"Jesus, Who Lifts Us on Eagle's Wings and Shelters Us Beneath the Hen’s Wings"

 

"You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings

and brought you to myself. Although the whole earth is mine,

you will be for me a treasured possession." (Exodus 19:4–5)

 

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,

how often I have longed to gather your children together,

as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,

but you were not willing." (Matthew 23:37)

 

Shalom~

There are many symbolic animals that represent Jesus Christ.
Among them, we are most familiar with Jesus as the Lion of Judah—the royal lineage of kings.
Yet He also came as the Lamb, the sacrificial offering for our sins.
And from heaven, the Eagle, symbolizing His divinity as the only begotten Son of God,
descended to earth as... a hen.

Yes, a lowly hen.

 

A hen lays many eggs.
She is so motherly that she will even hatch eggs that are not her own.
While incubating them, she does not eat or leave her nest.

How different from the eagle!

An eagle lays only 2–3 eggs.
And even among those, only a few survive.
If two hatch, often only the stronger one lives.

Jesus came to this world not as a powerful eagle,
but as a nurturing mother hen, to save the whole world with a love that shelters and sacrifices.

 

The same voice that soared like an eagle over Mount Sinai,
the same God who declared, “I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself,”
was later heard in the book of Jeremiah, trembling with the pain of betrayal:

“I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,
through a land not sown.” (Jeremiah 2:2)

 

Like a husband remembering his wedding day,
the Lord speaks tenderly of Israel's early love.
But His voice turns heavy as He grieves:

“But you said, ‘I will not serve!’
Yes, on every high hill and under every spreading tree
you lay down as a prostitute.” (Jeremiah 2:20)

 

And yet—how could God forget them?
Though they had been unfaithful, He had engraved them on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16).
When Israel wandered, He searched for them.
When they turned to idols, He pleaded with them.
Again and again, He sent prophets.
Again and again, He called out,
“Return to me!”
But they did not listen.

 

He likens Himself to a vineyard owner whose vines have turned wild.
He had loved them, led them, protected them—but they broke the covenant.

Still, His cry is not angry—it is sorrowful.
Not the roar of an eagle hunting prey,
but the sob of a hen who has lost her chicks.

 

He who once hovered over the mountain like an eagle,
came down low,
gentle and humble,
as a carpenter from Nazareth.

And this God—this Son—stood on the Mount of Olives,
overlooking the city that had always rejected the prophets, and He wept.

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how often I have longed to gather your children together,
as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
but you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37)

 

This is not the cry of a scorned judge,
but of a grieving mother.

The Son of God came not as a predator,
but as a protector.
Not as a lion devouring prey,
but as a hen spreading her wings,
gathering the lost,
warming the cold,
covering the broken.

And yet,
“You were not willing.”

So He descended the hill,
walked into the very city that would crucify Him,
and spread His arms wide—
not in judgment,but in mercy.

 

The God who once carried Israel on eagle’s wings,
the Son who longed to gather His people as a hen gathers her chicks,
has not changed.

Today, even now,
He watches over us.

And when we fall,
when we wander,
when we shiver in fear or shame,
He spreads His wings once again.

Not to frighten us,
but to find us.
Not to hunt,
but to heal.

And so, we run to Him—
our Rock,
our Shelter,
our Mother-Hen Savior,
our Eagle-King.

And under His wings,
we find refuge.

 

Hallelujah~