Hen and Chicks

I recently listened to a sermon about the love of God. The premise of the sermon was that because God's love is so difficult for believers to grasp and so impossible to adequately describe, God employs pictures to illustrate His love for His children. These pictures found throughout the Bible help to give some understanding of the love of God. (The message was the final sermon in a series about knowing God. The series can be ordered at 

http://www.mountcalvarybaptist.org/pages/sermons/Default.aspx?SeriesID=235.)

The message itself discussed six relationships that help to illustrate the love of God. I have personally added three relationship pictures to that list, including the one discussed below. Because the love of God is so vast, it is possible that other illustrations could be added as well. For the next several weeks, I would like to examine these nine revelations of God's love that I have either borrowed from the sermon or added in response to the sermon's idea.

The first picture is that of a mother hen with her chicks. Jesus Himself presents this illustration in Matthew 23:37. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling."

Jesus speaks of His desire, not just at that moment but throughout history, to gather His children (specifically those of Jerusalem/Israel) like a hen gathers her children. While His message was specific to these people, His words reveal the same concept that is shared elsewhere in Scripture.

What does the picture illustrate? My first thoughts go to things like claiming them as belonging to Him and holding them close. I think of the sense of security and comfort, like a mother's embrace. Perhaps there is even the idea of the exclusivity of the relationship; only the children are taken under the wings, and they are thereby removed from the chaos of the world. Being taken under the wings implies a sense of peaceful and serene belonging.

As I looked at other Scriptures that present the same concept, I realized that my understanding was shallow. I was not wrong in my conclusions, but when the Bible talks about being under the wings, there is one very specific application that is found consistently. The picture is that of a refuge.

The Hebrew word can be translated as having hope, making a refuge, or putting one's trust in the source. There are two Hebrew words for refuge; one of them refers to an established place of confidence that one resorts to habitually. The other involves fleeing precipitately and desperately for protection in a moment of crisis. The word used in these verses is the second word.

Think of a hen with her chicks. When do the chicks hide under their momma's wings? They do so most poignantly in the face of danger, like when a fox appears or a hawk suddenly swoops toward them. Small children have the erroneous understanding that if they can't see someone, that person can't see them either. Closing one's eyes or hiding under a blanket do not make the danger disappear; hiding under the wings of the mother hen is more effective. I was once confronted and chased by a mother turkey, and she was very effective at keeping me away from her little ones.

Thinking of God as a mother hen who gather His chicks in a time of danger reveals Him as someone in Whom believers can safely confide. They can flee to Him and trust Him completely for protection. No matter what the danger is or how threatening it may seem, the Christian can run to God who loves him and will shield him from harm.

Boaz recognized that Ruth had done this. "May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge" (Ruth 2:12).

The following verses from Psalms consistently refer to the refuge, the place of trust, found under God's wings. "How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings" (36:7). "Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by" (57:1). "Let me dwell in Your tent forever; let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings" (61:4). "He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark" (91:4).

Psalm 17:8-9 does not use the word for refuge that is found in the other verses, but the context makes it clear that the wings are a place to hide for refuge in the face of imminent danger. "Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings from the wicked who despoil me, my deadly enemies who surround me."

When I am unable to save myself, when I am unable to face the challenges of life, when destruction or enemies threaten me, I can run to the God who loves me and find refuge under His wings. I can do this often, even daily. I can do it from the beginning of life until the end of life. I will always find Him to be a secure refuge for me. He will hold me close, giving me reassurance. He will also stand between me and the attack, giving me protection.

Sadly, as Jesus revealed, His people are not always willing to go to Him for refuge. What destruction would the Jews have been spared over the years if they had run to Him and hid under His wings? He wanted them to come. He wanted to gather them. Because they refused the source of refuge, they have endured much persecution and destruction. May I not exhibit the same willfulness that would deprive me of the protection He wants to give. If I seek His help, I will be able to rejoice in His successful protection.

"For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy." Psalm 63:7 (NASB)