◄ Job 39:9 ►
Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?
Sermons
The Creatures not Dependent Upon ManR. Green Job 39:1-30














Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Wild Ass
Job 39:5-8
W.F. Adeney
The special characteristic of the wild ass is said to be untractability. While no animal is more tame than the poor, ill-treated donkey of the London street, no animal is more essentially untamable than the Syrian ass of the desert. It is said that though one of these creatures bad been captured when young and kept for three years in confinement, it remained "as untractable as when it was first caught, biting and kicking furiously at every one who approached it." It is the type of the untamable.

I. GOD RULES OVER THE WILDEST CREATURES. When we look at the wild ass we see a creature that is quite beyond the range of man's dominion. The "lord of creation" has no authority here. His dominion ceases at the border of the wilderness. His will is scorned by the free animals of the desert. Yet they are under the rule of God, who has implanted in them their instincts; they live only according to the laws of the nature that he has made. Men break from God's laws in self-will and thus they fall into sin. Untractable as the wild ass is to man, it is absolutely obedient to the will of God, like the sea that obeys the laws of waves and tides.

II. GOD IS THE AUTHOR OF LIBERTY. The very wildness of the creature is a gift of God. He has given it its high spirits, its fleet running, its love of the wilderness. God does not keep his creatures like cowed and tamed beasts in a menagerie. He aires them a wide field, and he permits them to enjoy a large freedom. To beings of spiritual nature he also gives liberty, and that of a higher order. Men are set free from external constraints. God treats us not as slaves, but as children. Further, God gives the highest liberty - liberty of soul. He sets men free from the chains of ignorance anti the crushing burden of sin. In his glorious grace he deals most liberally with his children. Not like the despot who fears a whisper of the word "liberty," God grieves over the self-made slavery of souls, and sends his gospel for the very purpose of giving "liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound" (Isaiah 61:1). Surely liberty is a prize to be eagerly sought and jealously guarded in government, in thought, and in spiritual life. Dryden writes -

"The love of liberty with life is given,
And life itself th' inferior gift of Heaven."

III. GOD INTENDS US TO USE OUR LIBERTY IN OBEDIENCE. We must combine the two previous thoughts to see how the wild ass is provided for by God. It follows tire laws of its nature, and so obeys God absolutely, albeit unconsciously, while it enjoys the largest liberty. Thus it cannot be said to abuse its liberty, but only to use it. Roaming over the desert on its swift feet, it espies the green oasis and revels in the fresh pasturage. God expects us to use our liberty in obedience to his will. He does not poor food into our mouths; we must seek it. He does not force iris grace upon us; we have to follow the method he has laid down, and turn to him in faith. But in doing this we are to use the utmost freedom of thought, and to be absolutely independent of the constraints of man on our religion, while we ask for help to be free from the bondage of evil, in obedience to the will of God. - W.F.A.

Biblical Illustrator
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command?
Job 39:27
The captive set free
Preacher's Lantern.
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
A. T. Pierson.
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.).

Moreover, the Lord answered Job, and said.
Job 40
Jehovah's answer
Dean Bradley.
Its language has reached, at times, the "high-water mark" of poetry and beauty. Nothing can exceed its dignity, its force, its majesty, the freshness and vigour of some of its pictures of nature and of life. But what shall we say next? It is no answer, we may say, to Job's agonised pleadings. It is no answer to the riddle and problem which the experience and history of human life suggests, even to ourselves. Quite true. There is no direct answer at all. Even those partial answers, partial yet instructive, which have been touched on from time to time by speaker after speaker, are not glanced at or included in these final words. It is as though the voice of God did not deign to repeat that He works "on the side of righteousness." He only hints at it. Job is not even told the purpose of the fiery trial through which he himself has passed, of those in other worlds than his own who have watched his pangs. No! God reveals to him His glory, makes him feel where he had, gone wrong, how presumptuous he had been. That is all. He does not say, "All this has been a trial of thy righteousness: thou hast been fighting a battle against Satan for Me, and hast received many sore wounds." Nothing is said of the truth, already mooted and enforced in this Book, that suffering does its perfect work when it purifies and elevates the human soul, and draws it nearer to the God who sends or permits the suffering. Nor is any light thrown on that faint and feeble glimmer of a hope not yet fully born into the world, of a life beyond the grave; of a life where there shall be no more sorrow or sighing, where Job and his lost sons and daughters shall be reunited. The thoughts that we should have looked for, perhaps longed for, are not here. Those who tell us that the one great lesson of the whole book is to hold up the patriarch Job as the pattern of mere submission, mere resignation — those who search in it for a full Thodice, a final vindication, that is, and explanation of God's mode of governing the world — those, lastly, who find ill it a revelation of the sure and certain hope of a blessed immortality, can scarcely have studied either Job's language or the chapters before us today. One thought, and one only, is brought into the foreground. The world is full of mysteries, strange, unapproachable mysteries, that you cannot read. Trust, trust in the power, and in the wisdom, and in the goodness of Him, the Almighty One, who rules it. "Turn from the insoluble problems of your own destiny," the voice says to Job, and says to us. "Good men have said their best, wise men have said their wisest. Man is still left to bear the discipline of some questions too hard for him to answer. We cannot solve them. We must rest, if we are to rest at all, in the belief that He whom we believe to be our Father in heaven, whom we believe to have been revealed in His Son, is good, and wise, and merciful; that one day, not here, the riddle will be solved; that behind the veil which you cannot pierce, lies the solution in the hand of God."

(Dean Bradley.)

The Lord's answer
Homilist.
I. A DIVINE REPROOF THAT WAS EFFECTUAL.

