is how God described His intervention for the
Israelites when He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. “You have seen
what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought
you to Myself” (Exodus 19:4).
In his classic commentary Matthew Henry states, “It denotes
great speed. God not only came upon the wing for their deliverance (when the
set time was come, he rode on a cherub, and did fly), but he hastened them out,
as it were, upon the wing. He did it also with great ease, with the strength as
well as with the swiftness of an eagle.”
Due to
its ability to fly very high and nest on inaccessible cliffs the eagle had no
known predators during biblical times.
Both Obadiah and Jeremiah used this imagery to prophesy doom
against Israel’s enemies, the Edomites, that they could not escape God’s
reach. “‘Your fierceness has deceived you, the pride of your heart, O
you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill!
Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from
there,’ says the LORD” (Jeremiah 49:16).
“‘Though you ascend as high as the eagle, and though you set your
nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,’ says the LORD” (Obadiah
1:4).
Defense
Isaiah 31:5 gives a vivid word picture of the fierceness parent
birds often show when defending their young likening it to God’s defense of
Jerusalem. “Like birds flying about, so will the LORD of hosts defend
Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; passing over, He will preserve
it.”
Most
species of birds are bold and aggressive in defense of their nests and
nestlings. If a perceived threat approaches too closely the parent birds often
dive bomb the intruder to try and drive it away. Often, they will use their
strong bills or feet to attack.
When we
visited a nesting island in the North Atlantic, the guide gave each member of
our landing party a long stick before we left the boat and told everyone to
hold it above our heads.
He
explained that the terns would attack the top of the stick rather than our
heads. Once we were on shore walking, one lady felt funny carrying a stick
vertically over her head and decided to put her stick down.
Almost
immediately a parent tern swooped down and took a chunk of flesh out of her scalp
with its strong beak.
With
birds of prey the consequences can be even more severe as they use their
powerful talons to inflict pain and drive the threat away.
The next
time you see a parent bird aggressively defending its nest, remember that is
how God is portrayed in Scripture as He defends Jerusalem, His holy city.
And He
will do the same to protect us, His children.
Indeed,
we are commanded in Psalm 122:6 to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and, in
Isaiah, we are told that we should not allow the Lord to forget His promise to
defend Jerusalem.
Through
our faithful, fervent prayers we can remind God to swoop down as it were and
defend Jerusalem.
“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never
hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep
silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a
praise in the earth. The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His
strength: ‘Surely I will no longer give your grain as food for your enemies;
and the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, for which you have
labored. But those who have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD;
those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts’” (Isaiah
62:6-9).
Attack
In
biblical times an eagle in flight was one of the fastest known animals and
compared to humans it could cover large distances very rapidly.
Deuteronomy 28:49 describes how an enemy will come upon Israel
swiftly, “The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the
end of the earth, swift as the eagle flies…” and again in Jeremiah
4:13, “Behold, he shall come up like clouds, and his chariots like a
whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles” (See also
Lamentations 4:19 and Habakkuk 1:8).
There are
reports of eagles surpassing 130 km/h (80 mph) while soaring. Falcons can reach
speeds of 400 km/h (249 mph) while diving to attack.
Job
looked at the birds and mourned the swiftness of life’s passing, comparing it
to the speed of an eagle in search of prey (Job 9:25, 26).
Besides
being swift, eagles fight well above their own weight. Eagles can weigh up to
20 lb. (9 kg.) and have a wing span up to 6½ feet (2 m). They can carry prey up
to their own weight.
Movement — Effortless Strength, Soaring
One of my
favorite bird watching activities is to follow a bird of prey as it catches a
thermal of warm air and rises effortlessly, sometimes almost out of sight.
The
rising warm air catches under the bird’s wings and lifts it aloft without any
need to flap and expend energy.
Indeed,
this is how many bird species migrate. They circle higher and higher on
thermals and then glide for great distances all without having to flap their
wings and expend significant energy.
