The two birds of prey most often mentioned in the Bible are the Raven and
the Eagle. You remember how, when the terrible flood, which God sent upon
the earth because of the violence and wickedness of men, was over, and the
Ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat, Noah opened the window of the Ark,
and sent forth a raven. This bird of prey could find food for itself, as it
"went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth,"
and it never came back to Noah; unlike the gentle dove who found no rest
for the sole of her foot, but twice returned to her refuge, the second time
carrying in her bill the fresh green "olive-leaf plucked off," which showed
Noah that the waters were indeed gone. How wonderfully God, who feeds the
young ravens which cry to Him, used those birds of prey to bring to Elijah
"bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening,"
all the time that they were commanded to feed the prophet in his lonely
hiding-place by the brook Cherith. The Raven is the patriarch among birds;
it lives to be a hundred years old--beyond the age of man!
The Eagle, the king of birds, is a large and beautiful creature with very
strong wings, and has its home in rocky places, difficult to reach. Like
all birds who live upon prey which they catch alive, it is bold and fierce.
There is a verse which speaks of it as "hasting to the prey." Eagles seize
rabbits, hares, lambs, and young deer, and have even been known to attack
a pony.
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