Eagle

The golden eagle is a massive brown raptor with a wingspan of up to two and a half metres. It nests in cliff ledges and mountain crags — exactly the terrain of Sinai, Judea, and the Jordan highlands. Its most extraordinary ability is soaring: by finding columns of warm air rising from sun-heated ground, an eagle can circle upward for hours without a single wingbeat, reaching altitudes of three thousand metres. From there, it can spot prey far below and dive at great speed. Eagle parents are also known to stir their nests to force young birds to fly, then catch them on their wings.

God used this image to describe what he did for Israel in the exodus: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself' (Exodus 19:4). Deuteronomy 32:11 extends the picture — God is like a mother eagle stirring the nest, hovering over her young, spreading her wings to catch them. The most famous eagle verse in all Scripture is Isaiah 40:31: 'Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.' Soaring on rising air without effort — strength given, not earned, to those who wait. Revelation 4:7 places an eagle as one of the four living creatures worshipping before the throne of God.