Today we will start with the Eagle, which our pastor used as the theme of his article in this month’s Window. Here in North America we have the Bald Eagle (our National symbol) and the Golden Eagle, Stellar’s Eagle and White-tailed Eagle. The Bald Eagle’s “bald spot” doesn’t appear until they are 4 or 5 years old and develop a white head and tail. The Bald Eagle is only in North America. In Israel you might see a Short-toed Eagle, Great or Lesser Spotted Eagle, Steppe, Imperial, Golden, Booted, or Bonelli’s Eagle.

I love to watch an eagle flying; it stops me in my tracks. We are lucky here in Polk County to have many this time of the year. Stay alert and also visit the South Lake Howard Nature Center to see a pair sitting either on the tower or at the nest. Ask most anyone there and they will point out the nest.

Eagle on Tower Near Lake Howard and Eagle in Nest at Lake Howard Nature Park.

• Job 9:26 – “Like an eagle swooping on its prey.”
• Pro 30:19 – “The way of an eagle in the air”
• Jer 49:22 – “fly like the eagle”
• Hab 1:8 – “They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.”
• Pro 23:5 –“They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.”

An African Eagle

“Birds display a wide range of patterns in flight. Swifts and swallows use a fast, gliding motion. Ducks and geese have sustained, powerful flight. Birds of prey such as eagles and falcons usually catch their targets by swooping from high in the sky, capturing their victims after a swift dive—which may reach speeds of 250 kilometers an hour (165 mph). As the bird swoops to the ground, it spreads its powerful wings to act as a brake.” (“Created to fly,” Creation 16(3), June 1994)

Click link to see a Bald eagle hovering and landing on rock.

Bald Eagle hovering and landing

For those of us in the “older generation,” Job 9:25-26 (NKJV) reminds us that we need to stay active for our Lord because our life passes by swiftly. “Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey.”

A few more facts about eagles:

• Eagles are mentioned in hymns such as:
  They That Wait Upon the Lord –“They shall mount up with wings as eagles:”
  The Mercy Seat – “Ah, there on eagle wings we soar,”
  Art Thou Afraid? – “On eagles’ wings they mount, they soar, Their wings are faith and love,”
• In Israel, the eagle is the largest bird and has an eight foot wing span.
• There are at least 25 verses in the Bible that mention the eagle.
• The eagle is an “unclean” bird.

There is much more to say about eagles, but we will leave them to continue with the many other birds mentioned in the Bible. A parting remark by C. H. Spurgeon quoted on Pg 57 of John Stott’s The Birds Our Teachers, follows:

“Brother, your failure, if you fail, will begin in your faith. The air says to the eagle, Trust me; spread thy broad wings; I will bear thee up to the sun. Only trust me. Take thy foot from off yon rock which thou canst feel beneath thee. Get away from it, and be buoyed up by the unseen element.’ My brethren, eaglets of heaven, mount aloft, for God invites you. Mount! You have but to trust him.”

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