Job 39
Job 39 forms the continuation of the Almighty's first speech out of the whirlwind, extending the divine tour of creation that began in Job 38. Where the previous chapter focused primarily on the vast cosmic architecture, meteorological forces, and initial reflections on animal life, chapter 39 delves deeply into the realm of wild fauna. God presents Job with a vivid tapestry of creatures that live entirely independent of human dominion: mountain goats, wild donkeys, wild oxen, ostriches, war horses, hawks, and eagles. These animals represent aspects of the creation that humans cannot domesticate, harness, or fully understand. Through a series of penetrating rhetorical questions, God highlights Job's total lack of control over these creatures' birth cycles, instincts, strength, and survival, contrasting human ignorance with God's meticulous, ongoing providential care. The historical and cultural background reflects an ancient Near Eastern understanding where man claimed mastery over domesticated livestock, yet God directs Job's attention to the untamed wilderness to broaden his perspective. The theological emphasis of Job 39 is that God's creation is vast, beautiful, and purposefully ordered around His divine will rather than human utility. Job's suffering must be viewed within this broader reality: just as God maintains order and purpose in wild creatures whose ways perplex human reason, so He governs human lives with wisdom that transcends finite human understanding.
1. The Instincts of Mountain Goats and Deer
Job 39:1–4
1 “ Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears fawns? 2 Can you count the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they give birth? 3 They bow themselves. They bear their young. They end their labor pains. 4 Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They go out, and don’t return again.
Commentary
- Hidden Gestation and Sovereign Oversight: God begins by asking Job about the birth cycles of mountain goats and does (verses 1–2). In the ancient world, high mountain cliffs were inaccessible to human shepherds, making the gestation and birthing process of wild mountain goats invisible to humans. God highlights that while humans are completely unaware of these moments, He counts the months and orchestrates every detail of their reproduction.
- Providential Easing of Labor: Verse 3 describes how these wild mothers bow down to give birth and end their labor pains in safety without human intervention or veterinary assistance. The Hebrew verb used for bearing young reflects natural physical instinct guided by divine design. God's providence ensures that even vulnerable newborn creatures in harsh conditions are sustained through inherent instincts.
- Growth and Independence in the Open Field: In verse 4, the offspring grow strong in the open field, leaving their mothers and thriving without human feeding or shelter. This highlights a fundamental truth: human management is not required for the continuation and flourishing of life. God sustains His creation independently of human effort, revealing His expansive goodness.
Insight: God's providential care extends to the quietest, most hidden corners of creation, assuring us that He is actively at work even when His operations remain entirely invisible to human eyes.
2. The Untamed Freedom of the Wild Donkey
Job 39:5–8
5 “ Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey, 6 whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place? 7 He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shouting of the driver. 8 The range of the mountains is his pasture. He searches after every green thing.
Commentary
- God-Given Liberty: God asks who has set the wild donkey free (verse 5). While domesticated donkeys were overburdened pack animals in ancient Near Eastern society, the wild donkey (pereh in Hebrew) roamed freely in dry, unpopulated regions. God claims sole responsibility for bestowing this freedom and designing the animal's untameable disposition.
- A Home in the Salt Lands: Verse 6 states that God made the wilderness and salt flats the wild donkey's home. What human beings consider barren, uninhabitable wasteland is designated by God as a sanctuary for His creatures. Divine wisdom creates habitats where wild animals thrive far removed from human civilization.
- Scorn for Human Domestication: In verses 7–8, the wild donkey scorns noisy cities and ignores the shouts of animal drivers, ranging across mountains to search for green pastures. Job is reminded that human authority is strictly limited; man cannot bend every creature to his will, nor is the universe centered around human convenience.
Insight: True freedom is a divine gift, and God delights in creating creatures that resist human control to remind us that the world was made for His glory, not merely for our utility.
3. The Irresistible Power of the Wild Ox
Job 39:9–12
9 “ Will the wild ox be content to serve you? Or will he stay by your feeding trough? 10 Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness? Or will he till the valleys after you? 11 Will you trust him, because his strength is great? Or will you leave to him your labor? 12 Will you confide in him, that he will bring home your seed, and gather the grain of your threshing floor?
