111. God’s Care for Birds
Hymns: RHC 15 How Shall I sing That Majesty, 32 Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise, 40 God the Omnipotent
Job 39:13-18
13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? 14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, 15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. 16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear; 17 Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding. 18 What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.
God’s Care for Birds
OUTLINE
- Peacock and Ostrich (v13-18)
INTRODUCTION
God not only created the animals in the animal world. He also created the birds and the fishes of the sea.
Genesis 1:20-23 (KJV) And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
pleasure for He indeed is God. And yet we see how they are cared for by God inspite and despite the limitations of their natural endowment.
As we think of Jesus as Creator we must acknowledge He created the world for man’s enrichment and enjoyment.
Man was asked to name the animals God created. It was a great honour given for man.
Genesis 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
It’s like the father giving the name to the son. It was his honour to give the son his name that he has brought forth. God gave to man this great honour because the creation was made for man to enjoy.
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
The world was made for man’s enjoyment. God made the world for man’s pleasure, for his delight. Only man can appreciate the beauty around him, its beauty and grandeur. The animals cannot appreciate beauty like man does. The created world is for man to appreciate, for his pleasure, for his enrichment and enjoyment.
Man can appreciate the wonders of God’s creation. It brings Him to acknowledge and bless His Creator.
- Ostrich and Peacock (v13-18)
The flightless ostrich is the world’s largest bird. They roam African savanna and desert lands and get most of their water from the plants they eat.
Speed and Movement – Though they cannot fly, ostriches are fleet, strong runners. They can sprint up to 43 miles an hour and run over distance at 31 miles an hour. They may use their wings as “rudders” to help them change direction while running. An ostrich’s powerful, long legs can cover 10 to 16 feet in a single stride. These legs can also be formidable weapons. Ostrich kicks can kill a human or a potential predator like a lion. Each two-toed foot has a long, sharp claw.
Contrary to popular belief, ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand. The old saw probably originates with one of the bird’s defensive behaviours. At the approach of trouble, ostriches will lie low and press their long necks to the ground in an attempt to become less visible. Their plumage blends well with sandy soil and, from a distance, gives the appearance that they have buried their heads in the sand.
Ostriches typically eat plants, roots, and seeds but will also eat insects, lizards, or other creatures available in their sometimes harsh habitat. [National Geographic]
Peacocks are large, colorful pheasants (typically blue and green) known for their iridescent tails.
Distinctive Tail Feathers – These tail feathers, or coverts, spread out in a distinctive train that is more than 60 percent of the bird’s total body length and boast colorful “eye” markings of blue, gold, red, and other hues. The large train is used in mating rituals and courtship displays. It can be arched into a magnificent fan that reaches across the bird’s back and touches the ground on either side. Females are believed to choose their mates according to the size, color, and quality of these outrageous feather trains.
Males vs. Females – The term “peacock” is commonly used to refer to birds of both sexes. Technically, only males are peacocks. Females are peahens, and together, they are called peafowl. Suitable males may gather harems of several females, each of which will lay three to five eggs.
Peacocks are ground-feeders that eat insects, plants, and small creatures. There are two familiar peacock species. The blue peacock lives in India and Sri Lanka, while the green peacock is found in Java and Myanmar (Burma). A more distinct and little-known species, the Congo peacock, inhabits African rain forests.
Peafowl such as the blue peacock have been admired by humans and kept as pets for thousands of years. Selective breeding has created some unusual color combinations, but wild birds are themselves bursting with vibrant hues. They can be testy and do not mix well with other domestic birds. [National Geographic]
Matthew Henry observed well, “The ostrich is a wonderful animal, a very large bird, but it never flies. Some have called it a winged camel. God here gives an account of it, and observes, something that it has in common with the peacock, that is, beautiful feathers (v13): Gavest thou proud wings unto the peacocks? so some read it. Fine feathers make proud birds. The peacock is an emblem of pride; when he struts, and shows his fine feathers, Solomon in all his glory is not arrayed like him.
