ELTB Bad Birds

ELTB Bad Birds of the Bible [∞]

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Bad Birds of the Bible

Bob Jones

2ndBook c 2023 R.C. Jones Discussion

God wants everyone to know him. He teaches about himself through all things that have been created. Observing the things themselves does not teach us, but we learn from his word in what he has said about the things. Looking at air does not teach us much because it is invisible. But the word ruwach רוח means both 'spirit' and 'wind'. Then God tells us that the Spirit is like the wind; though it is invisible, we see the work it does. Eating is a symbol for learning. The birds we are not supposed to eat represent things God doesn't want us to learn. 'eat' אכל akal also means 'true אכ teaching ל' and 'smite the אכ teaching ל' Bad birds (flying things) We are taught which behaviors to avoid by the list of flying things. The behaviors that Adam observed when naming the birds may be still present in their behaviors today. fowls owph עוף - fly, 'the flesh ע explaining ו the finished prophecy ף'.

Eagle The eagle represents those who forget God. Perhaps Adam saw the lone eagle on high, looking down on all and thought to himself, "That bird thinks he is a god". When we forget God, we sometimes think we can make our own rules. King Nebuchadnezzar forgot God and thought he built his kingdom all by himself. His hair became like eagle's feathers and his nails like eagle's claws. eagle nesher נשר - forget נש the revelation ר. Ossifrage The ossifrage eats almost only bones. It would have been quite a sight for Adam to see one tear his food apart and break the bones . He named the ossifrage 'divide'. We should avoid those things which simply cause division and with doctrines different from the Bible. ossifrage perec פרס - divide

Osprey The Hebrew word for 'osprey' has the word 'goat' within it. The goat just thinks of himself. He grabs food, cuts in line pushes and shoves to get his way. The goat, representing the flesh, is not of the spirit, and so should be avoided. osprey ozniyah עזניה - the goat עז hears זנ God's will י and doesn't understand ה. The goat represents the flesh. Vulture Though the vulture is known for eating dead things; the Hebrew name for the vulture is 'cause to wander in ignorance'. Jesus confronted some religious leaders who would not accept his teaching, and they also would not allow others to learn from Jesus as they tried to disrupt him while teaching. They caused others to wander in ignorance. Your classmate who always interrupts the class and doesn't allow others to learn is represented by the vulture. vulture da’ah דאה - cause to wander דא in ignorance ה.

Kites Kites have the ability to ride the wind in an almost endless search. Did it look to Adam as if they were futile in their search? "Where?" is a question of the heathen and the flesh . The kite represents the doubters. It is OK to doubt if you are willing to learn. But one who chooses to doubt and doesn't want to learn is called a "scoffer". kite ayah איה - rhetorical 'Where?' One who doubts? Raven The word 'oreb' ערב means: blind, naked, mix. Which meaning matches the raven behavior that Adam saw? We can only guess. When ravens are hatched "They are altricial; blind, featherless and helpless" . They also form loose flocks, only congregating to roost and they play with other animals. Perhaps this is the 'mixing' that Adam saw. Blind is a metaphor for not understanding. Naked (featherless) is a symbol for the flesh or sin being exposed. There are laws prohibiting mixing. The seem silly: you can't mix seed in the field or the types of cloth you wear. They are part of the play or parable of the law to teach that we cannot mix law and grace, holiness and love, but must wait until we see it properly mixed on the cross. God is Holy and he is Love . Since no man has seen the Father except the Son , no one can adequately explain God but the Son. raven oreb ערב - mix. Mixing is a metaphor for improperly representing holiness and love together. We confuse them. Only Christ on the cross perfectly represents the nature of the Father.

Owl 'Owl' means 'why' and 'shovel. The shovel is used in the temple to move ashes from the altar. The ashes of burnt offerings represent Christ's total devotion to his Father. Christ laid down his own life. The scoffer does not understand 'Why', nor does he want to. When you make your own rules, you are doing only what God can do. He tells us what is right and wrong. If you do it, you are pretending to be God. Since there is only one God, you can't know him if you think you are God. Do you think your dad would like it if you always told him he wasn't your dad and you didn't have to follow his rules? If you love your dad, you do what he says. owl bath ya‘anah בת יענה - daughter בת of why יענ . Night hawk Perhaps Adam saw the Night Hawk hunting when he gave him the name 'must do violence'. God hates those who love to do violence . The night hawk is a symbol of those. If you just like to fight, ask God to help you love instead. night hawk tachmac תחמס - imperative ת of violence חמס

Cuckows Some cuckows nest on the ground in shrubs so they represent some who are of the flesh. Their name can mean 'shrub death'. Adam may have named them because of that. But the word also means emaciated, or wasted away. By word play, the cuckow could be called 'emaciated'. Those who are spiritually dying are not a good source for spiritual teaching. Jesus used the word 'dead' to refer to those who are spiritually dead The person who does more and more bad things is wasting away and we should not learn from them. cuckow shachaph שחף - emaciate, waste away, shrub death Hawk There are many instances in the riddles where referring to the death of Christ is a 'bad' thing, where referring to his resurrection is the 'good' thing. An example is that of the 'shibboleth' Those who referred to a single grain 'sibboleth' (the death of Christ), were put to death, but those who referred to a whole ear or stream 'shibboleth' (the resurrection and fruitfulness of Christ), lived. The word 'hawk' refers to Christ's death. We should not learn from the teachers that only speak of the death of Christ, but from those who speak of his resurrection. Long ago many people died on crosses, but only Jesus rose from the dead. hawk nets נץ - the son of man נ killed on the cross ץ cibboleth סבלת‎ - grain of wheat shibboleth שׁבלת‎ - ear of wheat or flowing stream