Commentary
- Refusal of Human Service: The wild ox (re'em in Hebrew), likely referring to the extinct aurochs, was known for its immense size and terrifying power (verses 9–10). God asks Job if this mighty beast will willingly serve at a feeding trough or pull a plow in a furrow. Unlike domestic oxen, this creature cannot be subjugated by human labor.
- The Illusion of Human Mastery over Power: Verses 11–12 ask whether Job can trust the wild ox because of its great strength or rely on it to haul grain to the threshing floor. Human beings often mistake natural resources and physical strength in creation as things meant for their automatic exploitation. God uses the wild ox to show Job that immense physical power exists that resists human management completely.
- Human Dependence versus Divine Authority: By contrasting human helplessness before the wild ox with God's absolute sovereignty over it, the passage forces Job to recognize his own frailty. If Job cannot command a wild animal, he is in no position to call God to account for how He manages the moral and physical universe.
Insight: Human strength and ingenuity have clear limits; recognizing where our control ends allows us to humbly surrender to the God whose power governs all things.
4. The Peculiar Nature of the Ostrich
Job 39:13–18
13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the feathers and plumage of love? 14 For she leaves her eggs on the earth, warms them in the dust, 15 and forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild animal may trample them. 16 She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear, 17 because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has he imparted to her understanding. 18 When she lifts up herself on high, she scorns the horse and his rider.
Commentary
- Proud Wings and Apparent Lack of Instinct: God presents the ostrich in verses 13–15, noting its proud wing-flapping despite its inability to fly, and its habit of leaving eggs on the ground exposed to trampling. To human observers, the ostrich appears reckless and foolish, defying normal maternal instincts found in other birds.
- Wisdom Withheld by God: Verse 17 explicitly states that God deprived the ostrich of wisdom and did not impart understanding to her. This statement is crucial for biblical theology: variance in intelligence, animal instinct, and natural capacity is attributed directly to sovereign divine distribution. God deliberately made some creatures simple or odd in human eyes to demonstrate His diverse creativity.
- Surpassing Speed and Mockery of the Horse: Despite her apparent lack of wisdom, verse 18 records that when the ostrich spreads her wings to run, she laughs at the swift horse and rider. God balances what seems like foolishness with extraordinary physical capability. The ostrich's astonishing speed proves that God's design accomplishes His purposes through means humans might deem foolish.
Insight: God distributes capacities and limitations according to His sovereign plan; what appears to us as foolishness or oversight in God's world often conceals His unique and purposeful design.
5. The Fearless Might of the War Horse
Job 39:19–25
19 “ Have you given the horse might? Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane? 20 Have you made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is awesome. 21 He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength. He goes out to meet the armed men. 22 He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed, neither does he turn back from the sword. 23 The quiver rattles against him, the flashing spear and the javelin. 24 He eats up the ground with fierceness and rage, neither does he stand still at the sound of the trumpet. 25 As often as the trumpet sounds he snorts, ‘ Aha! ’ He smells the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
Commentary
- Divine Endowments of Strength and Majesty: God turns to the majestic war horse, asking Job if he gave the horse its might or clothed its neck with a quivering mane (verse 19). The poetic description highlights the horse's terrifying beauty, leaping like a locust and snorting with terrifying majesty (verse 20).
- Fearlessness in the Face of Battle: Verses 21–23 describe the horse's eager desire for combat. While humans naturally fear weapons, swords, rattling quivers, and spears, the war horse rejoices in its strength and charges headlong into danger without dismay or turning back.
- Response to the Battle Trumpet: In verses 24–25, the horse stands impatient at the sound of the trumpet, snorting 'Aha!' as it smells the distant battle, thunder of captains, and shouting. God imbued this animal with a temperament that thrives amidst chaos, revealing that God creates complex temperaments and attributes tailored for specific roles in creation.
Insight: God endows His creatures with courage and strength that exceed human capacity, reminding us that true valor and power originate in the Creator alone.
6. The Soaring Vision of the Hawk and Eagle
Job 39:26–30
26 “ Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and stretches her wings toward the south? 27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and makes his nest on high? 28 On the cliff he dwells and makes his home, on the point of the cliff and the stronghold. 29 From there he spies out the prey. His eyes see it afar off. 30 His young ones also suck up blood. Where the slain are, there he is.”
