DailyCelestialChallenge Tuesday-animalkingdom
The Israelites used to see the stork (especially the common variety) when crossing biblical lands during their migration. The Hebrew name of this waggle is a feminine adjective that means loyal; of loving kindness. Such designation is pertinent, because unlike most birds, the common stork remains for life with his partner. Every year, after spending the winter in warm regions, most of the storks return, usually to the nest they occupied earlier.
His instinctive behavior is also in other ways a magnificent illustration of what it is to be loyal. Both the male and the female incubate the eggs and feed the chicks.
Of course, the stork honors the meaning of its Hebrew name (loyal), it instinctively shows fidelity to its only partner and tenderly cares for their little ones, so that it could serve as a blunt lesson to the misguided and infidel Israelites
(Jeremiah 8: 7.)
"UNTIL the stork in the heavens ... well knows its appointed times [...]. But as for my people, he has not come to know the judgment of Jehovah. "
The white stork has had a remarkable impact on folklore and human culture due to its nesting behavior near or within human settlements, its large size, and the depredation of harmful animals. In Ancient Egypt it was associated with the hieroglyph of the Ba, or soul. The Hebrew word for the white stork is chasidah, whose meaning is merciful or good.
The followers of Islam venerated the storks because they seemed to make an annual pilgrimage to Mecca during their migration. If they are not disturbed, the storks have little fear of humans.
According to European folklore, the stork is the bird responsible for delivering the babies to their new parents. The legend is very old, but was popularized during the nineteenth century by a story by Hans Christian Andersen entitled The Storks. In German folklore the storks found the babies in caves or swamps and took them to the homes in their beaks or in a basket on their backs. In these caves there were adebarsteine or stork stones. Then the babies were delivered to the mother or thrown by the fireplace. When they wanted to have children, households placed sweets on the window sill to notify the stork. From Europe folklore spread throughout the world, to South America and countries like the Philippines
Just like the stork Christians, we must value the fidelity that is born of love and kindness, imitating the works of God according to his will
(Ephesians 4:24)
"To put on the new personality that was created according to the will of God in true justice and loyalty."