A common sight in Africa, vultures can regularly be seen circling the skies, as if they’re saying grace, in search of their next meal. They are opportunistic carnivores meaning they don’t like to work for their food. When they are circling above and they see the carcass of an animal that lions have brought down, you can be sure they will signal to their vulture friends that lunch is served. As common as they are, they are also easily intimidated. It doesn’t take much to chase the vultures away.
Thieves take what isn’t theirs
While fully capable of fending for themselves like other birds of prey, vultures prefer to take what isn’t theirs. They are large birds, intimidating in appearance, and will protest loudly when challenged. But in the end, when stood up to, will fly away only to return and try again another time.
Vultures are thieves. They steal what doesn’t belong to them. You might, upon initially observing them, be intimidated by their unique (almost frightening) appearance. Yet, the more you watch them it’s obvious that there’s little to be afraid of. They’re just resourceful, cunning, and too lazy to work for their food. They know that the mighty lion can easily bring them down with one swipe of their paw. They are also well aware that they put their lives at risk by stealing from the big cat. Because they are lazy, they gamble on the lion becoming weary of chasing them away. The possibility of a free meal is too enticing for the opportunistic vulture.
Stealing from lions
Lions will eat until they can’t move. They do this because they often go long periods without bringing down an animal for a meal. For every time they are successful at bringing down a kill, there are four or five other attempts where they have failed. The effort and danger they put themselves in when hunting (for animals with sharp hooves and horns won’t go down easily) takes much of their energy. Once they have hunted and eaten, they don’t want to bother themselves with chasing away the vultures. The problem is if they don’t chase the vultures away, there will be no leftovers to eat when they get hungry again.
Vultures don’t announce their arrival. While they are often seen in groups at mealtime, they search alone in the air for carcasses. Once a carcass has been sighted, one lone vulture will begin to silently circle as a signal for others to join him. Then, the familiar circling pattern of vultures overhead can be seen. At first, just a few birds will land, tentatively approaching their target. Once the first bites have been taken, those circling overhead land swiftly to have their dinner. Their work must be swift, as other scavengers, like hyenas and jackals, or the ones who originally took down the kill, are sure to be nearby. There’s not much time so they eat quickly before others arrive to chase them away.
Chase the vultures away
“Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.”
Genesis 15:11 NLT
God had called Abram out from among his relatives to go to an unknown land. Abram, in obedience, left everything he knew and traveled without knowing where his final destination would be. He only knew that God was faithful and had promised that a nation would descend from his yet-to-be-born son. It was at this time that God made a covenant with Abram. Sacrifices were laid on an altar and in no time at all, vultures began to circle and swoop down to eat what Abram had offered to God. Abram spent an entire night working to chase the vultures away. After saving the sacrifice, his journey of seeing God’s promise fulfilled began.
Vultures above my head
There have been many times that I’ve had to chase vultures away from my altar. One could easily think it’s stubbornness that has pushed me to the lengths that I’ve gone to to keep that sacrifice where it ought to be. In my lifetime of walking with Jesus, I might have, at first, chased the vultures away out of stubbornness. Stubbornness served me to keep those scavengers away until I understood how important it was to keep that offering on the altar. I learned that it’s on the altar of sacrifice where God’s blessing begins. Serving God sacrificially is counterintuitive to the natural mind. Our natural logic tells us to plan for the unknown whereas God’s logic holds the unknown, so we have nothing to fear.
The vultures of discouragement, weariness, financial strain, and loneliness are some of the vultures often seen circling above my head. Staying encouraged and strong when everything around you screams “give up” takes a lot of effort. Yes, there’s a price to be paid to chase the vultures away.
Do what it takes
I don’t talk a lot about my internal struggles. I think everyone is struggling, why would I add to someone else’s struggle by sharing mine with them? I’m an enneagram 2 to the core (for those of you who have studied the enneagram) and in my stubbornness, I keep my struggles hidden. Needless to say, I have paid a hefty price for my pride. In striving to manage things by myself, I failed to realize that unless I chased the vulture of pride away, that lone vulture would circle as a signal for others to come for a meal.
Vultures are stubborn creatures. While they might fly away once, they are always on the lookout for another free meal. They will return. Abram (later Abraham) went on to see God do amazing things in his life, but the vultures were never far. He had to keep chasing them away.
In the same way, the vultures will come back to see if we’ve taken our eyes off the sacrifice, they will always be circling on the lookout for a snack. They’re searching for a way to quickly steal what doesn’t belong to them. The question is are we ready to do what it takes to chase the vultures away?
