Today’s reading is Deuteronomy 32:11.
As Americans we hold a high esteem for eagles as animals. The Bald Eagle is our national bird for a reason – it is powerful, lightning-fast, an apex predator, and flies free and unrestrained as the wind. But often we tend to focus on the strong nature of the eagle, rather than how Moses describes the eagle in Deuteronomy 32. When speaking one last time to the people of Israel before his death, begging them to submit to God’s council:
“He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, the Lord alone guided him, no foreign god was with him.”
Interestingly, Moses demonstrates God’s caring nature by comparing Him to the nurturing, child-raising side of the eagle. As parents, eagles are incredibly watchful: for the first roughly 3 months of their children’s lives, at least one parent is always dutifully watching over their children as the other finds food. Slowly, the parents will begin leaving more and more, moving to nearby trees or circling overhead to closely watch over their young as they attempt to leave the nest and learn to fly, allowing their chicks some self-direction but always ready to protect and provide help (If you’re interested in more eagle nesting facts at all, here’s a neat little fact sheet courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison: https://journeynorth.org/tm/eagle/annual/facts_nestlings.html).
As we learn to fly on our own and navigate through this life, we know that God is our protector, as Psalm 121 says: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 3:3 says “you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head”; The Lord is ready to protect us from evil and lift us when we feel weary. Though we may feel lost and stumble when we work on our own volition, the Lord is ready to catch us, to set us upright and on the right path, and to direct us to holiness when we look to Him. Like a baby eagle, we are never alone when we learn to fly; our protector is always there, powerful and mighty and ready to swoop in for our behalf on a moment’s notice.
Do you live like God’s always watching over you, ready to take leaps in your faith under His instruction and with His guardianship? Are you stuck, constrained by your own volition, thinking your sin renders your own efforts meaningless? Or are you ready to soar free, unrestrained by death and sin, how God wants you to live? All this time, all our lives, the Lord has watched over us carefully, provided for us, and brought us up to live freely from death’s clutches. Today, celebrate that the Lord would break your shackles and give us the freedom from sin that life in Him provides. Be thankful that he watches over us so diligently. Above all, today and always, praise God!