BIRDS AND GOD'S JUDGEMENT

Posted: 07.06.23 in Articles category

There is a dark side to the birds of the Bible. When you read the prophetic books in the Old Testament, judgement is the 'stand out' theme of the various avian passages. Perhaps that is unsurprising when a key task of the Old Testament prophets was to warn people of God's displeasure caused by their sinful behaviour. From Abraham onward God is known as "the Judge of all the earth" (see Genesis 18 verse 25) who acts with vigour against evil. This notion of divine judgement is closely linked to God's revealed character of righteousness, justice, love and compassion (see Hosea 2 verse 19). Indeed, the concept of judgement seems virtually synonymous with justice as it is the primary duty of a judge "to do justice". 

Nearly half of all bird references in the Books of the Prophets relate in various ways to God's judgement. From that total of thirty two, fourteen are found in the Book of Jeremiah alone. These include a quartet of references describing how birds will feed on the bodies of people who have died ultimately of divine judgement. The first of these is found in Jeremiah 15 and is quoted below in full and in context:

Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go! And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the LORD says:

“‘Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.’

“I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” declares the LORD, “the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds and the wild animals to devour and destroy. I will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem."

Although birds are described in this passage as destroyers, their role is not to kill, but in keeping with their nature to be carrion eaters feeding on the bodies of people killed in war. A similar passage is found in the following chapter when the prophet was told people await an identical fate with their bodies being eaten by birds and wild animals, whatever their cause of death.

Elsewhere, passages involving birds feeding on the dead as carrion can be found in Isaiah and Ezekiel. For example, see the following reference from Isaiah 18 verse 6 which forms part of a prophecy against the land of Cush.

They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey and to the wild animals; the birds will feed on them all summer, the wild animals all winter.

Or this reference from Ezekiel chapter 39 verse 4, part of a prophecy against the land of Gog:

On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals.

On occasion, the very presence of certain kinds of bird would indicate God's punishment - birds living in the ruins of settlements destroyed by invasion and war. Judgement on Babylon is prophesied in Isaiah 13, resulting in the city becoming a place where "owls will dwell", alongside jackals and wild goats. Similarly, owls will live and breed in the ruins of Edom, alongside falcons and a variety of desert creatures according to Isaiah 34. Assyria's destruction was foretold by the prophet Zephaniah in chapter 2, resulting in the desolation of Nineveh where owls "will roost on her columns" and their hooting "echo through the windows".

By contrast, there are also references where the absence of birds is a sign of divine judgement. For example, Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 10 speaks of the mountains and desert pastures made desolate and deserted, cattle being no longer heard and birds fleeing away because of God's punishment for Israel's sin. Hosea chapter 4 says something similar as part of the prophet's charge against Israel. Compare the warning as well given to the prophet Zephaniah in chapter 1 verse 3 of coming destruction when the birds of the air and the fish of the sea will be swept away when the Lord cuts off humans from the face of the earth.

Finally, there are passages in the Books of the Prophets where foreign armies are identified as agents of divine judgement and are described in avian terms, typically as eagles flying at speed and swooping down on their hapless victim. Sometimes these victims are national enemies of Israel which have incurred God's wrath on account of their enmity. We have already discussed a reference from Habakkuk, and one from Jeremiah 49 concerning the Edomites. In the preceding chapter (Jeremiah 48) the prophet foretold Moab's destruction with this reference to a military power which is likened to a single eagle, probably the Babylonian army led by Nebuchadnezzar: This is what the LORD says:

“Look! An eagle is swooping down, spreading its wings over Moab. Kerioth will be captured and the strongholds taken. In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor. Moab will be destroyed as a nation because she defied the LORD.

However, in Hosea chapter 8 the avian agent brings judgment on Israel herself. The 'eagle' refers to the Assyrians.

"Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law."

Assyria is also that agent of judgment in Isaiah chapter 8 and is named as such. Curiously, its aquiline identity is not made explicit, although the reference to "outspread wings" in verse 8 suggests a large bird of prey like an eagle. However, that prophecy ends with words of hope for Israel. Assyria would eventually be defeated and fall.

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