07/07/2020
This year I mentioned that the eagle was my favorite bird, and that I would write about it this year. In the Bible, Isaiah 40:30 says “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” The eagle is mentioned in the Bible 34 times.
Some of their nests are ten foot across, can weigh approximately one ton, and can be twenty foot in depth. An eagle stands three foot high, and has a wing span of 32 to 36 feet. It can weigh eight to thirteen pounds. Each wing has 1,252 feathers with a total of 7,182 in the entire body. There are 48 species of eagles, and their eyesight is awesome, being able to see up to four miles away.
Each day an eagle will stare into the “sun” for as much as 45 minutes while tears pour from their eyes to cleanse them. In comparison, we should each day pray and gaze into the eyes of the “Son” of God to cleanse us within while our tears flow.
Every day an eagle will clean each feather by pulling it through its beak. This is called preening to clean and oil itself and to prepare for the day as it stares into the “sun.” Wow! Another Biblical lesson for us all.
The young are very ugly at birth with no feathers, but their “father” knows they will get their feathers and will eventually grow up and bear upon wings to fly. So, he never gives up on them. Another example from our Heavenly Father when caring for His children. (I am sure glad He never gave up on me.)
The eagle can dive straight down at a speed of 180 miles per hour to catch its prey or to bear up its young with wings when teaching them to fly. What a lesson when all hope is gone and we have fallen from His grace. Sometimes in life, eagles have been known to seem depressed, and live for a time in the low, dark areas of the rocks below the mountains. They will not search for food or clean themselves. Their oil glands gum up and they cannot fly, and they eventually die. But, the strong eagles will fly down and drop meat for them until they clean themselves, are strong, and can fly again. No one knows why this sometimes happens. What better lesson for us to learn by helping others when they are down.
Thanks to prayer, I got to see an eagle out west last year in Wyoming. I saw a golden eagle just this past week at a bird show in Point Pleasant. I was only six foot away from it, the sun was going down, and the golden color of the sun over the Ohio River was shining on the glistening back of “Spirit.” What a perfect name for such a majestic bird. Is it any wonder God speaks of the eagle so many times in the Scripture. It is my favorite bird.
