Birds of the Bible
1. The Peacock – Bird of Creation
“Gavest thou the goodly wings unto
the peacocks?”
(Job 39:13)
Image: morguefile.com
Are you interested in the world in which you live – the world which God made? The Bible has a lot to say about its landscapes, climates, plants and animals. In this series we shall look at some of the birds of the Bible and discover what important spiritual truths they teach us. There is so much we can learn.
There are 9,000 bird species in our world today. They are found everywhere from the icy waters and wastes of the polar regions to the burning deserts of the tropics. On open seas, high mountains and dusty plains, in dense forests and even in our towns and cities, you will be sure to find birds of one kind or another.
Birds range in size from tiny humming-birds which would fit inside a matchbox to great albatrosses with their huge wingspans. The ostrich is the largest of all the birds, much taller and heavier than we are. Though flightless it can run at speed even with a man upon its back!
The Bible tells us that God made birds on the fifth day of creation (Gen.1:20,21). The different sorts were kept alive in the ark at the time of the Flood (Gen.7:14,15) so that they could fill the earth again when the waters returned.
You have no doubt heard of the theory of evolution. This is the idea that everything, including living things, was not created by God but came about by chance, beginning with a ‘big bang’ billions of years ago. Simple forms of life developed slowly into complex ones. This idea says that birds evolved from the reptiles known as dinosaurs. The scales covering their bodies ‘frayed out’ and became feathers! A creature named Archaeopteryx is supposed to be a link between reptiles and birds, but the fossils show that it was simply a large, perching bird with feathers like those of modern species.
Feathers are a remarkable evidence of creation. Have you ever picked up a fallen wing feather and looked at it closely? It is so wonderfully suited to flying. You will notice the stem or quill. It is hollow and yet strong. Then you will see the branches or ‘barbs’ on either side of the stem. If you had a magnifying glass you would see that there are even smaller branches or ‘barbules’ which ‘lock’ the barbs of the feather together. This makes a flat, light, flexible yet robust structure, ideal for flapping. When a bird ‘preens’ its feathers with its beak it is ‘relocking’ any barbs which have separated during flying.
Without such a perfect design feathers would be useless for flight. But think too of the amazing variety in the size, shape and colour of feathers. The plumage of some birds is spectacular and there is none more beautiful than the peacock.
Peacocks are a type of pheasant. They have always been highly valued. King Solomon’s wealth included peacocks (1Kings 10:22). Alexander the Great passed a law that they must not be killed. Hindus sadly even worship them. The Romans introduced peacocks to our country and you will see them in parks and zoos. We should really call these birds ‘peafowl’, for it is only the male (peacock) which has feathers which display like a fan; the female (peahen) is dull and drab by comparison.
Charles Darwin, the man who made the theory of evolution popular, wrote something very interesting. He said: “The sight of a peacock’s tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!” You see, he could not explain it by his theory. Why should the peacock have such extraordinary feathers, when other birds survive very well without them? With their brilliant colours they are purely decorative, for the peacock rarely flies. The ‘eye’ patterns especially are astoundingly complex designs, which could never have happened by chance. There is only one explanation for the peacock – and every other creature: God made them! “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches” (Psa.104:24).
