A creature that carries meaning
The Eagle
The eagle is Scripture's picture of strength that lifts and carries. It soars where other birds cannot, and the Bible uses it to speak of God's power to bear His people up and to renew their strength.
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”Isaiah 40:31
“Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.”Exodus 19:4
The creature in Scripture
The creature in Scripture. The eagle is a great bird of prey, admired in the ancient world for its height of flight, its keen sight, and its power. Scripture notes these traits with wonder. God asks Job, "Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?" and describes how "from thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off" (Job 39:27-29). The eagle's swiftness makes it a stock image for speed, as when Saul and Jonathan are praised: "they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions" (2 Samuel 1:23). It also pictures the rapid approach of an invading army: "as the eagle that hasteth to eat" (Habakkuk 1:8). God recalls Israel's rescue from Egypt in eagle terms: "I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself" (Exodus 19:4), and Moses' song compares the LORD to an eagle stirring up her nest and bearing her young "on her wings" (Deuteronomy 32:11). The eagle was also listed among the unclean birds not to be eaten (Leviticus 11:13). One of the four living creatures around the throne is "like a flying eagle" (Revelation 4:7). The eagle is a real creature whose observed strength made it a natural emblem of might.
What it comes to mean
What it comes to mean. The eagle comes to mean strength, height, and God's carrying care. In Exodus and Deuteronomy the image is tender as well as strong: the eagle that stirs its nest and catches its young on its wings pictures God bearing Israel out of bondage and holding them up when they cannot fly on their own. That meaning is stated in the text itself. The most beloved eagle passage promises renewal: "they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary" (Isaiah 40:31). Here the eagle signifies a strength that is received, not summoned up from within, given to those who wait on God. We should resist over-allegorizing the eagle into a detailed Christ-symbol, for the Bible does not use it that way. Its steady meaning is simpler and grand: God's power to lift, carry, and renew those who trust Him.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. The eagle points to Christ less by direct title than by the kind of God it reveals, the God who bears His people on wings and renews their strength. That carrying, gathering care becomes flesh in Jesus, who longs over Jerusalem the way a bird shelters its young: "how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings" (Matthew 23:37). The renewal promised in Isaiah 40:31 to those who wait on the LORD is offered by Christ to the weary: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). The God who bore Israel out of Egypt on eagles' wings is the same Lord who in Christ lifts sinners out of a deeper bondage. And the living creature like an eagle before the throne worships the Lamb, for all the strength the eagle pictures belongs to Him. The eagle assures us that the strength we need to run and not grow weary is found by looking up to Him.
Questions people ask
What does "mount up with wings as eagles" mean?
Isaiah 40:31 promises that those who wait on the LORD will "renew their strength" and "mount up with wings as eagles." It pictures a strength that is received from God rather than mustered up on our own, enabling the weary to keep going.
What does it mean that God bore Israel on eagles' wings?
In Exodus 19:4 God says He carried Israel out of Egypt "on eagles' wings." Deuteronomy 32:11 develops the image of an eagle bearing its young. It pictures God's strong, protective care in lifting and rescuing His people when they could not save themselves.
Does the eagle symbolize Jesus directly?
Not as a specific title the way "Lamb" or "Lion" does. The eagle chiefly reveals God's carrying strength and renewal. That same gathering, restoring care is seen in Christ, who gives rest to the weary (Matthew 11:28).