I wanted to confirm if the story floating around the internet of the Eagle going to a mountain for 40 days to pluck its feathers and break its beak off was myth or fact…. Well here is what I wrote upon researching it.
The verse about how our youth is renewed like the eagles took on a whole new meaning for me…God bless!
Youth renewed like the eagle
Psalm 103:5
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
How exactly…
Let’s understand how the eagle really renews its youth…
First I read, that “Every year (usually) eagles molt and grow a whole new set of feathers, whether they want to or not, but it’s a gradual process.” — not really lasting just a year—
The myth that they go to a mountaintop to renew by tearing off its beak and plucking feathers is so far off the truth that it distorts the view in this scripture God has given to us.
Through a process called molting, birds naturally lose their feathers and regrow new ones. Eagles specifically, go through this molting about once a year throughout their lives. It is during a molt, that their old feathers will naturally fall out and they grow new feathers to take place of old feathers.
We, similarly change from glory to glory, being renewed in the inner man day by day (therefore we do not lose heart). 2 Corinthians 4:16
Kered, the Hebrew word for renew, as used in Psalm 103, means to rebuild and repair.
Think, how an eagle sheds its feathers through the “process” of molting, we too are renewed through a “process”.
Perhaps, this shedding of old and “being renewed” is different for each of us, as we are all different.
Different “process” we each go through.
Different childhoods, views, perspectives… therefore different lessons and different “trials by fire” to bring us to the image that we are all striving for - to reflect God’s image ultimately. To reflect His glory, shining bright as the noonday sun (Son).
I learned that “if a primary feather is molted on the left wing, the same feather is molted simultaneously on the right wing. This can ensure balance in flight.”
God is a God of order after all. He ensures balance to all things, right?
We can trust His love for us as the motive in all we face, to give us a hope and an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11
As I read, I learned that similarly to reproduction, “Molt exacts intense metabolic costs, requiring careful coordination of neurological, hormonal, and physiological processes as well as sufficient nutrients for the generation and growth of new feathers.”
Very demanding, just as any trial is. This is demanding and can be exhausting to all areas of our lives… emotionally, physically, mentally, financially and most importantly, spiritually.
We need to be renewed in Jesus Christ, therefore we stay under the shadow of His wings through prayer and feasting on His Word (He satisfies our mouths with good things). Psalm 103:5
I read where Psalm 105:40-41 states, “The people asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river.” (Jesus is the bread of life and river of living water that flows through us.)
Like we go through seasons, the “Molt stage is not long enough for eagles to replace all of their wing flight feathers (the remiges) one by one during a single year.” (See https://www.elfruler.com/?page_id=10708)
This is a process that involves replacing primary and secondary feathers, following a strategy called wave molt (or stepwise), which ultimately takes 3-4 years for full replacement due to the nature of replacing the feathers in a given pattern, minimizing the number of feathers “molting at a time, their location on the wing, and the timing of any gaps where a feather has dropped out and a new one is growing in.”
What a God we serve to systematically allow for eagles to renew their feathers through molting. To think, His Word says we are renewed like the eagles. This is not always quick, or easy.
Lastly, take note, God tells us in Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait for the Lord…Will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings like eagles…They will run and not become weary, They will walk and not grow tired.
I learned that eagles “are known to fly to an altitude of 10,000 feet; they ride columns of rising air called thermals while migrating. An eagle can circle effortlessly in a strong thermal to a high altitude, and then glide long distances.“ (See https://www.elfruler.com/?page_id=10708)
We, will lift up our wings like eagles… leaning into Him, Jesus, like the eagle does into the wind. It is never our own strength, but God’s strength that carry’s us.
Just like the eagle glides on columns of air, we too glide… God’s strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. The eagle glides long distances like this, so we too can “endure” the distance (in infirmities, reproaches, needs, persecutions, distresses) as we constantly lean into and abide in Him. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
By the way, the eagle never tears its beak out, it could not survive. The beak and their claws are made of keratin, like our nails. Just in case you were wondering…
In case you want to read more, all data in quotes taken and read within this blog is taken from the below wonderful site:
https://www.elfruler.com/?page_id=10708