Early morning at the foot of a great bare cliff: one small ibex stands on a ledge in the lower third, seen from below, the rock glowing, under a clean empty blue sky.

The Book of

Job 39

The LORD speaks on, the same speech. Job has just heard about the lion and the raven. Now come creatures that have never needed Job, and every one of them is known.

30 verses≈ 3 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

1–3The testBlameless, stripped of everything, and his cry
4–14Round oneThe friends speak; Job answers
15–21Round twoMy Redeemer lives
22–31Round threeThen wisdom, and Job's last defense
32–37ElihuA younger voice
38–41The LORD speaksOut of the whirlwindChapter 39
42The endJob prays and is restored

The LORD Speaks of His Creation

God

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God

A lean wild ass stands alone on a wide white salt flat in the lower third, ears up, a tiny walled town on the far horizon, under a pale empty sky.

Who set the wild donkey free?

Who released the swift donkey from the harness?

I made the wilderness his home

and the salt flats his dwelling.

He scorns the tumult of the city

and never hears the shouts of a driver.

He roams the mountains for pasture,

searching for any green thing.

0:18

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

God

God

Will the wild ox consent to serve you?

Will he stay by your manger at night?

Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?

Will he plow the valleys behind you?

Can you rely on his great strength?

Will you leave your hard work to him?

Can you trust him to bring in your grain

and gather it to your threshing floor?

Reflect

Who keeps them?

None of these animals works for anyone, and God still knows when they are born. Where do you measure your worth by your usefulness? Write one thing God knows about you that no one sees.

God

A powerful dark stallion in a valley, mane flying, rears a little and snorts in cold air, with no rider.

Do you give strength to the horse

or adorn his neck with a mane?

Do you make him leap like a locust,

striking terror with his proud snorting?

God

He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength;

he charges into battle.

He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing;

he does not turn back from the sword.

God

God

A quiver rattles at his side,

along with a flashing spear and lance.

Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance;

he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.

At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor.

He catches the scent of battle from afar,

the shouts of captains and the cry of war.

Question

Quick question

Even this speech has its moment of comedy.

Who laughs at the horse and its rider?

God

God

Does the hawk take flight by your understanding

and spread his wings toward the south?

God

Job 39:27

God

God

He dwells on a cliff and lodges there;

his stronghold is on a rocky crag.

From there he spies out food;

his eyes see it from afar.

God

His young ones feast on blood;

and where the slain are, there he is.”

None of them answers to you

Whiteboard

Creature after creature, and not one of them answers to Job. God made each one, knows each one, and enjoys each one. The world is bigger than what it does for us.

Pray

What no one watches

Delight in the wild things God has made, the ones you will never see. Ask to be set free from needing the world to revolve around you. Thank Him that He sees what no one watches, and trust Him with what you can’t see yourself.

You’ve experienced

Job 39

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A verse to carry with you

Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?

Job 39:27

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