Some birds of the Bible - Doctor Grave Singogo

The birds of the Bible will teach us who the Lord Jesus Christ is. There are some birds that are never attributed to Christ or human beings. A good example is a BAT, it is a mammal and a bird at the same time, and it is a hypocrite. It is not a good bird to associate a human being with.

We shall consider six (6) birds of the Bible.

1. The Dove

-The terms dove and pigeon are used interchangeably, although smaller species are more likely to be called doves. Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.

Song of songs 5: 12 says “His eyes are as the eyes of the doves by the rivers of waters, washed with Milk, and fitly set.” This verse is talking about one who is describing her beloved one

-The dove is the most important bird in the Bible. It is gentle and so is Jesus Christ our Lord and savior.

Matthew 11: 28 says “Come unto me, all ye that labour and I will give you rest.” This was Jesus speaking to His disciples. Christ is ever so tender and yet He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As Christian we need to be like Christ, let us endeavor to be tender.

Galatians 6: 1 says “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself lest thou also be tempted.” We must be like Christ when it comes to correcting others. We must have the spirit of Gentleness. If you are not gentle, then you are simply not a Christian because you must have the fruit of the spirit

-What about the eyes of the dove? If you keep doves at your home and everyday you quarrel, the doves will leave your house, they are peaceful birds.

Mark 10: 21 says “Then Jesus beholding him loved him and said unto him, one thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shall have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” Jesus looked at him and He looked at him with love. The eyes of the dove speak of love.

2. The Eagle

-The eagle has been used by many nations as a national symbol, depicting power, beauty and independence. It is also part of the Coat of Arms of Zambia and the nation’s flag. Like all birds of prey, eagles have very large powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs and powerful talons. They also have extremely keen eyesight to enable them to spot potential prey from a distance.

Proverbs 30: 18-19 says “There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yeah, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.” An eagle, when it flies, it goes very high up in the sky but its eyes are sharp that it can see a fish down in the sea and quickly get down to capture it.

-An eagle is the only bird that can fly against the storm.

Luke 8: 22 – 25 says “Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed he fell asleep and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to the other, What manner of man is this! For he commandeth even the winds and waters, and they obey him.”  The storm in this context is a picture language of the troubles and tribulations.

-If one has money problems, it’s called a financial storm. If one has a terrible marriage experience, it’s called a marriage storm…etc

3. The Hen (Chicken)

Matthew 23: 37 says “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! All this is picture language. The Hen speaks of the protective and caring nature of Jesus Christ.

-Jesus died for us, He sacrificed his life, nobody can care and protect like Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 5: 6-7 says “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

We quote this verse but many times we miss the text point.

-Jesus protects us, verse 8 the bible says “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” From Satan we would be demon possessed if it’s not for Jesus Christ.

-God put a hedge on Job – what happened when the hedge was removed? Satan brought sickness and all the suffering that befell on Job.

4. The Owl

Owls are a world-wide order of birds known as Strigiformes and the 216 species range in size from the tiny, sparrow size, Elf Owl to the Eurasian Eagle Owl which has a wing span of nearly 2 meters and can weigh almost 5kg.

Psalm 102: 6 says “I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.” Here in this psalm, Jesus is being referred to as an owl. In our tradition today, an owl is associated with witchcraft and bad things but that should not be so for a Christian.

Three (3) things about the owl:

(i) It’s the only bird which stands upright – It speaks of the uprightness of Jesus Christ. It speaks of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He is our savior and sinless was he.

Hebrews 7: 26 says “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;” Jesus Christ was sinless. Hebrews 4: 15 says “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

(ii) It has big eyes – yellow and big – The owl is the only bird that can turn its head 270 degrees and its vision is excellent. Our Lord Jesus sees everything and he knows everything. Whether we are winning or losing, may we trust in God and do the right.

(iii). It has a big head – The big head speaks of two (2) things:

-The knowledge of God – There is nothing that God does not know. Everything lies plain in the eyes of God

-The wisdom of God – It is putting into action the knowledge that one has in Christ like.

In Proverbs 8, Christ is referred to as wisdom, we need wisdom in everything we do.

5. The Sparrow

The sparrows are indigenous to Europe, Africa and Asia. They are generally birds of open habitats, including grasslands, deserts, and scrubland. The sparrows are one of the few passerine birds that engage in dust bathing. Sparrows will first scratch a hole in the ground with their feet, then lie in it and fling dirt or sand over their bodies with flicks of their wings.

Psalm 102: 7 says “I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.” The sparrow is the cheapest bird but that’s not the message here. Sparrows are never alone, they always flock together. When you see a sparrow alone, it means three (3) things:

1.       It is not well

2.       Its nest has been destroyed

3.       It has lost its colleagues.

A lonely sparrow in verse 7 symbolizes the Lord Jesus when he was alone in the garden of Gethsemane. We must always remember that Christ died for us, he took our place. He carried the disease of sin, that’s why he was alone.

