Thanks so much for joining me for a little break today and the
conclusion to our WOW for this month. Grab your coffee and come on in
and let’s wait a while together as we dig for diamonds in these words of
wisdom found in Isaiah 40:31.So this next part of the verse is why I titled the WOW what I did, but I had no idea I’d find so many truths to tie in my thread of faith that make this title ring out with beauty and nothing like a parrot! “They shall mount up with wings as eagles” definitely got my curiosity years ago when I read this verse for the very first time and it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I heard one pastor’s explanation for the use of the eagle. See, when an eagle is soaring, their wingspan can be as large as eight feet wide, the widest of any bird!
What I so love about our Father speaking about an eagle to and through Isaiah is He could have said, Those of you who wait on/in me, I’ll raise you up on wings of a parrot or a duck, for that matter, but He chose the most amazing bird with the most fascinating wingspan to illustrate His love and compassion for us in our times of waiting. Also, a parrot reminds me of someone who talks the talk and doesn’t walk the walk, but an eagle, well, talk about meek and beautiful!
But there’s more to this than I thought. As I researched about this, I came across a very old commentary regarding this verse which explains that the verb “waiting” brings rest which renews strength, allowing the ascending/raising of the wings. Clarke’s Commentary points out that “It has been a common and popular opinion that the eagle lives and retains his vigor to a great age; and that, beyond the common lot of other birds, he moults in his old age, and renews his feathers, and with them his youth.
And finally, the meaning of the Hebrew is simply, “‘they shall ascend on wings as eagles, or they shall lift up the wings as eagles; and the image is derived from the fact that the eagle rises on the most vigorous wing of any bird, and ascends apparently further toward the sun. The figure, therefore, denotes strength and vigor of purpose; strong and manly piety; an elevation above the world; communion with God, and a nearness to his throne – as the eagle ascends toward the sun.”
Oh, to walk the walk, or fly the journey with wings as an eagle instead of talk the walk like a parrot!
I love what Barnes writes in his commentary about this particular verse, and especially about the last few words: “They shall run and not be weary.” “This passage, also, is but another mode of expressing the same idea – that they who trust in God would be vigorous, elevated, unwearied; that He would sustain and uphold them; and that in His service they would never faint.”
This analogy was at first directed to the Jews in captivity in Babylon to encourage them to put their trust in God. But it is as true now as it was at that time. Many of us who have been in some form of captivity, have experienced some season of painful waiting have found that by waiting on the Lord, our heart has been invigorated; our faith has been confirmed; and our affections have been raised above the world. I know where my strength comes from to endure a circumstance without complaining – well, almost without complaint
— to engage in continuous duty without fainting, to pursue the twists
and turns in the journey of life without exhaustion, and to rise above
the world in hope and peace.Rising up to the occasion of life,
Evinda
No comments:
Post a Comment