Many people don’t give birds the respect they deserve. The Bible has plenty to say about our feathered friends. God created them, and that ought to be enough for us to respect them. They play a role in history that some people couldn’t. When Noah built the ark, God instructed him to take two of every kind of animal on board except birds. God instructed him to take seven of every kind of bird. (Genesis 7:3)
When the flood subsided and the ark came to rest on a mountaintop, Noah released a raven from the ark, and then he released a dove. When the dove returned with an olive leaf, Noah knew the water had gone down. When God instructed Noah to release all the animals in the ark, Noah built an altar and sacrificed some of the clean birds on it. God was pleased. (Genesis 8)
God directed ravens to bring bread and meat to Elijah during a severe drought. (1 Kings 17:6) Jesus reminded his audience that the ravens neither sow nor reap, and yet God feeds them. (Luke 12:24) Joseph and Mary offered a sacrifice at the Temple when Jesus was born. Since they were poor, their sacrifice was “a pair of doves or two young pigeons”. (Luke 2:24) God was pleased.
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