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Job Chapter
Thirty-nine
Job 39
Chapter Contents
God inquires of Job concerning several animals.
In these questions the Lord continued to humble Job. In
this chapter several animals are spoken of, whose nature or situation
particularly show the power, wisdom, and manifold works of God. The wild ass.
It is better to labour and be good for something, than to ramble and be good
for nothing. From the untameableness of this and other creatures, we may see,
how unfit we are to give law to Providence, who cannot give law even to a wild
ass's colt. The unicorn, a strong, stately, proud creature. He is able to
serve, but not willing; and God challenges Job to force him to it. It is a
great mercy if, where God gives strength for service, he gives a heart; it is
what we should pray for, and reason ourselves into, which the brutes cannot do.
Those gifts are not always the most valuable that make the finest show. Who
would not rather have the voice of the nightingale, than the tail of the
peacock; the eye of the eagle and her soaring wing, and the natural affection
of the stork, than the beautiful feathers of the ostrich, which can never rise
above the earth, and is without natural affection? The description of the
war-horse helps to explain the character of presumptuous sinners. Every one
turneth to his course, as the horse rushes into the battle. When a man's heart
is fully set in him to do evil, and he is carried on in a wicked way, by the
violence of his appetites and passions, there is no making him fear the wrath
of God, and the fatal consequences of sin. Secure sinners think themselves as
safe in their sins as the eagle in her nest on high, in the clefts of the
rocks; but I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord, Jeremiah 49:16. All these beautiful references
to the works of nature, should teach us a right view of the riches of the
wisdom of Him who made and sustains all things. The want of right views
concerning the wisdom of God, which is ever present in all things, led Job to
think and speak unworthily of Providence.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Job》
Job 39
Verse 4
[4] Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with
corn; they go forth, and return not unto them.
Young ones — Notwithstanding their great
weakness caused by their hard entrance into the world.
Grow up — As with corn, that is, as if they were fed with corn.
Go forth — Finding sufficient provisions abroad by the care of
God's providence.
Verse 5
[5] Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed
the bands of the wild ass?
Sent — Who hath given him this disposition that he loves
freedom, and hates that subjection which other creatures quietly endure? Loosed
- Who keeps him from receiving the bands, and submitting to the service of man.
Verse 7
[7] He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth
he the crying of the driver.
Scorneth — He feareth them not when they pursue him, because he
is swift, and can easily escape them.
Driver — He will not be brought to receive his yoke, nor to do
his drudgery.
Verse 8
[8] The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he
searcheth after every green thing.
Mountains — He prefers that mean provision
with his freedom, before the fattest pastures with servitude.
Verse 9
[9] Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by
thy crib?
Unicorn — It is disputed whether this be the Rhinoceros; or a
kind of wild bull.
Verse 16
[16] She is hardened against her young ones, as though they
were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;
Her labour — In laying her eggs is in vain,
because she hath not the fear and tender concern for them, which she should
have.
Verse 17
[17] Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he
imparted to her understanding.
Deprived — Because God hath not implanted in her that instinct,
and affection, which he hath put into other birds and beasts toward their
young.
Verse 18
[18] What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth
the horse and his rider.
Lifteth — To flee from her pursuer: to which end she lifts up
her head and body, and spreads her wings.
Scorneth — She despises them thro' her swiftness; for though she
cannot fly, yet by the aid of her wings she runs so fast, that horse-men cannot
reach her.
Verse 19
[19] Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed
his neck with thunder?
Thunder — A strong metaphor, to denote force and terror.
Verse 21
[21] He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength:
he goeth on to meet the armed men.
Valley — Battles used to be pitched in valleys, or low grounds,
especially horse battles.
Verse 23
[23] The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear
and the shield.
Quiver — The quiver is here put for the arrows contained in it,
which being shot against the horse and rider, make a rattling noise.
Verse 24
[24] He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage:
neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
Swalloweth — He is so full of rage and fury,
that he not only champs his bridle, but is ready to tear and devour the very
ground on which he goes.
Believeth — He is so pleased with the
approach of the battle, and the sound of the trumpet calling to it, that he can
scarce believe his ears for gladness.
Verse 25
[25] He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the
battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
Ha, ha — An expression of joy and alacrity declared by his
proud neighings.
Thunder — The loud and joyful clamour begun by the commanders,
and followed by the soldiers when they are ready to join battle.
