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Deuteronomy 32:10–12
“[God] found [Israel] 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.”
Divine perfection and self-existence, two of God’s incommunicable attributes, tell us that the Lord is complete, lacking nothing. Indeed, these attributes tell us that God is the very source of existence itself, having the power of being in Himself and granting existence to creation. Because the Lord is the source of all things, He can provide all things that His people need. Little wonder, then, that Abraham called Him “The Lord will provide” (Gen. 22:14). He is jealous for His own glory, commanding His people to worship Him alone and according to His Word, for only in Him will they be provided full satisfaction (Ex. 20:5–6).
As we continue our look at the Lord’s character and in particular the attributes, names, and images that Scripture uses to talk about God as our Provider, we come today to the metaphor of the eagle. In Deuteronomy 32:10–12, Moses likens the Lord to an eagle, comparing Him to that majestic bird of prey as it “stirs up its nest, . . . flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions.” When an eagle is teaching its young to fly, it will push the eaglet out of its nest but does not forsake it. If the eaglet runs into trouble from a predator or other problems, the mother eagle will swoop down quickly and rescue her young. In a similar manner, God pushed Israel out of its “nest” in Egypt, as it were, but did not abandon His people in the wilderness. He saved them on many occasions, redeeming them from foes such as the Amalekites (Ex. 17:8–16). By likening God to an eagle, Moses was reminding the Israelites of the Lord’s protection of His people and that He would always have His eye on them in order to meet their needs.
Additionally, the eagle in Scripture sometimes appears as an image of God’s speed and strength, since eagles are swift and powerful. For example, Isaiah 40:31 features the promise of the Lord to those who wait on Him. Such people will find their strength renewed and will “mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” The idea is that God will supply all the power that His people need and He will do so speedily. When we are in need of strength to press on in serving the Lord and to persevere in faith, God does not fail to grant it. He does not delay but gives it quickly. Any slowness that we perceive on His part is just that: a mere perception. At the proper time, He always acts.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
From our perspective, there may be times when it seems as if the Lord is moving slowly—or not at all—to help us. Yet we cannot evaluate God according to our notions of time, for He is outside time. Thus, what seems to us to be a slow response is not slow but appropriately quick, for God always knows when it is the best time for Him to act.
For further study
- Exodus 19:4
- Psalm 103:1–5
- Ephesians 6:10
- Revelation 8:13
The bible in a year
- Deuteronomy 17–19
- Mark 14:1–25