That is exactly what is promised to those who wait on (hope in)
the Lord. “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
Most of us have seen firsthand how easily money and wealth can
slip away as Solomon warns us in Proverbs 23:4, 5. “Do not overwork to
be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on
that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away
like an eagle toward heaven.”
Comfort/Protection
Perhaps
the most common analogy to wings in Scripture is to liken them to God’s care
and protection.
After the Exodus, God cared for and carried the Israelites for
forty years in a desert wilderness. “He found him in a desert land and
in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He
kept him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over
its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings,
so the Lord alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him” (Deuteronomy
32:10–12).
Indeed,
eagles are known to sit on their nests protecting their eggs and young for over
24 hours during heavy snow storms until they are almost completely covered
themselves with wet, heavy snow.
Once the
storm passes, they stand up, spread their mighty wings and shake off the snow.
This is
the same imagery that God gives us in the festival of Sukkot, the
Feast of Tabernacles.
Dwelling
in temporary shelters for seven days reminds us of God’s divine presence
carrying and sustaining the Israelites in the desert for forty years.
Their
feet did not swell and their clothing did not wear out. He provided water,
nourishment and protection. He overshadowed them in a barren wilderness where
they would have died on their own.
In recounting God’s protection and provision in the desert Psalm
105:39 states, “He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give
light in the night.”
So,
despite their difficult surroundings they could rejoice in Him.
Reflecting on Sukkot, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks says, “For
me the Tabernacle with its roof of leaves is the symbol of faith. Nothing could
be more fragile, vulnerable, open to the wind and rain, a temporary dwelling.
Yet nothing sustained a people more than the knowledge that around it were the
wings of the Divine presence. The faith of Jews through the generations was not
simple, nor was it blind. They had no illusions that all was well in this dark
world, yet they sat in the Sukkah and sang. To know that life is full
of risk and yet affirm it, to sense the full insecurity of the human situation
and yet rejoice — that, for me, is faith.”
Because
we can look back and see all of the times that God has helped and sustained us,
we, too, can rejoice in the shadow of His wings.
We see
this kind of informed faith in Psalm 63 as David reflected on times spent in
the desert wilderness in his own life.
Then in verse 7 he says, “Because You have been my help,
therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.”
In the
Psalms we find numerous other uses of this analogy of sheltering under the
wings of God’s care and protection:
“Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of
Your wings” (Psalm 17:8).
“How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! Therefore the
children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm
36:7).
“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts
in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these
calamities have passed by” (Psalm 57:1).
“I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the
shelter of Your wings” (Psalm 61:4).
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide
under the shadow of the Almighty… He shall cover you with His feathers, and
under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and
buckler” (Psalm 91:1, 4).
In many
Jewish prayer books (siddurim), there is a prayer for the State of
Israel that was included in the liturgy shortly after the birth of the modern
state in 1948.
It picks up this theme of finding safety under God’s wings that is
so prevalent in the Jewish Psalter. “Avinu Sh’b’Shemayim — Our
Heavenly Father, Israel’s Rock and Redeemer, bless the State of Israel,
the first flowering of Your final redemption. Shield it under the wings of Your
loving-kindness and spread over it the Tabernacle of Your Peace.”
Pastor
Chris Demetriou tells a true story about a hen that perished in a barn fire.
The structure had caught alight and tragically all of the animals had perished
in the blaze.
They
found the hen a charred mass where it had been sitting on its nest. But under
her body they found her young chicks, still alive.
The other
animals could not jump out of the burning inferno. But with her wings the hen
had the ability to fly away and save herself. But no, rather she chose to stay
put and protect her offspring at the expense of her own life.
What a picture of Yeshua when He referred to Psalm 91:4 and
said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and
stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children
together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not
willing!” (Luke 13:34).
Yeshua
then stayed the course for the hope set before Him (Hebrews
12:2).
As the
old hymn reminds us:
“He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free.