6. The Pelican

There are more than half a dozen species of pelicans, but all of them have the famous throat pouch for which the birds are best known. These large birds use their elastic pouches to catch fish—though different species use it in different ways. They store some of the fish in their famous throat pouch.

Many pelicans fish by swimming in cooperative groups. They may form a line or a "U" shape and drive fish into shallow water by beating their wings on the surface. When fish congregate in the shallows, the pelicans simply scoop them up.

It speaks of two (2) things:

(i) Fishers of men – making evangelists. Jesus is known to be a great evangelist, he was a great pelican. As Christians, it is our duty to spread the word of God, we ought to be fishers of men.

(ii) The pelican reminds us that Jesus will provide for us – He provided for Elijah using the Ravens when the prophets of God were being killed in the time of King Ahab

Genesis 22 – Remember the story of Abraham when God commanded him to sacrifice his one and only son Isaac. God provided Ram just when he was about to strike his son.

John 14 – God provided for the five thousand people with only 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. It was a miracle and God works in ways we cannot see or understand.

Matthew 17: 24 says “And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?” The bible is full of picture language; they had no money to pay Tax.

Matthew 17:27 says “Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first comes up: and when thou has opened his mouth, thou shall find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.” This was a miracle.

Indeed God is Jehovah Jaire – the Lord provides

By Doctor Grave Singogo

ZAMBIA’S AFCON VICTORY MEAN MANY THINGS TO MANY PEOPLE

To some it is a game played and a game won. Since in every competition at least one team should emerge as a winner and the victorious team has to go away joyously. So, the Zambian team went away jubilating for having won the game and never loosing in all the games they played.

Mwene saving Zambia at the AFCON cup final

To others this was a Southern African ‘small team’ that survived the jaws of the giants; Ghana, Cameroon etc… in as far as football was concern. The Zambian players were called ‘Under Dogs’ but to the surprise of many people, it turned out to be the other way round.

But what else could be said about the AFCON with the Zambian team emerging as the winner?

Herve Renard talking to Nkausu

We can actually talk about hard work and determination that the boys portrayed during the matches. They devoted themselves to prayer and devotions to God while in camp and they also trained very hard with the coach Herve Renard. Memories about the Zambian football flashes back: I mean good and short passes that characterized Zambian football back in memorial when players like Derby Makinka, John Soko, Estone Mulenga, Timothy Mweetwa, Wisdom Chansa, were in full form and Dennis Liwewe could not help it but make a chorus out of the boy’s names as the ball passed from one man’s skilled legs to the other, running upfront to the opponent’s goal post with the necessary stubbornness.

It was once again happening with the Zambian new team spear headed by Christopher Katongo, showing what the world had almost forgotten about Zambian football. Indeed the Zambian footballers stood against their competitors with enthusiasm and triumphed. They had a tough game with Ghana in the Semi Finals and we were really outplayed but we indeed managed to win and move to the finals. I could hear the Zambian coach Herve Renard shouting on top of his voice as Zambia was playing trying to instruct the players on what to do as I watched the match with my wife and young sisters at home.

Drogba, after missing a penalty

 May I mention here that at this moment, the names of those who died in a plane crush suddenly registered in my mind as they died on my 10^th birthday in 1993. Yes, so vividly that I felt like ‘the boys’ were playing that I …and I…as I watched the match. I couldn’t believe it, but the salt taste in my mouth. Indeed the boys brought the trophy home in memory of the 18 players that perished on the 28^th April 1993 in Gabon.

The other thing that can be said about the last match when Zambia finally played Ghana is that, this time around the team was not ready for anything less than a win. They showed a unity of purpose. Chamanga was made to play in the first half and Mayuka was brought in the second half as a substitute and he is the one that scored to take Zambia to the finals.

Zambian players, waiting as they take penalties

The boy’s achievement can be defined as the total some of every player’s effort. Here we can stress the point that unity of purpose is not only about the common task at hand but how the members of a team or a group believes shall all be when the team overcomes the challenges or the opponents. The team ‘won’ before it could actually win so that it was not read to lose the won. In case you are wondering what I mean here dear reader; you see, there must be harmony between what you are thinking and how you feel and how you act. The leg must be well informed, and well energized to kick the ball in the right direction. But to do this in a team it entails one to think about what to usher in at the right time. Thanks to the motivators of this team.

Zambian players celebrating

The nation felt more united and for those who could not talk to each other at least postponed their grudges. The victory fever intoxicated everybody and the lesson was learned; that the common good can be used to make people more united if there is any chance to do so.

2012 AFCON Winners (Zambia's Chipolopolo boys)