Commentary
- Sovereign Design of Avian Flight: God concludes this section of His speech by asking if the hawk flies southward by Job's wisdom or if the eagle mounts up by Job's command (verses 26–27). Migratory instincts and high-altitude flight are programmed into birds by divine ordinance, operating smoothly without human advice or instruction.
- Impregnable Dwellings on High Cliffs: Verses 28–29 describe the eagle building its nest on inaccessible mountain peaks and craggy strongholds, from where its keen eyes spy out prey from afar. High above human reach, the eagle sits securely under the arch of God's providence, equipped with extraordinary sight designed by God.
- The Harsh Realities of Predatory Life: Verse 30 candidly describes the predatory nature of raptors, where young ones suck up blood and gather where the slain lie. God does not sanitize the natural world; He claims sovereign lordship over the raw, harsh cycles of life and death in nature, maintaining ecological balance according to His complex order.
Insight: God's governance encompasses every aspect of nature—including its wildness and harsh realities—reminding us that His grand design operates on principles far higher than our limited comfort or comprehension.
Theological Significance
- God's Sovereign Ownership over All Creation: Job 39 demonstrates that God's domain extends far beyond human civilization. By highlighting wild beasts that refuse human control, God establishes that creation exists primarily for His pleasure, glory, and divine purposes rather than human utility.
- The Superiority of Divine Wisdom over Human Knowledge: The series of unanswerable rhetorical questions exposes the limits of human knowledge. Job cannot fathom the birth cycles, instincts, or temperaments of wild animals, proving that human intellect is incapable of auditing God's moral governance of the universe.
- Providence Beyond Human Benefit: God meticulously sustains creatures—such as the ostrich, mountain goat, and wild donkey—that offer no material benefit to human society. This reveals a theology of creation where every creature has intrinsic value under God's loving care.
- Diversity in Divine Design: From the seemingly foolish ostrich to the fearlessly courageous war horse and keen-sighted eagle, God delights in infinite diversity. He assigns distinct characteristics, wisdom, and strength according to His sovereign will without consulting human standards.
- Redemptive Humility: By confronting Job with his physical and intellectual limitations in the natural world, God cultivates the humility necessary for genuine faith. True trust in God arises when believers acknowledge that God's ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than their own.
Major Themes
- Divine Sovereignty
- Providential Care
- Human Limitations
- Creation's Intrinsic Value
- Untamed Nature
- God's Wisdom
- Humility in Suffering
Practical Applications
- Embrace Humility in God's Presence: Recognize that human wisdom is severely limited. When faced with mysterious trials or unexplained suffering, follow Job's trajectory by surrendering the need to control or comprehend every detail, trusting instead in God's perfect governance.
- Practice Responsible Stewardship of God's World: Acknowledge that wild nature belongs to God and has value independent of human profit. Christians should treat creation, wildlife, and natural habitats with respect, honoring the Creator who built sanctuaries for untamed beasts.
- Trust God's Invisible Providence in Hardships: Just as God sustains mountain goats on remote cliffs and guides hawks in migration, He actively oversees every detail of your life. Rest in the assurance that God's care operates even when you cannot see or feel His presence.
- Acknowledge God's Diversity in Gifts and Roles: Avoid evaluating yourself or others using narrow, self-centered metrics. God endows individuals in the church and community with vastly different abilities, temperaments, and roles, just as He made both the simple ostrich and the mighty war horse for His sovereign purpose.
- Refuse Misguided Anxiety Over the Unknown: Since God handles the complex ecological and physical needs of untamable animals, He is fully equipped to manage your future, family, and daily struggles. Replace anxiety with steady faith in the God of creation.
Final Insight
Job 39 presents a magnificent portrait of God's unrestrained majesty through His care for the untamed animal kingdom. By leading Job through steep mountain crags, barren wilderness, and high aerial nests, God reveals that the universe is governed by a wisdom far greater than human reason. Job's suffering is not an indication of God's absence or injustice, but part of a world held together by divine sovereignty. When believers grasp the breathtaking scope of God's providence over wild creatures, anxiety yields to awe, and demands for answers give way to quiet, trusting worship.
