Exodus 19:4

Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians,.... The plagues he brought upon them in Egypt, and the destruction of them at the Red sea; these things they were eyewitnesses of, and needed no other proof

And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Moses went up unto God - the

i. e. Safely, out of the reach of danger; and strongly, against all opposition. Compare . Unto myself, into my presence, and favour, and fellowship, to be my peculiar people, to serve and worship me as your only Lord and King.

Exodus 19:4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and [how] I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Ver. 4. On eagles’ wings.] The eagle beats her young ones out of their sluggish nest, that they may learn to fly: there was somewhat to do to bring Israel out of Egypt. The eagle carries her young upon her wings - and not between her talons, as other birds do - openly, safely, speedily: so did God his Israel, being choice and chary of them all the way; securing them also from their enemies, who could do them as little harm as any can do the eagle’ s young, which cannot be shot but through the body of the old one. Some by eagles here understand Moses and Aaron, who are so called, say they, propter acumen intelligentiae et altitudinem vitae, for the sharpness of their understanding and the loftiness of their lives. Munster, in Schol. in Deuteronomy 32:11, ex R. Solomon.

(4) I bare you on eagles’ wings.—Comp. Deuteronomy 32:11, “As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them upon her wings.” When its young are first fledged, the eagle is said to assist them in their flight by flying beneath them, so that they may settle upon its wings or back, if necessary. God means that He has bestowed upon His people the same tender and powerful care, has borne them up mightily when they might have fallen, supported their first flight as fledglings, and so saved them from disaster. Brought you unto myself.—Not so much “brought you to my presence here on Sinai,” as “brought you out of Egypt and its corrupting influences (Joshua 24:14), and led you back to my pure worship and true religion.” That is spoken of as accomplished, whereof God had begun the accomplishment.

Verse 4. How I bare you on eagles' wings] Mr. Bruce contends that the word נשר nesher does not mean the bird we term eagle; but a bird which the Arabs, from its kind and merciful disposition, call rachama, which is noted for its care of its young, and its carrying them upon its back. See his Travels, vol. vii., pl. 33. It is not unlikely that from this part of the sacred history the heathens borrowed their fable of the eagle being a bird sacred to Jupiter, and which was employed to carry the souls of departed heroes, kings, c., into the celestial regions. The Romans have struck several medals with this device, which may be seen in different cabinets, among which are the following: one of Faustina, daughter of Antoninus Pius, on the reverse of which she is represented ascending to heaven on the back of an eagle and another of Salonia, daughter of the Emperor Galienus, on the reverse of which she is represented on the back of an eagle, with a scepter in her hand, ascending to heaven. Jupiter himself is sometimes represented on the back of an eagle also, with his thunder in his hand, as on a medal of Licinus. This brings us nearer to the letter of the text, where it appears that the heathens confounded the figure made use of by the sacred penman, I bare you on eagles' wings, with the manifestation of God in thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai. And it might be in reference to all this that the Romans took the eagle for their ensign. See Scheuchzer, Fusellius, c. Brought you unto myself.] In this and the two following verses, we see the design of God in selecting a people for himself. 1. They were to obey his voice, Exodus 19:5, to receive a revelation from him, and to act according to that revelation, and not according to their reason or fancy, in opposition to his declarations. 2. They were to obey his voice indeed, שמוע תשמעו shamoa tishmeu, in hearing they should hear they should consult his testimonies, hear them whenever read or proclaimed, and obey them as soon as heard, affectionately and steadily. 3. They must keep his covenant-not only copy in their lives the ten commandments, but they must receive and preserve the grand agreement made between God and man by sacrifice, in reference to the incarnation and death of Christ; for from the foundation of the world the covenant of God ratified by sacrifices referred to this, and now the sacrificial system was to be more fully opened by the giving of the law. 4. They should then be God's peculiar treasure, סגלה segullah, his own patrimony, a people in whom he should have all right, and over whom he should have exclusive authority above all the people of the earth; for though all the inhabitants of the world were his by his right of creation and providence, yet these should be peculiarly his, as receiving his revelation and entering into his covenant.

4. In the ‘Blessing of Moses,’ Exodus 33:9, the covenant with the tribe of Levi (i.e. their consecration to the priesthood, which was probably once narrated after Exodus 32:29). Cf. Malachi 2:4-5; Malachi 2:8. In P:—1. The covenant with Noah, Genesis 6:18; Genesis 9:9-16.

On eagles’ wings - Both in the law Deuteronomy 32:11 and in the Gospel Matthew 23:37, the Church is compared to fledgelings which the mother cherishes and protects under her wings: but in the law

4. I bare you on eagles’ wings — This figure is finely elaborated in Deuteronomy 32:11 : “As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings,” etc.