1. Observe the reproof. "Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him?"(1) What is thy intellect to His? The glimmering of a glow worm to the brilliancy of a million suns.(2) What is thy sphere of observation to Mine? Thou art a mere speck in space. I have immensity under My eye.(3) What is thy experience to Mine? Thou art the mere creature of a day, observing and thinking for a few hours. I am from everlasting to everlasting.

2. Observe the effect. What was the effect of this appeal? Here it is. "Then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer Thee?" etc.(1) A sense of moral unworthiness. "I am vile."(2) A resolution to retract. "I will proceed no further." He regrets the past, and resolves to improve in the future. This is what every sinner should do, what every sinner must do, in order to rise into purity, freedom, and blessedness.

II. A DIVINE COMPARISON THAT WAS SILENCING.

1. It is a comparison between himself and the Great Creator. "Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me." What is thy power to Mine? "Hast thou an arm like God?" What is thy voice to Mine? Canst thou speak in a voice of thunder? What is thy greatness to Mine? "Deck thyself with majesty," etc. What is thy wrath to Mine? "Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath." What art thou in My presence? The only effective way of hushing the murmurings of men in relation to the Divine procedure, is an impression of the infinite disparity between man and his Maker.

2. It is a comparison between himself and the brute creation. "Behold now behemoth." Study this huge creature, and thou wilt find in many respects thou art inferior to him. Therefore be humble, and cease to contend with Me.

(Homilist.)

People
Job
Places
Uz
Topics
Abide, Buffalo, Consent, Content, Crib, Feeding, Food-store, Lodge, Manger, Mountains, Night's, Ox, Reem, Resting-place, Servant, Serve, Spend, Stay, Trough, Unicorn, Wild, Wild-ox, Willing
Outline
1. Of the wild goats and hinds
5. Of the wild donkey
9. The unicorn
13. The peacock, stork, and ostrich
19. The horse
26. The hawk
27. The eagle

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Job 39:9

     4672   manger

Job 39:1-30

     1305   God, activity of

Library
Whether Daring is a Sin?
Objection 1: It seems that daring is not a sin. For it is written (Job 39:21) concerning the horse, by which according to Gregory (Moral. xxxi) the godly preacher is denoted, that "he goeth forth boldly to meet armed men [*Vulg.: 'he pranceth boldly, he goeth forth to meet armed men']." But no vice redounds to a man's praise. Therefore it is not a sin to be daring. Objection 2: Further, according to the Philosopher (Ethic. vi, 9), "one should take counsel in thought, and do quickly what has been …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Religious Life of those who Live in Community is More Perfect than that of those who Lead a Solitary Life?
Objection 1: It would seem that the religious life of those who live in community is more perfect than that of those who lead a solitary life. For it is written (Eccles. 4:9): "It is better . . . that two should be together, than one; for they have the advantage of their society." Therefore the religious life of those who live in community would seem to be more perfect. Objection 2: Further, it is written (Mat. 18:20): "Where there are two or three gathered together in My name, there am I in the …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Mode and Order of the Temptation were Becoming?
Objection 1: It would seem that the mode and order of the temptation were unbecoming. For the devil tempts in order to induce us to sin. But if Christ had assuaged His bodily hunger by changing the stones into bread, He would not have sinned; just as neither did He sin when He multiplied the loaves, which was no less a miracle, in order to succor the hungry crowd. Therefore it seems that this was nowise a temptation. Objection 2: Further, a counselor is inconsistent if he persuades the contrary to …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Prov. 22:06 the Duties of Parents
"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."--Prov. 22:6. I SUPPOSE that most professing Christians are acquainted with the text at the head of this page. The sound of it is probably familiar to your ears, like an old tune. It is likely you have heard it, or read it, talked of it, or quoted it, many a time. Is it not so? But, after all, how little is the substance of this text regarded! The doctrine it contains appears scarcely known, the duty it puts …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

Whether Contention is a Mortal Sin?
Objection 1: It would seem that contention is not a mortal sin. For there is no mortal sin in spiritual men: and yet contention is to be found in them, according to Lk. 22:24: "And there was also a strife amongst" the disciples of Jesus, "which of them should . . . be the greatest." Therefore contention is not a mortal sin. Objection 2: Further, no well disposed man should be pleased that his neighbor commit a mortal sin. But the Apostle says (Phil. 1:17): "Some out of contention preach Christ," …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

On the Animals
The birds are the saints, because they fly to the higher heart; in the gospel: and he made great branches that the birds of the air might live in their shade. [Mark 4:32] Flying is the death of the saints in God or the knowledge of the Scriptures; in the psalm: I shall fly and I shall be at rest. [Ps. 54(55):7 Vulgate] The wings are the two testaments; in Ezekiel: your body will fly with two wings of its own. [Ez. 1:23] The feathers are the Scriptures; in the psalm: the wings of the silver dove. …
St. Eucherius of Lyons—The Formulae of St. Eucherius of Lyons

Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.
(from Bethany to Jerusalem and Back, Sunday, April 2, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 1-12, 14-17; ^B Mark XI. 1-11; ^C Luke XIX. 29-44; ^D John XII. 12-19. ^c 29 And ^d 12 On the morrow [after the feast in the house of Simon the leper] ^c it came to pass, when he he drew nigh unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, ^a 1 And when they came nigh unto Jerusalem, and came unto Bethphage unto { ^b at} ^a the mount of Olives [The name, Bethphage, is said to mean house of figs, but the …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Job
The book of Job is one of the great masterpieces of the world's literature, if not indeed the greatest. The author was a man of superb literary genius, and of rich, daring, and original mind. The problem with which he deals is one of inexhaustible interest, and his treatment of it is everywhere characterized by a psychological insight, an intellectual courage, and a fertility and brilliance of resource which are nothing less than astonishing. Opinion has been divided as to how the book should be …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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