Chapter 39

God speaks about birds and animals

Wild animals
v1 You do not know when the mountain goats are born. You do not watch the birth of the young goats. v2 You have not counted the months that the female goats are pregnant. (That is, when a female waits to give birth.) v3 The female goats bend their legs and the young goats are born. And then, their pains end. v4 The young goats grow. They become strong. They leave their mothers. And the young goats will not return. v5 Someone has freed the wild donkey! (The donkey is like a small horse.) Nobody owns the donkey now! v6 The donkey lives in wild places. And it wanders on the salt plains. v7 When the people argue in the town, the wild donkey laughs. Nobody can order the wild donkey to work. v8 So, the donkey wanders on the hills. And it looks for any green plant. v9 The wild ox will not agree to serve you. (An ox is like a cow.) And the wild ox will not stay at the place where you feed it. v10 It will not pull your plough through your fields. v11 It is strong. But it will not work for you. v12 It refuses to collect your grain. You cannot control a wild ox. Chapter 39 In chapter 39, God taught a lesson about the animals. Job supposed that God did not really know Jobs situation. And that this was why God did not rescue Job. But Jobs idea was wrong. God created all the birds. And God created all the animals. Each bird or animal has its own character. In other words, the behaviour of each bird and each animal is different. This was Gods plan. And this fact shows Gods great intelligence. Jesus taught that God even knows about the death of a little bird. But a person is more important to God than a bird. And God knows everything about us Matthew 10:29-31. Verses 1-12 The animals in these verses are called goats, donkeys and oxen. (Oxen is the plural of ox.) These animals are common animals on the farms in many countries. On the farm, these are tame animals. But God was not speaking about the animals on a farm. There are also wild goats, donkeys and oxen. These wild animals behave as God intended them to behave. And they will not obey a mans instructions. Verses 1-4 Wild goats are shy animals. They live in the mountains. They stay far away from people. The young goats are not loyal to their mothers. When the young goats are old enough, they leave their mothers. And they do not return. Verses 5-8 A tame donkey is a loyal animal. It is a small horse that can carry heavy loads. But the wild donkey does not obey any mans orders. It is not like the army horse, which fights mens battles (verses 19-25). Instead, the wild donkey does not care about peoples arguments. It is not a responsible animal. But freedom is not always a benefit. Unlike the tame donkey, the wild donkey must find its own food. The wild donkey searches for any green plant to eat. Sometimes the donkey will be hungry. Verses 9-12

An ox is a strong animal. The ox was very useful on the farm. Job used to own 1000 oxen (plural of ox) Job 1:3. But a wild ox would not help the farmer. It might wander into the fields. But it would not obey the farmer. Instead, it would spoil the crops. The farmer could never trust a wild ox. The ox would be happy to take the crops. But it would eat the crops itself! It would not take the crops to the farm house, like a tame ox.

Birds
v13 An ostrich is a bird that cannot fly. The ostrich is very happy when it waves its wings. But a stork is a bird that uses its wings to fly. And the stork flies with grace and beauty. v14 The ostrich lays its eggs on the ground. The eggs become warm in the sand. v15 But the ostrich does not think carefully. Someone might step on the eggs. Or, a wild animal might break the eggs. v16 The mother ostrich is cruel to her own young ostriches. The mother ostrich acts as if she is not the mother. She does not care if she wastes her energy. v17 God did not teach the ostrich to be wise. So, the ostrich is not sensible. v18 But when an ostrich runs, it runs faster than a horse with a rider. Verses 13-16 God has made some very strange birds and animals. The ostrich is a bird with wings. But it cannot fly. Some birds are very careful about their eggs. But the ostrich leaves its eggs on the ground. And it does not even seem to look after its own young birds. Verses 17-18 God did not teach the ostrich to be wise. But God did teach the ostrich to run. And the ostrich can even run faster than the horses in the battle. God taught the ostrich to run so that it could escape from danger.

Army horses
v19 You did not make the horse strong. And you did not dress the horse for the battle. v20 The horse jumps as easily as an insect. But the horse makes a sound that frightens people. v21 When the horse runs, it runs with strength and power. It charges forward in the battle. v22 It laughs at people who are afraid. Nothing frightens a horse. It is not even afraid of swords. v23 The horses rider carries a bow. His sword flashes in the sunlight. v24 But the horse runs forward. It is angry. The whistles sound to tell the men to fight. And the horse cannot stand still. v25 When the horse hears the whistles, the horse is excited. The horse wants to fight even before it arrives at the battle. Perhaps the horse can smell the battle. Or perhaps the horse hears the shouts of the soldiers. Verses 19-25 The army horse is like a loyal soldier. In fact, it is better than a soldier. It is brave. And it is strong. Nothing frightens it. Ostriches are like cowards! They run away from the battle. But army horses do the opposite. They race into the battle. They are not even afraid of death.

Birds that come after a battle

v26 Hawks are birds that fly south each year. But your wisdom did not teach them to do this.

v27 The vulture is a bird that nests in high places. You did not order it to fly, high in the sky. v28 It waits on the cliff by night. There, the vulture is safe. v29 It stares for its food. And then, it sees the food. v30 So, the young vultures will eat the blood of dead bodies. After the battle, you will see the vulture. Verse 26 This hawk is a bird that migrates. In other words, it flies to a different country for the winter. Some birds fly thousands of miles each year. But they do not simply go anywhere. They fly to a particular place. And even the young birds manage to find the right place. Hawks and vultures (verse 27) are both birds that eat meat. Verses 27-30 In verses 19-26, God described a terrible battle. After the battle, the vultures come. Vultures are birds that eat dead bodies. They do not hunt for anything that is alive. Perhaps they are eating the dead horses. Or perhaps they are eating the bodies of soldiers. See Revelation 19:17-21. Before Jesus returns, there will be a terrible battle. God will use this battle to punish the evil nations of the world. But God will save the people who trust him.