Listen! Do you hear that sound? “Rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat.” High on the trunk of a dead tree we finally see what is making the noise. A woodpecker is clinging to the trunk, hammering its long, sharp beak against the trunk as if it were trying to beat its brains out. However, it knows what it is doing, as we will soon see.
There are nearly two dozen kinds of woodpeckers in North America and about 300 kinds throughout the rest of the world. The smallest is the downy which is 6 inches long from beak to tail tip. The largest is the ivory-billed which is 18 inches long. All of them climb up and down tree trunks where they spend many hours searching for food. The Creator has equipped them for this by providing them with two strong toes pointing forward and two pointing backward, although some species have just one pointing backward. Their claws dig firmly into the tree, and they also have stiff tail feathers that press against the trunk to give added support.
Woodpeckers slam their heads against tree trunks hundreds of times a minute several times a day. Any other bird or animal trying to do this would damage its head, neck and body so severely that it would not survive very long. But God designed woodpeckers with bodies that thrive on such treatment. You see, there has always been a special job for them to do which is helpful to trees and also mankind - they drill holes in trees in search of wood-eating grubs and insects. To do this work they have been given large heads, short and powerful necks and strong chisel-like beaks which continue growing to take care of the “wear and tear.” Their heads are reinforced inside with bony supports, a lining and an air space, all to protect their brains. How wisely God has made all His creatures!
One reason why these birds drill holes in trees is to make a nest. They first cut an entrance and then enlarge it inside to a foot or more deep and several inches across. Chips falling to the bottom of the hole provide a soft base for the 6 or more glossy white eggs that will be laid. The male bird starts the drilling but usually leaves the finishing to his mate. These nesting holes are used only one season.
It is certain that the Lord God, the Creator, takes real delight in these birds since Revelation 4:1111Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11) tells us, “Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” More importantly, it is through Him that you are here, as the Bible verse says, “In Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:2828For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (Acts 17:28)). Are you aware of that care, and have you thanked Him for His love and kindness to you?
AUGUST 3, 1997
ML-08/03/1997
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”