For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.
The verse stands among the prophecies against foreign nations and declares the Lord's judgment upon Moab. The one who flies like an eagle and spreads his wings over Moab is an approaching conqueror swooping swiftly and forcefully over the land as over prey. The wings picture the speed and force of a kingdom's conquests, its power and reach, even into places that seem inaccessible. That mighty conqueror foretold to swoop over Moab is Nebuchadnezzar, before whom Moab would fall.
The same eagle figure is applied to Babylon and its army coming against Jerusalem. Together with the lion imagery of Jeremiah 4:7, it identifies Babylon with the lion that had eagle's wings in Daniel's vision. In that identification the wings denote Babylon's power and reach, its rapid rise and swift conquest. The eagle image is likewise set as a parallel to Babylon nearing its end, supporting the identification of Daniel's eagle-winged lion with Babylon near the end of its power.
The flying and wing-spreading also foretells the airplane acting as an army scout. As the eagle flies and spreads its wings over Moab, so the scout plane ranges over the land to direct attack. By that scouting work Kerioth is taken and the strongholds are surprised.
The verse stands among the prophecies against foreign nations and declares the Lord's judgment upon Moab. The one who flies like an eagle and spreads his wings over Moab is an approaching conqueror swooping swiftly and forcefully over the land as over prey. The wings picture the speed and force of a kingdom's conquests, its power and reach, even into places that seem inaccessible. That mighty conqueror foretold to swoop over Moab is Nebuchadnezzar, before whom Moab would fall.
The same eagle figure is applied to Babylon and its army coming against Jerusalem. Together with the lion imagery of Jeremiah 4:7, it identifies Babylon with the lion that had eagle's wings in Daniel's vision. In that identification the wings denote Babylon's power and reach, its rapid rise and swift conquest. The eagle image is likewise set as a parallel to Babylon nearing its end, supporting the identification of Daniel's eagle-winged lion with Babylon near the end of its power.
The flying and wing-spreading also foretells the airplane acting as an army scout. As the eagle flies and spreads its wings over Moab, so the scout plane ranges over the land to direct attack. By that scouting work Kerioth is taken and the strongholds are surprised.