# Job 39 📖: God's Care for the Animals [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Job Overview]] | [[Job 38]] | [[Job 40]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) [[#Verse 01.]] “Are you acquainted with the way the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young? [[#Verse 02.]] Do you count the months they must fulfill, and do you know the time they give birth? [[#Verse 03.]] They crouch, they bear their young, they bring forth the offspring they have carried. [[#Verse 04.]] Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open; they go off, and do not return to them. [[#Verse 05.]] Who let the wild donkey go free? Who released the bonds of the donkey, [[#Verse 06.]] to whom I appointed the arid rift valley for its home, the salt wastes as its dwelling place? [[#Verse 07.]] It scorns the tumult in the town; it does not hear the shouts of a driver. [[#Verse 08.]] It ranges the hills as its pasture, and searches after every green plant. [[#Verse 09.]] Is the wild ox willing to be your servant? Will it spend the night at your feeding trough? [[#Verse 10.]] Can you bind the wild ox to a furrow with its rope, will it till the valleys, following after you? [[#Verse 11.]] Will you rely on it because its strength is great? Will you commit your labor to it? [[#Verse 12.]] Can you count on it to bring in your grain, and gather the grain to your threshing floor? [[#Verse 13.]] “The wings of the ostrich flap with joy, but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork? [[#Verse 14.]] For she leaves her eggs on the ground, and lets them be warmed on the soil. [[#Verse 15.]] She forgets that a foot might crush them, or that a wild animal might trample them. [[#Verse 16.]] She is harsh with her young, as if they were not hers; she is unconcerned about the uselessness of her labor. [[#Verse 17.]] For God deprived her of wisdom, and did not impart understanding to her. [[#Verse 18.]] But as soon as she springs up, she laughs at the horse and its rider. [[#Verse 19.]] “Do you give the horse its strength? Do you clothe its neck with a mane? [[#Verse 20.]] Do you make it leap like a locust? Its proud neighing is terrifying! [[#Verse 21.]] It paws the ground in the valley, exulting mightily, it goes out to meet the weapons. [[#Verse 22.]] It laughs at fear and is not dismayed; it does not shy away from the sword. [[#Verse 23.]] On it the quiver rattles; the lance and javelin flash. [[#Verse 24.]] In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet is blown. [[#Verse 25.]] At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’ And from a distance it catches the scent of battle, the thunderous shouting of commanders, and the battle cries. [[#Verse 26.]] “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads its wings toward the south? [[#Verse 27.]] Is it at your command that the eagle soars, and builds its nest on high? [[#Verse 28.]] It lives on a rock and spends the night there, on a rocky crag and a fortress. [[#Verse 29.]] From there it spots its prey, its eyes gaze intently from a distance. [[#Verse 30.]] And its young ones devour the blood, and where the dead carcasses are, there it is.” ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. ###### Verse 29. ###### Verse 30. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. The mountain goats of 39:1 are likely the Nubian ibex, which still live near En Gedi by the Dead Sea (1 Samuel 24:2). 2. The wild donkey (39:5-8) roamed the desert and could not be tamed for farm work. 3. The wild ox (39:9-12), Hebrew *re'em*, was likely the aurochs, a powerful wild ox that is now extinct. The King James Version translated it "unicorn." 4. The ostrich flaps its wings but cannot fly (39:13). 5. The ostrich lays its eggs on the ground and leaves them to warm in the sand (39:14). 6. Ostriches are the fastest birds on land and can outrun a horse over short distances (39:18). 7. The horse described in 39:19-25 is a war horse that charges toward battle and laughs at fear. 8. The land of Israel lies on one of the world's major bird migration routes, which fits the hawk flying south (39:26). 9. The Hebrew word for eagle, *nesher*, can also refer to the griffon vulture, which fits the bird gathering where the slain are (39:30). 10. Jesus uses a similar saying about vultures gathering where there is a carcass (Matthew 24:28). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the Lord over every creature. God provides for wild animals no human can tame (39:1-30), and Jesus said that if our Father feeds the birds, we do not need to worry (Matthew 6:26). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. God knows when the mountain goats give birth (39:1-3). What does God's attention to unseen details say about His care for you? 2. The ostrich seems foolish, yet God made it to outrun the horse (39:13-18). How does this chapter challenge the way we judge what is useful or wise? 3. God asks Job whether he gave the horse its strength (39:19). Where are you tempted to take credit for what only God can do? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 1: God knows when the mountain goats give birth. - 📖 verse 19: God asks Job whether he gave the horse its strength. - 📖 verse 26: The hawk soars and spreads its wings toward the south by God's wisdom. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[Matthew 06#Verse 26.|Matthew 6:26]] - Your heavenly Father feeds the birds. - 🔗 [[Psalm 104#Verse 10.|Psalm 104:10-24]] - God provides for all His creatures. - 🔗 [[Psalm 147#Verse 09.|Psalm 147:9]] - God gives food to the animals and the young ravens. - 🔗 [[Psalm 33#Verse 16.|Psalm 33:16-17]] - A horse is a false hope for victory. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 40#Verse 31.|Isaiah 40:31]] - Soaring on wings like eagles. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Job 39 - SOAP|God Is Holding the World Together, He’s Got This]] ## 📂 Internal Notes