Verse 26
[26] Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings
toward the south?
Fly — So strongly, constantly, unweariedly, and swiftly.
South — At the approach of winter, when wild hawks fly into
warmer countries, as being impatient of cold. The birds of the air are proofs
of the wonderful providence of God, as well as the beasts of the earth. God
instances in two stately ones.
Verse 27
[27] Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her
nest on high?
Mount — Flies directly upward 'till she be out of thy sight;
which no other bird can do.
Verse 29
[29] From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold
afar off.
Her eyes — Her sight is exceeding sharp and strong, so that she
is able to look upon the sun with open eyes, and to behold the smallest prey
upon the earth or sea, when she is mounted out of our sight.
Verse 33
Blood — There are divers eagles who do not feed upon carcases,
but many eagles do feed on them.
She — In an instant, flying thither with admirable celerity.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Job》
39 Chapter 39
Verses 1-30
Verses 1-4
Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?
The study of zoology a religious duty
God is here represented as calling the attention of Job to various
orders of animal life. Reasons for such study.
I. Because it
gives to man a high revelation of God. Next to mental and moral philosophy,
there is no subject in nature that gives us so high a view of God. There is
more of Him seen in the humblest sentient creature than in the orbs of heaven,
the billows of ocean, the flowers of the field, or the trees of the forest. In
these creatures we discover sensation, self-motion, choice; and these are not
merely Divine productions, but rather Divine emanations. Whilst I would not
underrate the study of physics, chemistry, botany, astronomy, I hold that
zoology is a grander, more quickening, and a more religious study than either.
It brings the soul into contact with much that is akin to itself, the “seeing
eye, the hearing ear,” the quivering sensation, and the guiding instinct.
II. Because it
tends to promote our spiritual culture.
1. It tends to encourage our faith in the goodness of God. The
creatures specified in this chapter are all objects of His kindly regard.
Surely the God who takes care of these creatures will not neglect His human
children.
2. It tends to destroy our egotism. What are we in the presence of
some of these creatures? What is our strength to that of the unicorn or the
buffalo, our courage to that of the war horse, our vision to that of the eagle
or the hawk, our speed to that of the ostrich and the wild ass? Where is
boasting then?
3. It tends to promote a kindly feeling towards all sentient life.
III. They supply
illustrations of human life. Let us look for this purpose at the three
creatures mentioned here--the “wild ass,” the “ostrich,” and the “war horse.”
The “wild ass” may be taken to illustrate--
1. The genius of freedom.
2. The “ostrich” may be taken to illustrate an intensely Selfish
character; and she does so in three respects--heartlessness, cowardice, and
pride. How heartless she is! She “leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth
them in dust, and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild
beast may break them.” “She is hardened against her young ones,” or treateth
her young ones harshly. No creature in creation seems so indifferent to its
young. To an intensely selfish man, self is everything; neighbours, and even
children, are sacrificed to self-gratification. In her cowardice she illustrates
a selfish character. Naturalists tell us that when danger appears, she puts her
head into the sand, so as not to hear or see the approaching perils. She will
not look danger in the face and grapple with it. A selfish man is always
cowardly, and that in proportion to his selfishness. In fact, there can be no
bravery and intrepidity where there is not a generous love; it is love alone
that makes the hero. How proud is the ostrich! “She lifteth up herself on high,
she scorneth the horse and his rider.” This creature seems to be remarkably
proud of its wings, although it cannot fly, and of its power of speed. When the
fleetest horse with its rider approaches, she flaps her wings as if in proud
scorn, conscious that she can leave the swiftest horseman behind. So in truth
she can; it is said, with the help of her wings, she can run at the rate of
sixty miles an hour. In this she seems to glory. The more selfish a man is, the
more he prides himself in a something that he has which others do not possess.
The “war horse” here presented in such majestic poetry as bounding and
quivering with the spirit of the campaign, may be taken to illustrate--
3. Those noble workers in the cause of human progress who are found
fixed and filled with the spirit of their mission. Difficulties to them are
nothing. They laugh at impossibilities; for dangers they care not; opposition
they defy. Such were Paul, Luther, Garibaldi. No man can fulfil his mission
whose whole nature does not glow with his spirit. (Homilist.)
Verse 10
Will he harrow the valleys after thee?
