Deuteronomy 32:11, commentary and pictures

In Moses' song it describes God finding Israel in a lonely desert waste and caring for them with the attentive tenderness of a mother eagle stirring her nest, hovering over her young, and spreading her wings to take them up and carry them.
He alone led them, gathering them about Himself, teaching and instructing them, and guarding them as most precious, bringing them out of bondage in Egypt to dwell under His own care until He settled them in the promised land.
Christ Himself was that Leader, hidden in the cloud by day and the fire by night to guide and preserve them.
The song was given to be remembered and repeated as a lasting memorial of His goodness, mercy and deliverance, to warn, reprove and encourage His people from generation to generation.
He still stirs the nest of His people for their good, allowing poverty, trial and broken comfort to keep them from settling at ease, so they will go to other places and scatter light where nothing has been done.

Eagle Care in Wilderness

This is part of Moses' song, where God is shown finding Israel in a desert land, in a waste, howling, lonely wilderness. The stirring of the nest, the fluttering over the young, the spreading abroad of the wings, the taking and the bearing on the wings picture attentive, tender, protective care like that of a mother eagle rousing and hovering over, lifting up and carrying her young. The Lord alone did this leading, with no strange god with Him and no other god leading them. That leading meant He led them about and encircled them, instructed and taught them, and guarded them as the apple of His eye and as most precious to Him, acting as their teacher and protector and actively caring for and supporting them.

He took Israel out of Egyptian bondage and brought them unto Himself to dwell under the shadow of the Most High under His care and supervision, miraculously preserving them from the perils of the great and terrible wilderness wandering, providing water from the rock and corn of heaven, until He established them in the land of promise as a favored nation and His own chosen possession. Christ Himself was that leader, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, guiding and preserving them and bringing them to Himself. This leading was not for Israel alone but as an object-lesson to the surrounding nations, revealing God as above all human authority and greatness and above nature and those who worshiped nature. The tenderness and mercy of this leading stood alongside strict justice, for love and mercy were mingled with striking exactness and firmness of decision, and swift and severe retribution visited upon transgression proves that sinners in any age cannot hope to escape God's wrath. Israel nevertheless followed its own way, and later failed to recognize and killed Jesus, who had led them through the wilderness.

Song as Lasting Memorial

The song containing the eagle image looks both backward and forward, rehearsing how God has dealt with His people in the past and pointing onward to coming events, even to the final victory of the faithful when Christ returns in power and glory. It was given to be learned by heart, taught by parents to children, and repeated in worship and in daily life. As a continuing lesson it was meant to warn and restrain as well as to reprove and encourage.

It was framed from the events of Israel's history so that parents would teach it to their children and the whole story would be told again and again. In that form it stands as one of the waymarks of God's providential dealings, a record of His marked goodness and mercy in caring for and delivering His chosen people, set up lest the history of the past be forgotten. It is to be gathered up as a memorial and kept in sight, often repeated before young and old to recount His goodness and wonderful works. That recounting is to inspire every heart with thanksgiving and to bring praise and thanksgiving before God as the Fountain of life and power, showing that His obedient commandment-keeping people have reason for joy and gladness for the glory of His name.

Stirring the Nest Today

Deuteronomy 32:11 shows that God stirs up His people's nest for their good, lest they settle down at ease in comfort and inaction. He does this by permitting lack of prosperity, poverty, hardship and trial to disturb a pleasant and comfortable home life. If they were prospered at home, home would become so pleasant that they would be unwilling to leave it.

Those present trials are a training that prepares them to labor for souls in other places and fits them to endure still greater conflicts they will meet in traveling work and service for others. The Lord in this way stirs up His people and sends them from one place to another to do His work, placing them where people need the help they can give. As the eagle disturbs its nest to move its young, so God requires the breaking up of a settled, consolidated mass gathered in one place.

Workers are to be scattered to establish centers of influence where nothing or next to nothing has been done, so that saving light is diffused into darkened corners of the earth rather than building up one modern Jerusalem. This picture of the eagle's care for its young shows the Lord actively guarding, instructing, leading, caring for and supporting His people. Such care calls for a greater response from them than they have given Him.