The ostrich too has goodly feathers, and yet is a foolish bird; for wisdom does not always go along with beauty and gaiety. Other birds do not envy the peacock or the ostrich their gaudy colours, nor complain for want of them; why then should we repine if we see others wear better clothes than we can afford to wear?
God gives his gifts variously, and those gifts are not always the most valuable that make the finest show. Who would not rather have the voice of the nightingale than the tail of the peacock, the eye of the eagle and her soaring wing, and the natural affection of the stork, than the beautiful wings and feathers of the ostrich, which can never rise above the earth, and is without natural affection?”
He further observes, “Something that is peculiar to itself – Carelessness of her young. It is well that this is peculiar to herself, for it is a very bad character. How she exposes her eggs; she does not retire to some private place, and make a nest there, as the sparrows and swallows do (Psalm 84:3), and there, lay eggs and hatch her young.
Psalm 84:3 (KJV) Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, 15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.
Most birds, as well as other animals, are strangely guided by natural instinct in providing for the preservation of their young. But the ostrich is a monster in nature, for she drops her eggs any where upon the ground and takes no care to hatch them. If the sand and the sun will hatch them, well and good; they may for her, for she will not warm them (v14). Nay, she takes no care to preserve them: The foot of the traveller may crush them, and the wild beast break them (v15). But how then are any young ones brought forth, and whence is it that the species has not perished? We must suppose either that God, by a special providence, with the heat of the sun and the sand (so some think), hatches the neglected eggs of the ostrich, as he feeds the neglected young ones of the raven, or that, though the ostrich often leaves her eggs thus, yet not always. The reason why she does thus expose her eggs. [Matthew Henry]
16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;
For want of natural affection (v16): She is hardened against her young ones. To be hardened against any is unamiable, even in a brute-creature, much more in a rational creature that boasts of humanity, especially to be hardened against young ones, that cannot help themselves and therefore merit compassion, that give no provocation and therefore merit no hard usage: but it is worst of all for her to be hardened against her own young ones, as though they were not hers, whereas really they are parts of herself. Her labour in laying her eggs is in vain and all lost, because she has not that fear and tender concern for them that she should have. Those are most likely to lose their labour that are least in fear of losing it. [Matthew Henry]
17 Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
For want of wisdom (v17): God has deprived her of wisdom. This intimates that the art which other animals have to nourish and preserve their young is God’s gift, and that, where it exists not, God denies it, that by the folly of the ostrich, as well as by the wisdom of the ant, we may learn to be wise, for:
First, as careless as the ostrich is of her eggs so careless many people are of their own souls; they make no provision for them, no proper nest in which they may be safe, leave them exposed to Satan and his temptations, which is a certain evidence that they are deprived of wisdom.
Secondly, so careless are many parents of their children; some of their bodies, not providing for their own house, their own bowels, and therefore worse than infidels, and as bad as the ostrich; but many more are thus careless of their children’s souls, take no care of their education, send them abroad into the world untaught, unarmed, forgetting what corruption there is in the world through lust, which will certainly crush them. Thus, their labour in rearing them comes to be in vain; it were better for their country that they had never been born.
Thirdly, so careless are too many ministers of their people, with whom they should reside; but they leave them in the earth, and forget how busy Satan is to sow tares while men sleep. They overlook those whom they should oversee, and are really hardened against them. [Matthew Henry]
18 What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.
Care of herself. She leaves her eggs in danger, but, if she herself be in danger, no creature shall strive more to get out of the way of it than the ostrich (v18). Then she lifts up her wings on high (the strength of which then stands her in better stead than their beauty), and, with the help of them, runs so fast that a horseman at full speed cannot overtake her: She scorneth the horse and his rider. Those that are least under the law of natural affection often contend most for the law of self-preservation. Let not the rider be proud of the swiftness of his horse when such an animal as the ostrich shall out-run him. [Matthew Henry]
CONCLUSION
May the Lord help us to appreciate God’s care for us, made in His image, as we appreciate His creation for our enjoyment and learning to give Him all the glory. Amen.