Birds of the Bible - Foundation #1 (by Lee Dusing)

If you read my blog, Impact of the Answers in Genesis Conference, I stated that the Foundation of the Word of God needs to be emphasized. For the last year, the different Birds of the Bible have been introduced. Where did the birds come from? The byline of this blog is "Birdwatching from a Christian Perspective." What does God's Word say about the bird's Creation?

Most birdwatchers know that when they pick up a Bird Guide or Book, one of the first thing we read is:

"Having attained the power of flight more than 150 million years ago, birds might be ..." (Smithsonian Handbooks, Birds of North America, Eastern Region, page 6)

"Feathered Dinosaurs?
For years biologists have half-jokingly referred to birds as "feathered reptiles." In part, it is a ploy to annoy bird lovers with the thought that the objects of their fancy are just singing lizards wrapped in stretched-out scales called "feathers." Yet the phrase reflects an important biological reality: birds are undeniably the modified descendants of reptiles, as their body structure and habit of laying eggs out of water clearly show."
"Archaeopteryx makes an ideal "missing link," showing characteristics intermediate between reptiles and birds.....One view, still held by many paleontologists, suggests that about 200 million years ago its ancestral line split off from a group of reptiles, the thecodonts." (The Birder's Handbook, p. 31-33)

"The Implications of Flight / The central theme of bird evolution is flight. Most avian features can be related back to this fundamental adaptation. The avian forelimbs are dedicated almost entirely to aerial flight, for instance. To meet the diverse demands of survival without hands, birds have been subject to a fascinating evolutionary makeover." ... "Birds have evolved compact...." (p. 15) Section called Origins, Evolution, and Classification states - "Bird Are Reptiles - Before the discovery of Archaeopteryx" ("about 150 million years")," taxonomists had already suggested a close relationship between birds and reptiles because of the large number of anatomical features shared by the two classes of animals." Goes on to mention "missing link" (p. 39, The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior)

On and on it goes. They state as "undeniable facts" many things that come from a "theory."

But the Word of God, our Bible says differently.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

Continuing through Chapter 1, you find that God, who is the "self-existent", "three-in-one", known as "I AM", did the creation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3)

Day 1 - Light (Day) and darkness (Night)
Day 2 - Firmament (Heaven) in midst of the waters and divided them
Day 3 - Waters (Seas) gathered together and the dry land (Earth) appeared with grass, herbs and fruit after his kind
Day 4 - Sun, Moon, and Stars
Day 5 - Great whales and all water creatures after his kind and the winged fowls (birds) after his kind

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. (Genesis 1:20-23)

Day 6 - Land animals, cattle, and creeping things after their kind

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:24-26 )

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. (Genesis 1:27-29)

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:30-31)

Day 7 - God rested and blessed and sanctified all His work

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. (Genesis 2:1-3)

In Birds of the Bible - Foundation #2, I will bring out some more from the Word of God and articles written about the creation of birds. For now, let me make this observation. If the birds were created on Day 5 and the reptiles were created on Day 6, how did birds evolve from reptiles?

Birds of the Bible - Swallows (by Lee Dusing)

Somehow I overlooked the Swallows on the first go-around of the "Birds of the Bible" series. This blog hopes to correct that oversight.

To the Chief Musician. On An Instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young-- Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You. Selah (Psalm 84:1-4 NKJV)

Following are some quotes from Gill and Matthew Henry:

"because it freely visits the houses of men without fear" - (Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible)