Little owl 'Owl' means 'cup'. The cup symbolizes the will of God for the cross which has great things and terrible things. It was a great day because God chose to forgive men and dwell with us. But it was a terrible day because Christ, God in flesh, suffered and died at the hands of the men he came to save. Perhaps Adam saw an owl nesting in hole in a tree and named him 'cup' since it looked like he was siting in a cup. The cup is a mixture of judgement and love; it is unclean as other mixtures. We are not to mix them. Only Christ could express them in unity. little owl kowc כוס - cup cup כוס - Son of God כ made clear ו by his finished work ס Cormorant The cormorant is an aquatic bird. It has webbed feet and swims under the water. It eats the fish which are swimming in the water, like the abominable lobster. When it dives into the water it looks like it has been cast out of the heavens. Adam named the cormorant 'cast out'. Those who have been cast out are not a good source for teaching. The cormorant represents those under such judgement. cormorant shalak שלך - cast out

Great owl 'Darkness' is a positive from God's view, or a negative from our view. God expresses love and mercy symbolized by darkness; if we are in sin, and haven't been destroyed, we are receiving his mercy. We say that being in darkness is being in sin and presuming upon God's mercy; it looks like evil. The Great Owl represents those in the dark who should not be our teachers. great owl yanshuwph ינשׁוף - I י in the dark נשׁוף. The one who is in the dark is sinning and presuming upon the grace of God. Swan The swan, as a large bird, is not subject to being killed in large numbers by natural predators. Their numbers can swell until they are destructive to an environment. Those who are destructive should not be a source for our learning. . Sometimes people like to break things just to break them. They are like the swans, and we should avoid them. swan tanshemeth תנשׁמת - from beginning to end תת it destroys נשׁמ

Pelican Perhaps Adam watched a pelican scoop up his meal, and then vomit up the shell and rocks. He named it 'vomit after'. That's gross. Vomit, like spit, is a symbol of rejection. Those who reject the word should not be teachers of the word. The pelican represents those who reject the word of God. pelican qa’ath קאת - vomit קא after ת. Gier eagle The name contains the Hebrew root 'to love'. The birds are mated and seldom separated. This maybe part of what Adam saw, but if this was all, we would have difficulty understanding why it is an unclean bird. The gier eagle eats almost nothing but carrion. The name actually means 'not understanding love'. Though they are together in the appearance of love, they eat nothing but dead things. Paul teaches that if we don't have love, our faith, generosity, and sacrifices mean nothing. The one who truly loves eats the living word of God with others. gier eagle haracham הרחם - not understanding ה love רחם.

Stork Storks are primarily carnivorous and eat reptiles, small mammals, insects, fish, amphibians and other small invertebrates. He devours almost all living things without mercy. It is perhaps this destruction of living things that Adam observed when he named the stork "not understanding holiness and mercy". Holiness and mercy are the attributes of God, so he named it "Not understanding God". The main purpose of God is to teach us that He is Holy or different and separated. ; He alone is God. He also teaches that He is Love. stork chaciydah החסידה - not understanding ה*ה holiness , mercy חסיד Heron When the heron hunts, it stand very still in the water looking for it's prey. When it sees something, it moves it's head back and forth to get the targeting range through the water. Perhaps Adam named it 'yearning undulation (back and forth movement)' for this behavior. Once it had that name, by word-play it became 'her anger'. Jesus said that if we were angry, we were guilty of murder. Angry words can hurt people for a very long time. But they hurt you even more. . When you are angry, you allow something else to control you. You think you are real important and should be treated better. But see how easily you are controlled? You can be made to be angry simply if you are told that it is bed time. You are out of control. The one who is in control does not need to be angry. The heron also has a wild headdress that may have made it look angry to Adam. heron anaphah אנפה - anger of her ה.

Lapwing The lapwing is known for the irregular pattern of beating it's wings. Flap-flap- - flap - flap, flap, flap. God commanded Moses to strike the rock for water the first time. The second time he told him to speak to it, but Moses struck it. This is a silly play on words: Moses gave the rock an irregular (or at the wrong time) beating. He forfeited the privilege of entering into the promised land. lapwing duwkiyphath דוכיפת - beat דוכ the mystery פ plan י which was finished ת. Bat As mentioned previously, the Bible does not say the bat is a bird. It says that it is a 'flying thing'. 'Bird' is a poor translation. Bats are known for their irregular flight patterns. The lapwing had an irregular wing flap and the bat flies all over the place. The name of the bat suggests one who wanders from the path or deviates from God's will. These should not be our teachers. God wants us to learn from teachers who are steady in their faith, teaching and lives; not those who are unpredictable. bat atalleph עטלף - turn aside עטף from the teaching ל.

Summary All of these birds were named by Adam because of the behaviors he observed. By the riddle they become representative of behaviors we don't want for ourselves. When God looks at us, he does not see our behaviors. He sees the work of Christ and gives us a new name or reputation based on that of Jesus.