Job 39:1-16: a reflection

1“Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears fawns? 2Can you count the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they give birth? 3They bow themselves. They bear their young. They end their labor pains. 4Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They go out, and don’t return again. 5“Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey, 6whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place? 7He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shouting of the driver. 8The range of the mountains is his pasture. He searches after every green thing. 9“Will the wild ox be content to serve you? Or will he stay by your feeding trough? 10Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness? Or will he till the valleys after you? 11Will you trust him, because his strength is great? Or will you leave to him your labor? 12Will you confide in him, that he will bring home your seed, and gather the grain of your threshing floor? 13“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the feathers and plumage of love? 14For she leaves her eggs on the earth, warms them in the dust, 15and forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild animal may trample them. 16She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,

God continues to question Job, now by pointing to the wild creatures: the mountain goats that give birth where no one watches, the wild donkey roaming free in the wilderness, the wild ox that will not serve at any man's trough, the ostrich with her strange ways. These are creatures beyond human control and knowledge; man does not oversee their birthing, does not tame the wild donkey, cannot harness the wild ox. And yet God knows them, provides for them, governs their ways. There is a whole world beyond human mastery that God knows and sustains.

Notice what God is showing Job through these wild creatures: a world beyond human control and understanding, which God nonetheless knows and governs. Man does not watch over the mountain goats' birthing, cannot tame the wild donkey or harness the wild ox; these are beyond human mastery. And yet God knows the time of their birthing, gives the wild donkey its freedom, made even the strange ostrich as she is. The world is far larger than what man controls or comprehends; and all of it, even the parts beyond us, God knows and sustains.

That is a humbling and steadying truth, for we can imagine that the world is bounded by what we understand and control, and be troubled by what lies beyond us. But God points to a whole wild world beyond human mastery, which he knows and governs even where we cannot. Much of reality is beyond your control and understanding; but it is not beyond God's. When you are troubled by what lies beyond your control and comprehension, remember that God knows and governs even the wild world beyond human mastery, the parts of reality you cannot touch or understand. Do not imagine that what is beyond your understanding is beyond God's care; the God who knows the wild goats' birthing and gives the wild donkey its freedom governs the parts of your life and world that lie beyond you. Rest in the God who knows and sustains a world far larger than what you control, humbling your pretension to mastery and steadying you in what you cannot understand or govern yourself.

Lord, you questioned Job by pointing to the wild creatures: the mountain goats that give birth where no one watches, the wild donkey roaming free, the wild ox that will not serve at any trough, the ostrich with her strange ways. These are beyond human control and knowledge; yet you know them, provide for them, govern their ways. Show me what you were showing Job: a world beyond human control and understanding, which you nonetheless know and govern. Man does not watch over the mountain goats' birthing, cannot tame the wild donkey; and yet you know the time of their birthing, gave the wild donkey its freedom, made even the strange ostrich as she is. The world is far larger than what man controls or comprehends; and all of it, even the parts beyond us, you know and sustain. That is humbling and steadying, for I can imagine the world is bounded by what I understand and control, and be troubled by what lies beyond me. But you point to a whole wild world beyond human mastery, which you know and govern even where I cannot. Much of reality is beyond my control and understanding; but it is not beyond yours. When I am troubled by what lies beyond my control, help me remember that you know and govern even the wild world beyond human mastery. Keep me from imagining that what is beyond my understanding is beyond your care, Lord. Help me rest in the God who knows and sustains a world far larger than what I control.