F e d   B y   a   R a v e n

Whenever I read the story of how God sent a raven to feed Elijah out in the desert of northern Africa, it gives me the sense that ravens and crows must be a special breed of birds. When I was a child I wondered how a bird or even two birds could supply enough food for a man to keep him alive. Then one day I stepped of the bus in California and spotted my first raven. WOW! What a big bird. Now it all became clear. Those old black birds had wing spans of over three and one half feet and a beak that could hold a plate of food.

I suppose that’s where the term "raven-ous" appetite might have originated. The largest of the crow family is the Raven and the smallest is the fish-crow which lives along the sea coast and gulf coast and along the larger rivers. All these birds are scavengers but do eat insects and rodents along with other bird eggs in the spring. These families of birds have developed highly intelligent brains. Some experiments show they can count, recognize colors, and can mimic many sounds and have learned many human words while in captivity. They are not fast or long-distance flyers but out west they do migrate from U.S. to Mexico.

Ravens and crows have learned to live with man even though their habitat has changed they have adapted very well. In other parts of the world the ravens are bigger and capable of cleaning up a lot of dead animals and especially fish. I think this is also what Noah had in mind when he sent out a raven from the Ark after the flood. He knew that raven wouldn’t miss a thing, especially if it was something to eat or a place to perch and since he wasn’t a long distance flyer he would be back and probably kept that old Ark in his sights at all times.

The Bible is full of nature stories and there is usually a deeper meaning than just a mere mention of an animal. God desires for all of us to get a deeper appreciation of His word so what better way than to study nature out of the Bible.

Burney Tompkins

    - Uncle Burney