Job 38:41 | KingComments | STEP | Until now God has spoken about different weather elements. From now on He is going to speak about His providential care for the animal world. From caring for and governing the innumerable celestial bodies in the immeasurable firmament, God now passes on to the world of animals. There, too, it appears that He cares for and controls everything in a way that cannot be copied by man. Not only has He created the universe, He has also filled the earth with creatures that depend on Him in everything. They are found in all kinds of places, such as in the caves, in the field, in the mountains, in the sky and on a rock. God points Job to all kinds of animals. There are wild, ferocious, helpless, timorous, strong, bizarre, fast and fearless animals. God gives some examples and asks Job questions about them. 1. About the lions and the raven, He asks the question: How do they get food? ( ) 2. About the mountain goats and the deer He asks the question: How do they get young? ( ) 3. About the wild donkey and the swift donkey He asks the question: Why are they so free? ( ) 4. About the wild ox He asks the question: How can you tame it? ( ) 5. About the ostrich He asks the question: Why is she acting so strange? ( ) 6. About the horse He asks the question: Where does it get its might and fearlessness from and why does it serve man so selflessly? ( ) 7. About the hawk and the eagle He asks the question: How do they know where to fly? ( ) These animals illustrate God’s inimitable creativity and providential care. The animal world consists partly of species of which the reasons for their existence are unknown to us. This has to do with the fact that they are species that live in the wild. They are not directly subservient to man. Humans cannot explain why animals live as they do. This is another mystery that only God fully understands. It also says something about the selfishness of man who wants to perceive the usefulness of everything for himself and only then can appreciate its existence. God shows that He creates such creatures because He wants it, and they increase His glory, regardless of whether man has any use or appreciation for them. God has equipped all these different animals with as many different qualities. In many cases, we don’t know how or why He did it. He also cares for each species and gives each animal what it needs. In the same way God has created a great diversity in humanity. Every human being is different. Every human being has a different course of life and experiences different circumstances. Why this is so, we do not know in many cases. One thing we can be sure of is that “the only wise God” ( ) controls everything in this way. Whoever acknowledges this can rest in it. The animals that God mentions are characterized by independence. They are wild, unrestrained and decide for themselves what they do. Man cannot subjugate them to himself; he rules over the animals in so far as God entrusts him with the dominion over them. But God rules over them. It is the same with man. He feels autonomous in his thinking and acting and yet he is completely in God’s hand. And satan seems to enslave people arbitrarily, but he too can only go as far as God allows him. This thought will be continued in the coming part of the book. He begins with the lions, the king of animals ( ). Can Job give “the lion” what he needs? If you see how he hunts, he cannot be imitated. Or is Job able to “fulfill the desire of the young lions”? These young lions are blind for the first few weeks. They are helpless and unable to hunt prey. They are in a hiding place lurking around them ( ; cf. ). There God cares for them in response to their cries to Him ( ). The question of who prepares nourishment for the raven is also meant to show both the inability of Job and the omnipotence in God’s care ( ). Like the young lions, the young of the raven cry out to God for help ( ). When they wander around without food and cannot find anything, God hears their cries as well as the cries of the young lions. If man had to make sure that these animals got their food, they would die ( ). Man is completely failing in this. He has no insight into what the animals need and he has no power and wisdom to provide for it if he knew. God possesses everything and gives the animals what they need. The Lord Jesus sets God’s care for the ravens as an example for us not to worry about food and clothing ( ). He cares for us even more than He cares for the animals. Therefore it is better not to criticize Him in His care for us when things are different in our lives than we think they should be.

‏ Job 38:41

The Lions and the Raven

Until now God has spoken about different weather elements. From now on He is going to speak about His providential care for the animal world. From caring for and governing the innumerable celestial bodies in the immeasurable firmament, God now passes on to the world of animals. There, too, it appears that He cares for and controls everything in a way that cannot be copied by man.

Not only has He created the universe, He has also filled the earth with creatures that depend on Him in everything. They are found in all kinds of places, such as in the caves, in the field, in the mountains, in the sky and on a rock. God points Job to all kinds of animals. There are wild, ferocious, helpless, timorous, strong, bizarre, fast and fearless animals. God gives some examples and asks Job questions about them.

1. About the lions and the raven, He asks the question: How do they get food? (Job 38:39-41)

2. About the mountain goats and the deer He asks the question: How do they get young? (Job 39:1-4)

3. About the wild donkey and the swift donkey He asks the question: Why are they so free? (Job 39:5-8)

4. About the wild ox He asks the question: How can you tame it? (Job 39:9-12)

5. About the ostrich He asks the question: Why is she acting so strange? (Job 39:13-18)

6. About the horse He asks the question: Where does it get its might and fearlessness from and why does it serve man so selflessly? (Job 39:19-25)

7. About the hawk and the eagle He asks the question: How do they know where to fly? (Job 39:26-30)

These animals illustrate God’s inimitable creativity and providential care. The animal world consists partly of species of which the reasons for their existence are unknown to us. This has to do with the fact that they are species that live in the wild. They are not directly subservient to man. Humans cannot explain why animals live as they do. This is another mystery that only God fully understands. It also says something about the selfishness of man who wants to perceive the usefulness of everything for himself and only then can appreciate its existence. God shows that He creates such creatures because He wants it, and they increase His glory, regardless of whether man has any use or appreciation for them.

God has equipped all these different animals with as many different qualities. In many cases, we don’t know how or why He did it. He also cares for each species and gives each animal what it needs. In the same way God has created a great diversity in humanity. Every human being is different. Every human being has a different course of life and experiences different circumstances. Why this is so, we do not know in many cases. One thing we can be sure of is that “the only wise God” (Rom 16:27) controls everything in this way. Whoever acknowledges this can rest in it.

The animals that God mentions are characterized by independence. They are wild, unrestrained and decide for themselves what they do. Man cannot subjugate them to himself; he rules over the animals in so far as God entrusts him with the dominion over them. But God rules over them. It is the same with man. He feels autonomous in his thinking and acting and yet he is completely in God’s hand. And satan seems to enslave people arbitrarily, but he too can only go as far as God allows him. This thought will be continued in the coming part of the book.

He begins with the lions, the king of animals (Job 38:39). Can Job give “the lion” what he needs? If you see how he hunts, he cannot be imitated. Or is Job able to “fulfill the desire of the young lions”? These young lions are blind for the first few weeks. They are helpless and unable to hunt prey. They are in a hiding place lurking around them (Job 38:40; cf. Psa 10:8-9). There God cares for them in response to their cries to Him (Psa 104:21).

The question of who prepares nourishment for the raven is also meant to show both the inability of Job and the omnipotence in God’s care (Job 38:41). Like the young lions, the young of the raven cry out to God for help (Psa 147:9). When they wander around without food and cannot find anything, God hears their cries as well as the cries of the young lions.

If man had to make sure that these animals got their food, they would die (Psa 104:27-28). Man is completely failing in this. He has no insight into what the animals need and he has no power and wisdom to provide for it if he knew. God possesses everything and gives the animals what they need. The Lord Jesus sets God’s care for the ravens as an example for us not to worry about food and clothing (Lk 12:24). He cares for us even more than He cares for the animals. Therefore it is better not to criticize Him in His care for us when things are different in our lives than we think they should be.