I’ve been reading through the biblical book of Exodus this Lent, and nearly every day I learn something that helps deepen my understanding of God’s love. Today that was reading some notes on Exodus 19. In that passage, God makes reference to bearing the people up “on eagle’s wings.”

I’ve heard that phrase throughout my life as a Christian. It comes up in the Psalms and Isaiah. I’ve sung inspirational songs about it. But I’ve never wondered what the image conveys. The commentary I was reading connected me to Deuteronomy 32, which expands on the image:

“As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, as it spreads its wings, takes them up, and bears them aloft on its pinions, the Lord alone guided him…”

So the idea is that a mother eagle with baby birds in the nest “stirs up the nest” so that the baby birds will try to fly. And then, when they can’t sustain the flight, the mother “bears them aloft.” She pushes them out of the nest and makes them take a risk they aren’t entirely ready for. She also swoops in to rescue them as they fall.

What an image of God. Teacher. Mother. Rescuer.

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