Deuteronomy 32:10-1410He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 11As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: 12So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. 13He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; 14Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape. (Deuteronomy 32:10‑14)
We then read that He instructed His people. How much we need this for the difficulties of the way. There are so many problems in life, and we feel unable to make the right decision — in fact it is impossible of ourselves. But the Word of God gives us instruction for every step of our pathway, and if we read it diligently, giving the Holy Spirit of God His place as the teacher, He will teach us what to do. This is so needful, especially in youth, and that is why we are told, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:11Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; (Ecclesiastes 12:1)). We would like to encourage our readers, young and old, to form the habit of seeking to follow the wisdom of God’s Word at all times.
Not only did the Lord tell His people that He had found them, led them, and instructed them, but He had also kept them as the apple of His eye. How tenderly this speaks to our souls! We are so easily led astray that it is precious to think of the One who keeps us with all the carefulness with which we would guard our very eyes. When we find ourselves in places of temptation and danger, we can just look up and say, “Lord, keep me.” If we are self-confident, He may have to allow us to have a fall, and then we learn the hard way, but when we cry to Him to keep us, we will soon find those mighty arms outstretched to keep us from falling. On one occasion Peter did not feel he needed the Lord’s keeping power, for he said, “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I” (Mark 14:2929But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. (Mark 14:29)), but when he had learned his lesson, how fully he proved the Lord’s restoring and keeping power in the days and years that followed. How important it is that we walk dependently, seeking grace to follow the perfect example of the One who said “Preserve Me, O God: for in Thee do I put My trust” (Psalm 16:11<<Michtam of David.>> Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. (Psalm 16:1)).
Borne on Eagle’s Wings
The Lord brought before His people here the illustration of the mother eagle who stirs up her nest when the time comes for the young eagles to leave it. It is soft and comfortable for them when they are small, but she does not want them to stay in the nest forever. When she knows they are old enough to fly, she stirs it up and forces them out. It ceases to be a comfortable resting place for them, and so they try to fly. She then gets under them when they begin to go down, and bears then up on her strong wings until they learn to fly alone. And so the children of Israel would have remained in Egypt, but the Lord did not want them to settle down there, and He allowed trouble to come so that they would want to leave. Then He bore them up when their hearts would have fainted, and was carrying them to the land where He would have them. And is it not often so with us? We would like to settle down in this world and make ourselves comfortable here, but this is not God’s purpose for us. He therefore brings trouble into our lives, stirring up our nest until we get out to fly toward heaven. Then, as we meet the difficulties of the way, He puts His everlasting arms under us and bears us up until we again look up and fly heavenward, where our eternal rest is.
The next verse brings in the rich and abundant blessings that awaited the people in the land of Canaan, far better than they had ever had in Egypt — and how much better still are the joys that await us in the Father’s home above!
Further Meditations
1. What does a mother eagle do to help her young learn to fly?
2. Genesis 22 provides a wonderful example of how the Lord stirred up Abraham’s nest and allowed God to be glorified by faith. Describe what the Lord did throughout the story to both test Abraham and strengthen him.
3. You can find real refreshment from the messages of comfort and encouragement found in Angels in White by R. Elliott.