Why does the Lord speak of the stork who knows her times and the turtledove, swallow, and crane who keep the time of their coming?
The Lord is both Creator and Redeemer. The one who has rescued Israel and made a covenant with her is the Creator of everything. Judah’s behaviour is therefore unbelievable. Even the birds the Lord has made follow the inbuilt knowledge of the seasons that the Lord has created. They exist in harmony with the laws of nature
that the Lord has created to bring order to his world. Judah, however, know not the rules of the Lord.
The Lord’s redeemed people refuse to follow the terms of the covenant he has made with them. The Hebrew word for know
is yada, and it refers to something deeper than just knowledge, but rather to a wholehearted commitment.1 Even the birds show more insight and wisdom in their commitment to the goodness of the Lord than the people of Judah!
7 Même la cigogne connaît dans les cieux sa saison; La tourterelle, l'hirondelle et la grue Observent le temps de leur arrivée; Mais mon peuple ne connaît pas la loi de l'Eternel.