Will he harrow the valleys after thee
What more humiliating proof have we of the depravity of the human
heart, than the arrogant assumption of deciding on God’s plans, and censuring
His providential government, when we are so entirely ignorant of the most
simple and ordinary occurrences in Nature? This was the error into which Job
had fallen. Harrowing so tears and disturbs the ground, that it has, from the
earliest ages, been considered as a fit emblem of very heavy and complicated
trial. Here it suggests the necessity and benefits of frequent adversity.
1. The human heart, naturally haughty, requires much to reduce it,
and break it into subjection to Christ; events adverse to our wishes, and which
cross our inclinations, graciously effect this useful purpose. As the ground is
torn and reduced by the harrow, so adversities administered by the Almighty
lower the haughty temper and subdue the unhallowed dispositions of His people.
2. By this method of tillage the surface of the earth is smoothed and
rendered level. Our minds are brought into an orderly and submissive state by
trials of extraordinary severity and pressure. So ruffled and rugged are our
tempers that, for our own sakes, this chaos must be brought to order, this
confusion into regularity. The unequality of a ploughed field is too feeble a
representation of this state of mind.
3. Adverse providences occasion the good seed of the Word to be
covered and hidden in our hearts, as the grain literally is covered from
injury, and concealed from the birds, by the process of harrowing. An analogy
may be traced between the field sown and yet unharrowed, and the mind stored
with moral and even religious instruction, but undisciplined by trial.
4. The resemblance between the usefulness of harrowing, to collect
the dead weeds, and cleanse the land of old roots, and the good effects of holy
trouble, to detach those many moral weeds and those pernicious roots of evil
which yet remain in our hearts. (W. Clayton.)
Verses 19-30
Hast thou given the horse strength?
The higher teaching of Nature
The intent of all these beautiful references to the works of
Nature is to teach us, from the wisdom, skill, and curious designs discoverable
in the formation and the instincts of various birds and beasts, to impress
ourselves with a worthy notion of the “riches of the wisdom” of Him that made
and sustaineth all things. These impressions we are to carry with us when we
consider the dealings of God in the way of Providence, and in His ordering of
all events, as the great Governor of the universe. Can we suppose that there is
anything wrong here, or without the design of the most consummate wisdom, when
He has put forth so much of His skill and contrivance in the formation and
ordering of these inferior animals? May He not be trusted to do all things
well, concerning the destiny of man, the greatest of His works? In this higher
economy, are we to suppose there is less wisdom and design to be manifested,
than in this, which displays itself so visibly in these inferior works of His
hand? Thus would our blessed Lord increase the confidence of His disciples in
His providential care of them, by observing, “Are not two sparrows sold for a
farthing, and not one of them falleth to the ground without your Father?” “Fear
not,” “are ye not much better than they?--of more value than many sparrows.” It
was the want of such due impressions concerning the designing wisdom of God,
ever present, and ever operating in all things, that had led Job to think and
speak unworthily of that dispensation of Providence under which he now lived,
as being altogether arbitrary, discovering no design and discriminating wisdom,
nor manifesting the righteous Governor of all things. His despairing mind
seemed to think that the Lord had forsaken the earth; and such confusion and
misrule permitted that the wisdom and justice and goodness of God could only be
manifested in what was hereafter to take place in a future state. Therefore had
Job despaired of life, and longed for death. And we remember what it was that
led Job into this unhappy state of mind. On account of his moral and religious
attainments, he had been so lifted up with pride, that when it pleased God, in
His secret wisdom, to suffer him to be afflicted, he dared to say he did not
deserve it: and in order to reconcile the possibility of that, with the notions
that he held in common with his friends, respecting the Providence of God,--as
certainly willing and accomplishing all things which come to pass,--he was led
to express those unworthy notions of the present dispensation of things which
we have seen exposed, first by His messenger Elihu, and now by Jehovah Himself.
(John Fry, B. A.)
