“Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?” (Luke 12:24).

Consider, first, “a certain rich man” who had such abundance of food bursting from his barns that he decided to pull them down and build greater barns. He planned to hoard his goods rather than share his abundance (vs.16–18).

Consider now the ravens: lacking barns, they depend from day to day totally upon God’s provision. “He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry” (Psalm 147:9). Do we cultivate this raven-like attitude, or are we self-sufficient like the rich man?

These same ravens, when commanded by God, brought Elijah “bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening” (I Kings 17:6). Unlike the rich man, these ravens shared their goods, and not from their abundance. Do we respond as quickly as ravens and share with the needy that God sends our way?

Ravens are unclean birds, according to Leviticus 11:15. They routinely scavenge carcasses for food. Noah used this characteristic to evaluate the state of the earth after the Flood. After forty days, he “opened the window of the ark which he had made: and he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth” (Genesis 8:6,7). The raven felt no horror at the condition of the world, no hesitation at partaking of its gruesome abundance. The dove which Noah sent forth was more fastidious: “But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark” (v.9). Two weeks passed before she “returned not again unto him any more” (v.12). Are we hardened and eager ravens, seeking all the world has to offer, or more discerning and scrupulous doves?

Consider the ravens: They have many lessons to teach us. BJC