"III. His (David's) grudging the happiness of the little birds that made their nests in the buildings that were adjoining to God's altars, Psa_84:3. This is an elegant and surprising expression of his affection to God's altars: The sparrow has found a house and the swallow a nest for herself. These little birds, by the instinct and direction of nature, provide habitations for themselves in houses, as other birds do in the woods, both for their own repose and in which to lay their young; some such David supposes there were in the buildings about the courts of God's house, and wishes himself with them. He would rather live in a bird's nest nigh God's altars than in a palace at a distance from them. He sometimes wished for the wings of a dove, on which to fly into the wilderness (Psa_55:6); here for the wings of a sparrow, that he might fly undiscovered into God's courts; and, though to watch as a sparrow alone upon the house-top is the description of a very melancholy state and spirit (Psa_102:7), yet David would be glad to take it for his lot, provided he might be near God's altars. It is better to be serving God in solitude than serving sin with a multitude. The word for a sparrow signifies any little bird, and (if I may offer a conjecture) perhaps when, in David's time, music was introduced so much into the sacred service, both vocal and instrumental, to complete the harmony they had singing-birds in cages hung about the courts of the tabernacle (for we find the singing of birds taken notice of to the glory of God, Psa_104:12), and David envies the happiness of these, and would gladly change places with them. Observe, David envies the happiness not of those birds that flew over the altars, and had only a transient view of God's courts, but of those that had nests for themselves there. David ... takes notice that these birds not only have nests for themselves there, but that there they lay their young; for those who have a place in God's

courts themselves cannot but desire that their children also may have in God's house, and within his walls, a place and a name, that they may feed their kids beside the shepherds' tents." (Matthew Henry Commentary)

I trust that those of us that are Christians enjoy and look forward to the time we spend in church. In times like these, we need:
1. A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (John 3:16, 2 Peter 3:18)
2. A place to "study to show thyself approved" and be nurtured by the preaching and teaching of the Word of God (Romans 10:14, 2 Timothy 2:15 & 3:16)
3. A place of fellowship (Acts 2:42)

Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight. (Proverbs 26:2 NKJV)

Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered; I mourned like a dove; My eyes fail from looking upward. O LORD, I am oppressed; Undertake for me! (Isaiah 38:14 NKJV) (This verse was mentioned in the "Birds of the Bible - Cranes" blog)

"Even the stork in the heavens Knows her appointed times; And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow Observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the LORD. (Jeremiah 8:7 NKJV) (This verse was covered in the "Interesting Things - A Lesson from the Stork" blog.)

Swallows are in the Hirundinidae Family which includes Martins. "Within the Hirundiniae, the name 'martin' tends to be used for the squarer-tailed species, and the name "swallow" for the more fork-tailed species; however, there is no scientific distinction between these two groups.[1] The family contains around 83 species in 19 genera." The subfamilies are: Saw-wings (including Square-tailed, Mountain, White-headed, Black and Fanti), Swallows (many including Barn, Bank, Cave Mangrove, Golden, etc), Martins (Purple, Cuban, Sinaloa, Brown-chested, etc.), Sand Martins (including Brown-throated, Congo, Pale, Banded).

The swallows are found on all continents except Antarctica with the largest diversity of species in Africa. They are found on many islands, as there are quite a few that migrate long distances. God has designed them with short bills, but with a wide mouth that has a strong jaw. This is useful in there hunt for insects which they catch on the wing. With their streamlined body and wings that are pointed, they are very maneuverable at great speeds. Their forked long tail, that has 12 feathers, helps them steer. They can range from 3.9-9.4 inches and weight between 0.4-2.1 ounces.

More information about Swallows can be found at:

Swallow (Wikipedia)
Swallow videos on Internet Bird Collection
Swallows at Britannica Online Encyclopedia

Faith's 100 History & Vision (Pastor Osborne)

This past Sunday evening, February 8th, Pastor Osborne gave a short history of Faith's 100 as well as a vision for the future. After Pastor's message, there was a question and answer regarding the sending of Jared Malcolm to Brazil as a Faith's 100 missionary. On February 22, we, as a church, will vote to send Jared to Brazil.

If you are unfamiliar with Faith's 100, I encourage you to listen to this message. (Note, the question and answer time is not included in this audio. Only Pastor's message is included.)

You can download and listen to it HERE.