The Raven
This is a raven’s egg. The raven is massive, bigger than a buzzard. It is all black with a large bill, and long wings. In flight, it shows a diamond-shaped tail. In the past this dramatic bird was much persecuted by gamekeepers, but it is now protected and its numbers have stabilised.
The raven has mixed reputation in Bible. Ravens feed Elisha when he is hiding from persecution in the mountains (1 Kings 17). On the other hand, as in many cultures, the raven’s taste for carrion gives it something of a sinister reputation. ‘The eye that mocks a father, that scorns obedience to a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley …’ (Proverbs 30:17) You have been warned!
In old Norse culture the Raven was associated with Odin and battle. The flag of many a Viking raiding party was the famous black raven banner. Odin had two ravens, Hugin and Munin, who flew around the world bringing back tidings to their master. This is strangely similar to the other famous appearance of a raven in the Bible – its use by Noah to scout out the situation after the flood started to recede: ‘After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth’ (Genesis 8. 6-7).
It’s the dove, of course, not the raven, who returns with a sprig of olive. It’s the dove that has become the symbol of peace, not the raven. Despite all the destruction there doesn’t seem to be any carrion for the raven! The world has been renewed and God makes a covenant of peace with mankind and all creatures:
And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.
Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made man. (Genesis 8. 5-6)
The peace doesn’t last long. Soon the ravens can be seen circling.
Reading:
‘His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.’
(Ephesians 2. 15-18)
Prayer:
‘Father, help us to be peacemakers in our society, bringing healing and reconciliation into those situations of strife that are known to us. Amen.’