The horse
As the Bible makes a favourite of the horse, the patriarch, and
the prophet, and the evangelist, and the apostle, stroking his sleek hide, and
patting his rounded neck, and tenderly lifting his exquisitely-formed hoof, and
listening with a thrill to the champ of his bit, so all great natures in all
ages have spoken of him in encomiastic terms. Virgil in his Georgics almost
seems to plagiarise from this description in the text, so much are the
descriptions alike--the description of Virgil and the description of Job. The
Duke of Wellington would not allow anyone irreverently to touch his old war
horse Copenhagen, on whom he had ridden fifteen hours without dismounting at
Waterloo; and when old Copenhagen died, his master ordered a military salute to
be fired over his grave. John Howard showed that he did not exhaust his
sympathies in pitying the human race, for when ill he writes home, “Has my old
chaise horse become sick or spoiled?” There is hardly any passage of French
literature more pathetic than the lamentation over the death of the war charger
Marchegay. Walter Scott had so much admiration for this Divinely honoured
creature of God, that, in St. Ronan’s Well, he orders the girth
to be slackened and the blanket thrown over the smoking flanks. Edmund Burke,
walking in the park at Beaconsfield, musing over the past, throws his arms
around the worn-out horse of his dead son Richard, and weeps upon the horse’s
neck, the horse seeming to sympathise in the memories. Rowland Hill, the great
English preacher, was caricatured because in his family prayer he supplicated
for the recovery of a sick horse; but when the horse got well, contrary to all
the prophecies of the farriers, the prayer did not seem quite so much of an
absurdity. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
Horses in battle
In time of war the cavalry service does the most execution; and as
the battles of the world are probably not all past, Christian patriotism
demands that we be interested in equinal velocity. We might as well have poorer
guns in our arsenals and clumsier ships in our navy than other nations, as to
have under our cavalry saddles and before our parks of artillery slower horses.
From the battle of Granicus, where the Persian horses drove the Macedonian
infantry into the river, clear down to the horses on which Philip Sheridan and
Stonewall Jackson rode into the fray, this arm of the military service has been
recognised. Hamilcar, Hannibal, Gustavus Adolphus, Marshal Ney were cavalrymen.
In this arm of the service Charles Martel at the battle of Poictiers beat back
the Arab invasion. The Carthaginian cavalry, with the loss of only seven
hundred men, overthrew the Roman army with the loss of seven thousand. In the
same way the Spanish chivalry drove back the Moorish hordes. Our Christian
patriotism and our instruction from the Word of God demand that first of all we
kindly treat the horse, and then, after that, that we develop his fleetness,
and his grandeur, and his majesty, and his strength. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
Verse 27
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command?
The captive set free
Many years had a noble eagle been confined in such a manner that
no one had seen it even attempt to raise a wing. It had been cherished and fed
that it might be exhibited to visitors and friends. Perfectly subdued,
unconscious now of its native power, it remained inactive, and apparently
contented, oblivious of the heights it once could soar. But its owner was about
to leave for a far country, never to return. He could not take the eagle with
him. “I will do,” said he, “one act of kindness before I go, which shall be
remembered long after me.” He unloosed the chain from the captive. His
neighbours and children looked on with regret that they should see the eagle no
more. A moment, and it would be gone forever! But no. The bird walked the usual
round, which had been the length of his chain, looked tamely about, unconscious
that he was free, and at length perched himself at his usual height. The gazers
looked on in wonder and in pity. Brief, however, was their pity. The slow
rustling of a wing was heard. It was projected from the body, then folded. Anon
it moved again. At last, stretched to its full expansion, it quivered a moment
in the air, then folded softly against its resting place. Now slowly and
cautiously the eagle expanded the other, and stood at last upon his perch with
both wings spread, looking earnestly in the blue sky above. One effort to
mount, then another. The wings have found their lost skill and strength.
Upward, slowly, still upward--higher and speedier he mounts his way. The eye
follows him in vain. Lost to sight, far above tide mountain top he is bathing
his cramped wings in misty clouds, and revels in his liberty. Hast thou, O
child of God, been pinioned long to the cares and toils of earth, so that thy
wings of faith and love have lost all power to rise? Long bound to earth, its
hopes and visions, thou canst not shake thy wings at once. The heart tries to
mount in prayer, but it tries in vain. Scenes of earth are floating still
before the vision, and sounds of earth ring in the ears. But cease not thy
efforts. Expand thy soul once more, if only for a little. Raise the wing of thought
first--still more, raise it higher yet. (Preacher’s Lantern.)
The eagle
The eagle is built for a solitary life. There is no bird so alone;
other birds go in flocks--the eagle never, two at most together, and they are
mates. Its majesty consists partly in its solitariness. It lives apart because
other birds cannot live where and as it lives, and follow where it leads. The
true child of God must consent to a lonely life apart with God, and often the
condition of holiness is separation. (A. T. Pierson.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》