Birds

Magnificent Flying Machines

On the fifth day of creation, God said: ²⁰“Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” ²¹So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²²God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 

Last week we examined the different types of life God created to live in the waters of the earth, this week we will look at the amazing design of the different types of winged birds. The Hebrew word for winged bird includes anything that flies. Birds aren’t the only animals that fly as most insects at some point in their life cycle fly.  Genesis says that God created the winged birds according to their own kinds.  There are about 9,700 species (different types) of birds and about one million species of insects. 

Insects

Although most people generally find most insects annoying, they are a critical part of the balance of nature.   Insects are an important source of food for a variety of animals including lots of birds and fish.  Many insects, especially bees, pollinate different types of flowers so that plants can produce fruits and seeds.  Insects also feed on animal wastes and dead plants and animals, breaking them down and helping to keep the environment in right balance. 

Feathers and Flight

Birds have a unique design as all of them have feathers and wings.  In fact, birds are the only animals with feathers but they are not the only animals that have wings and fly.  A bat is not a bird but a mammal and it also flies. 

There are also birds that don’t fly. Ostriches and penguins are birds and have wings and feathers but they can’t fly.  Ostriches can only walk or run and they use their wings for balance instead of flight.  Besides walking, Penguins can swim under water and use their wings like flippers.

Eggs

All birds hatch from eggs that the female lays.  She generally lays the eggs in a nest that she, her mate, or both of them have built.  The parents protect the baby birds and feed them until they can take care of themselves.  Most birds can function on their own by the time they are a few months old. The parents push them out of the nest when they are ready to fly.

Design of the Bird

Instead of teeth, birds have a beak or a bill.  The beaks and bills of birds were designed by God to serve different purposes depending on what food each bird was to eat.  Many types of birds can live in the same area because they feed on different things. 

Feet, claws and talons are also unique to each type of bird and again design is related to how God planned the bird to function.

All parts of a bird have been designed to enable it to fly.  A bird’s body is streamlined and aerodynamically designed for efficient flight. When the wings extend out, they create the lift that enables the bird to get off the ground and stay in the air.  Beaks are exceptionally strong but lightweight.  Bones are hollow and some are fused together to make them strong but light.  If a bird’s bones were designed like ours, the bird would be too heavy to fly. 

Even the internal organs of a bird and the way the heart works are designed to enable it to fly.  Feathers are also lightweight with different types serving different purposes.  Some feathers are designed for flight, others for warmth and protection and some, it would seem, just for beauty and attracting a mate, like a peacock.

Balance of Nature

Birds, like insects, are an important part of the balance of nature.  Through eating the fruit of plants, birds spread the seeds around an area so more plants can sprout.  Hummingbirds pollinate the flowers as they extract nectar out of them for their food.  Some birds help farmers by eating weed seeds, while others eat the insects that would destroy crops.  Predator birds like hawks and eagles keep rodents such as rats and mice under control.

Studying the amazing design of birds has enabled humans to understand principles of flight and apply that knowledge to the development of the airplane.  We can learn something about God and gain his wisdom from every aspect of his creation.  We need to study both God’s creation and his word to understand principles of right living. Just as birds were designed to function in certain ways, so humans were designed to function in a relationship with their creator.  Think about what you can learn from birds as you do your study at home this week. 

Jeremiah 8:7 says ⁷ Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the LORD.

We as God’s people are to know what God requires of us and follow our design. As we live the way God designed us to live, we will be blessed. We need to choose carefully what we will believe and follow. Remember that birds fly according to a design and that as we live according to God’s design and dwell with him we are blessed.

---

• Overview Questions:  How are insects an important part of the balance of nature?  What is unique about birds?  What does the design of each type of bird reveal about it?  What have people learned from studying birds?
• Thought Questions: What should the fact that people had to study birds to learn about principles of flight and how to design an airplane cause all people to consider?  Why do you believe a bird was designed and didn’t evolve?  Why are people able to look at the complex design of a bird and think it is a result of a random evolutionary process rather than created by God?
• Prayer: Thank God for the magnificent design of birds and what can be learned from studying them.  Pray that when you see a bird and think about its design and purpose you would consider your own design and purpose and commit yourself to following God’s plan and dwelling with him.

---

Week’s Memory Verse:  Jeremiah 8:7

⁷ Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the LORD.

---

What can we learn from the birds?

We are wise when we follow our design and respond to God.