He could have called ten thousand angels,
But He died alone, for you and me.”
To destroy the world and set Him free.
He could have called ten thousand angels,
But He died alone, for you and me.”
As
Christians we believe that because of Yeshua’s faithfulness to fulfill His
Father’s will we can come under the sheltering care of His wings.
Jewish Understanding of Wings
.
In the midrash (Jewish commentary), God’s commandments (instructions for life) are likened to the wings of a bird which can lift it far above the earthly plane and closer to God.
.
In the midrash (Jewish commentary), God’s commandments (instructions for life) are likened to the wings of a bird which can lift it far above the earthly plane and closer to God.
Many
people seem to believe that such commandments constrict freedom, are a burden
and make life overbearing.
They say, “God wouldn’t really want humans to live that way,
would He?”
Although
at first glance, these instructions might appear as burdens and hard or
impossible to keep — it all depends on how you look at it.
If you
truly understand the reasons behind them, and the benefits gained by keeping
them, you will be able to fully appreciate these instructions and use them to
elevate yourself. Psalm 119 highlights this truth over and over again.
There is
an interesting little story about creation. In the beginning of time, there was
a delicate little bird — the dove — that came to complain to God.
The dove asked, “Why was I created so small and fragile? I have
no teeth or paws to defend myself. My color is white and quickly spotted making
me easy prey for the other animals. My feet are so tiny that I can hardly
outrun my pursuers. The way you made me is so unfair.”
God heard the dove’s plea and said, “I will compensate you.”
He attached a pair of wings to the dove’s body. But before long
the dove came again to complain. “It was bad enough before you ‘compensated’
me, but now I have these two large clumps on my back. They only add more
weight. Before, it wasn’t easy to run away, but I managed the best I could.
Now, with the extra limbs attached to my body — it’s too hard!”
God smiled
and took the little dove to the side and patiently showed her that the wings
were not a burden but could be used to fly.
He said, “My child, please understand, now I have given you
your wings. Your destiny is in your hands. If you use your wings for flying,
they’ll never weigh you down and you’ll fly up so much higher than those who
live upon the ground and you’ll go higher and higher, higher than the sky.
You’ll fly up to the heavens even higher than you’ve dreamed.”
The dove
quickly learned and was soon flying and soaring to the clouds above.
In
actuality, God’s instructions for life are what enable our souls to fly. They
help create, protect and perpetuate our connection to God in this world.
Each one,
in its own way, teaches us how to manifest godly reality in our lives — how to
refrain from that which numbs us to His presence, and how to participate in
that which makes Him more of a reality in the world.
We also
learn from Jewish sources that just as Torah (Genesis - Deuteronomy)
and the commandments (God’s instructions for life) can be wings to lift us
above an earthbound existence and closer to God, there is another Jewish
tradition that mentions ‘wings’ which can lift our observance (obedience).
These are
love of God and fear of God. The wings of a bird are not its main components.
Its life does not really depend on them at all.
Rather,
the main parts are its head and the rest of its body; the wings merely serve
the head and body, enabling them to fly.
The main
components in our spiritual lives are God and His Word, but our love and
reverence of Him give us the ability to soar closer to Him.
Concluding Thoughts
The biblical heroine Ruth can be our example. When Ruth
accompanied her mother-in-law, Naomi, to Israel and decided to make the people
of Naomi her people and the God of Naomi her God, Boaz blessed her with the
words, “The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the
Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge” (Ruth
2:12).
Every day
we are surrounded in God’s creation by birds and their beautiful wings. If we
have eyes to see, they can remind us of the many truths they represent in His
Word.
Whether
you need to be reminded of Solomon’s admonition about wealth, the joy and
blessing of keeping God’s instructions, or just rest in the care and protection
of His sheltering wings, look at the birds of the air.
Bridges
For Peace:
Christians supporting Israel and building relationships between Christians and
Jews in Israel and around the world
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