Today my Bible reading was in Genesis 15-17 where God is confirming his covenant with Abram. Gen 15:11 stood out to me today when the birds of prey came down on the splayed sacrifice carcasses and Abram drove them away. The help note says this is symbolic of Abraham defending his promised inheritance against foreign attackers. Yesterday the sermon at my church was on Hosea 4:1-6 where God is speaking against the priests who have not done their job. Hosea 4:3 says the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the fields are taken away. Is the same thing going on here? They’re being taken away because the priests aren’t driving away the birds of prey as Abram had? They had not defended the promised inheritance from either foreign influence or indwelling sin and the result was now no faithfulness or steadfast love or knowledge of God in the land (Hos 4:1).
How like Abraham (and unlike the priests in Hosea’s time) am I to be driving away the birds of prey? Away from myself and away from my children and those in my care? I must know the Lord and make him known. Thanks be to God for our great High Priest and Good Shepherd who never fails. May I as part of the Royal Priesthood proclaim the excellencies of him who called me out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9).
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