On Eagles' Wings-High Soaring Deliverance!

You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how ​I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself (Exodus 19:4).

God describes in most moving and insightful terms the whole process of deliverance of his people out of Egypt, including the ten plagues, the Red Sea crossing as well as his miraculous provisions of water, quail and manna. In his infinite wisdom and with a poetical heart, our Lord communicates to the Israelites how he did this. He doesn’t just confess “I bore you up with my strength and outstretched arm.” He could have and in fact did use those figures of himself elsewhere (Dt. 4:34; Ps. 136:12). But here in Exodus 19, our Lord’s way of describing Israel’s brief but stupendous history of deliverance is to frame it in high-flying terminology, “I bore you on eagles’ wings.” At once our interest is piqued by such an analogy. PBS describes them as large and strong birds of prey, some species are as large as 20 lbs with an 8 foot wing-span. They are known for their excellent eye-sight, able to spot a rabbit up to two miles away. Matthew Henry points out that the bearing on "eagles' wings" denotes speed, that God got them out of Egypt swiftly, with great ease and strength. Using the same figure elsewhere, the weak who trusts God increases strength, mounting up with "wings as eagles" (Isaiah 40:31). They shall fly high above the frey, not limited to the hindrances and pitfalls so often associated with stumbling over the rocky terrain of life below.

Then, he says that his goal was—not the Promised Land, per se—but that he “brought them to [himself].” God’s purposes are not primarily locative, but relational. We tend to think in terms of geography because we cannot “wrap our minds around” the intimacy God in Christ secured for us. God’s purpose in conversion has always been the same, that we may “know Him” (John 17:3). While heaven and freedom from sin and overcoming the evil one are also wonderful benefits, still the ultimate end of conversion is that we may be reconciled with God to be His own people. "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness in his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). Amazing!!