Keys To I.S.R.A.E.L. - Celebrating God’s Holy LandSample

On Wings of Eagles

Days 41-50 focus on the letter “A” in I.S.R.A.E.L. — Aliyah, or immigration to Israel —and explore the fulfillment today of biblical prophecy and God’s promise that He would bring back His children to their ancient homeland, Israel.

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Between June 1949 and September 1950, Israel ran a secret operation  known as Operation Magic Carpet. During that time, 380 flights were made  between Yemen and Israel, rescuing more than 49,000 Jews from Arab  countries where they were being oppressed. 

When the Jews being rescued boarded the planes that would airlift  them to Israel, they were sure that the messiah had come. They had never  seen planes before, and to them, these were the “eagles” prophesized  about in the book of Isaiah: “They will soar on wings like eagles”  (Isaiah 40:31). To the Jews of Yemen, those airplanes were God’s eagles  that would carry them home. And that’s how Operation Magic Carpet  became more popularly known as Operation Wings of Eagles.

The Jews of Yemen weren’t completely wrong. Although they were still  waiting for the messiah, they were experiencing the miracles foretold by  the prophets. The Jewish people were on their way home, and like  eagles, they took flight. 

The children of Israel who left Egypt for Israel went on “eagles’  wings,” too. In these verses from Exodus chapter 19, God told them, “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” The children of Israel certainly didn’t fly on airplanes, so just what did God mean?

The Jewish sages explain that all other birds carry their young in  their claws because they are afraid of high-flying predators that soar  above them. But no bird flies higher than the eagle. The eagle only has  to worry about men below. So it puts its young on its wings. The eagle  places itself between its young and any danger. If anyone wants to take a  shot from below, they will have to deal with the eagle first.

Like an eagle, no one is higher than God. And like an eagle, He  protects His children with love. When God took the children of Israel  out of Egypt, He placed the “Pillar of Cloud” between them and the  Egyptians. The Egyptians would have to get through the cloud if they  wanted to reach the Israelites. But God would not let them. He  miraculously kept them safe from harm.