Job 39

“Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears fawns?

Can you count the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they give birth?

They bow themselves. They bear their young. They end their labor pains.

Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They go out, and don’t return again.

“Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,

whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?

He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shouting of the driver.

The range of the mountains is his pasture. He searches after every green thing.

“Will the wild ox be content to serve you? Or will he stay by your feeding trough?

Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness? Or will he till the valleys after you?

Will you trust him, because his strength is great? Or will you leave to him your labor?

Will you confide in him, that he will bring home your seed, and gather the grain of your threshing floor?

“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the feathers and plumage of love?

For she leaves her eggs on the earth, warms them in the dust,

and forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild animal may trample them.

She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,

because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has he imparted to her understanding.

When she lifts up herself on high, she scorns the horse and his rider.

“Have you given the horse might? Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane?

Have you made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is awesome.

He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength. He goes out to meet the armed men.

He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed, neither does he turn back from the sword.

The quiver rattles against him, the flashing spear and the javelin.

He eats up the ground with fierceness and rage, neither does he stand still at the sound of the trumpet.

As often as the trumpet sounds he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

“Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and stretches her wings toward the south?

Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and makes his nest on high?

On the cliff he dwells and makes his home, on the point of the cliff and the stronghold.

From there he spies out the prey. His eyes see it afar off.

His young ones also suck up blood. Where the slain are, there he is.”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview. This chapter continues God’s majestic address to Job, focusing on the hidden wisdom displayed in the behavior and instincts of wild animals—mountain goats, wild donkeys, wild oxen, ostriches, horses, hawks, and eagles—each governed by divine design beyond human comprehension or control. It deepens the contrast between God’s sovereign knowledge and Job’s limited perspective, reinforcing that life’s untamed and inscrutable aspects are not outside God’s care, even if they defy human reason.

Flow.

God questions Job about his knowledge of the birthing cycles and freedom of wild mountain goats and does, emphasizing the independence of creatures beyond domestication.
The wild donkey and the untamable ox are presented as beings whose strength and freedom are divinely appointed, not subject to human service or planning.
The ostrich is described with a paradox: her seeming neglect of her young contrasts with her powerful flight, attributed to God’s withholding of wisdom not as accident, but by design (WCF 5.7).
The majestic horse and soaring birds (the hawk and eagle) are depicted as embodiments of power, instinct, and precision, each moving according to God’s ordering, not human direction.

Connections. Following chapter 38, where God established His sovereign rule over nature’s foundations and the animal world’s survival, chapter 39 extends this theme by focusing on creatures that resist human use or understanding—especially those whose behavior appears harsh or irrational. These examples prepare for chapter 40, where God will turn from creation’s outer wonders to confront Job’s stance more directly, asking whether he can truly govern moral order as God governs the natural one. The progression moves from external creation to internal justice, inviting humility.

What it teaches. This chapter reveals that God sustains and governs even those aspects of creation that appear unrestrained, indifferent, or irrational to human judgment. The freedom of wild animals, their instinctive behaviors, and their separation from human utility are not marks of chaos but of God’s deliberate wisdom (WCF 1.1; LC 19). The ostrich, for instance, is neither condemned nor flawed in God’s eyes—her behavior stems from divine design (HC LD 9). Likewise, the horse’s strength and the eagle’s vision reflect God’s provision of purpose even where humans cannot discern care or logic. Creation’s fullness includes what lies beyond domestication, yet all remains under God’s providence (WCF 3.1).

Apply. Trust that God’s governance extends to what seems untamed or inexplicable in life, because His wisdom orders even what human reason cannot subdue.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.