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God the Provider Old Testament Reflection

Read

The Lord Continues

When Do Mountain Goats Give Birth?

1When do mountain goats

and deer give birth?

Have you been there

when their young are born?

* 2How long are they pregnant

3before they deliver?

4Soon their young grow strong

and then leave

to be on their own.

5Who set wild donkeys free?

6I alone help them survive

in salty desert sand.

7They stay far from crowded cities

and refuse to be tamed.

8Instead, they roam the hills,

searching for pastureland.

9Would a wild ox agree

to live in your barn

and labor for you?

10Could you force him to plow

or to drag a heavy log

to smooth out the soil?

11Can you depend on him

to use his great strength

and do your heavy work?

12Can you trust him

to harvest your grain

or take it to your barn

from the threshing place?

An Ostrich Proudly Flaps Her Wings

13An ostrich proudly

flaps her wings,

but not because

she loves her young.

14She abandons her eggs

and lets the dusty ground

keep them warm.

15And she doesn't seem to worry

that the feet of an animal

could crush them all.

16She treats her eggs as though

they were not her own,

unconcerned that her work

might be for nothing.

17I myself made her foolish

and without common sense.

18But once she starts running,

she laughs at a rider

on the fastest horse.

Did You Give Horses Their Strength?

19Did you give horses their strength

and the flowing hair

along their necks?

20Did you make them able

to jump like grasshoppers

or to frighten people

with their snorting?

21Before horses are ridden

into battle,

they paw at the ground,

proud of their strength.

22Laughing at fear, they rush

toward the fighting,

23while the weapons of their riders

rattle and flash in the sun.

24Unable to stand still,

they gallop eagerly into battle

when trumpets blast.

25Stirred by the distant smells

and sounds of war, they snort

in reply to the trumpet.

26Did you teach hawks to fly south

for the winter?

* 27Did you train eagles to build

28their nests on rocky cliffs,

29where they can look down

to spot their next meal?

30 Then their young gather to feast

wherever the victim lies.

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
See this passage in other languages or Bible versions

Reflect

Job 39 continues God’s discourse. The Lord continues to ask Job question after question, revealing how little Job understands about the world around him. Although the compassionate point of these questions is only seen in the next chapter, what God says here is still very meaningful.

One of the key messages in this speech is that God is the great Creator. He watches over his creatures when they’re in their hiding places (vs 1-4).But more than that, God is the one who endowed them with their unique strengths and abilities in the first place.

God declares that he is the one who determined that wild donkeys would be free (vs 5-8).He is the one who gave great strength to the wild ox, and even though this power could be profitable to humans, they cannot harness it (vs 9-12).Not every animal in nature can be easily domesticated and used by human beings.

The Lord continues to point out examples from his creation. He did not make the ostrich wise, but he did make it fast and impressive. God also made the horse, an animal with tremendous strength and endurance. Yet this animal, unlike the wild donkey and wild ox, is harnessed by humans and used for their purposes (vs 19-25).

Turning to a universal symbol of power and freedom, God points to the mighty birds like hawks and eagles that soar and glide effortlessly through the air (vs 26-30).As impressive as these birds are, they only fly by the wisdom of God. He is the one who made them what they are.

When you look at the wonders of the natural world you are confronted with the glory and power of God. Our wisdom is inadequate to comprehend creation: God’s wisdom was enough to design and create it!

Respond

Creator God, we praise you for your wisdom in creating this world. Everywhere we look we see a wonderful diversity of life. Give us eyes to see the traces of your glory in the world around us. Help us love and care for your creation, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Steve West

Steve West is the Lead Pastor at Crestwicke Baptist Church in Guelph, Ontario, as well as an adjunct professor at Heritage College and Seminary (Cambridge) and Toronto Baptist Seminary.

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