The ravens neither sow nor reap

Jesus said to his disciples: Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! (Luke 12:24)

The Bible refers to ravens with the Hebrew term oreb, עֹרֵב, which comes from the root arab ערב, meaning to grow dark. This is evidently to highlight the blackness of these birds. After the flood, Noah released a raven (Genesis 8:7), which “kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth”. In ancient times, the use of ravens was frequent as a means of orienting sailing vessels, as they would always fly towards dry land, thus guiding vessels towards a safe haven. On a number of occasions, we read that God takes care of these birds (Job 38:41; Psalm 147:9, Luke 12:24), even though they are listed as unclean (Deuteronomy 14:14). Their carrion-loving nature is reflected in Proverbs 30:17, where they are referred to as pecking out the eyes of children who mock and insult their ageing parents. Their solitary nature, and the desolation of their habitats (Isaiah 34:11) are also mentioned. However, despite their evil reputation, ravens were also used by God to feed the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17:4-6), as the Creator can make good use of any secondary cause.

The ravens that the Bible refers to are a cluster of Passeriformes species, belonging to the Corvidae family. The Scriptures include several different species under the term “ravens”, all of which are present in the Holy Land (Lev. 11:15; Deut. 14:14). Birds such as the western jackdaw (Corvus monedula), with its grey-coloured head and perching on cliff-edges, trees and ruined buildings; the hooded crow (Corvus cornix), with its black head, wings and tail and the rest of it grey, very common in cities in Israel, where it feeds on all the organic waste and trash it can find; the common raven (Corvus corax), which is the largest member of the Corvidae family in the world, entirely black and with a wing-span of up to a metre and a half, and, finally other species such as the Corvus rhipidurus and Corvus ruficolis, common around the Dead Sea and the Negev desert respectively.

In Israel there are eight different species of ravens, the most common bird in the country. They are active consumers of carrion, just like vultures, blackbirds, dogs, jackals and hyenas. This behaviour has contributed to the ignominious reputation they have in the Bible as inhabitants of rubbish dumps, always on the lookout for the next opportunity, and capable of attacking wounded or weak animals, and also frequenting deserts and desolate places, etc. When there is no carrion available, they might enter fields where crops have been planted, and eat the seeds that have just been sown. Hence the name the Greeks gave to ravens, spermologos, “seed collector”, a term which would later become a synonym of “shabby”. Some authors believe that this is the insult that was hurled at the apostle Paul by his sceptical Greek listeners on the Areopagus in Athens, and that as a result of a mistranslation it was transcribed as “babbler” or “word-spinner” in our versions of Acts 17:18. However, as is the case with many hypotheses, this could be so, but it cannot be verified.

Ravens are among the most intelligent of all birds, and they are even able to use rudimentary tools to obtain food or play with snow. They usually mate for life, they seek food in packs, and they are omnivorous. They have lifespans of between 10 and 15 years. Their nests, which are enormous, are made from thick sticks, wool, grass and bracken, and built on the tops of tall trees or under the salient of cliffs. They lay between 2 and 6 blue speckled eggs.

The Lord Jesus uses the example of the raven to teach his disciples that what is most important in the life of a Christian is the kingdom of God, and not our material needs for food and clothing. These dark birds are constantly pecking the ground in rubbish dumps and fields sown with crops. According to the Old Testament laws, they were unclean animals. Even the Greeks used them as a basis for negative idiomatic expressions, such as “go to the crows”, meaning “go to a rubbish dump”, or “go to excrement”. Needless to say, they were not fit for human consumption, like the many others that were sold two for a penny (Matthew 10:29). Nevertheless, God protects and feeds them. All the more reason why he well care for his children. In scripture, human beings take precedence over other creatures.

At first sight, these words from the Master might sound shocking. Should we not be concerned about getting enough food for ourselves and our families? Is it possible to live without any possessions? That is not what Jesus is saying, but he is rather contrasting the hard work of the labourer with the carefree activity of the ravens. While the former have to sow, reap and store, all the ravens do is peck at the ground. The emphasis of this example is on excessive accumulation as opposed to dependence on God.

Just as the Israelites gathered manna in the desert, but were not allowed to accumulate stores of it for future use, neither should we obsess about obtaining more than we need to live. God knows perfectly well what our needs are, and our lives are under his control, and that is why he condemns unfair accumulation of material goods. Exaggerated and overpowering anxiety, which prevents us from sleeping because of always thinking about our future security, demonstrates a lack of trust in the Lord. Life is more than food and the body much more than clothing. The Christian’s whole existence must be characterised, more than anything else, by devotion and wholehearted commitment to the Kingdom of God.

Antonio Cruz, biologist and theologian.