Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young–
a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God,
Psalm 84:3
Interesting that in this verse God uses sparrows and swallows which are considered the most restless of birds. He referred to them as ‘fluttering’ and ‘darting’ in Proverbs 26:2.
Yet these most restless birds find a place of rest for themselves and their young near the altar of God. We should follow their example with our young, giving them to God. We need to stay close to Him, allowing God to work through us to train them in the way they should go; so they will be like these birds that were free to go anywhere, but chose to stay near the altar.
David must have been watching the birds in the sanctuary of God and it stirred up in him the desire to dwell that near to God and find rest for himself and his children. Jesus must have been watching the birds when He used them as teaching aides in Matthew 6:26 and Matthew 23:37
God obviously values birds as there are numerous references to them in Scripture:
He implies that the birds have a better perspective, are more observant, and are wiser than most things: Job 28:21, Proverbs 1:17, Job 35:11
God acknowledged that birds are great parents as He mentions wanting to gather us under His wings as a hen gathers her chicks: Matthew 23:37
He even tells us to consider the birds and to ask the birds to teach us: Matthew 6:26, Job 12:7
My nephew and his wife work to rescue birds with The International Bird Rescue Center in San Pedro, CA. So I asked them for some info on birds. They pointed me to a documentary called “Life of Birds” Watch and study more about these creatures that God values. You might learn something about parenting.
But the most important thing we can learn from the birds is that as we seek to parent in the midst of the storms of our busy lives, we should stop the ‘fluttering’ and ‘darting’ and lay our children at the altar of God – keeping ourselves and them near to Him, and finding peace and protection there. ‘The sparrows and swallows could not have chosen a better place to find rest, or a safer place to have their young and raise their family. The dwelling place of God should be a place of safety where we can raise our children.’ ( Matthew McDonald )
Now for something fun. One thing I learned in this study is that parents may feed the newborns every 10 minutes – whew – we think every 2 to 3 hours is tough! Here’s a video of footage my son Jeremiah captured a few years ago observing a robin feeding her young. Watch till the end and see what devoted parents they are. 😉
