The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 619

HOMILETICS. Vel'I!. 1-30.-Jehomh to Job: the first answer-the e:raminatitm: 6. Oonceming ~fain "'ild animalii. I. THE llOUNTATN GOAT AND THE HIND. (Vera. 1--4.) 1. ThR (!f"ea$u1"fll ~ It ie genera.Hy a<>reed tba.t these are the steinbock, or ibex, and the st&g. The former, inhabiting exclusively the more rocky and desolate parts of the country, ~ e s fore le.gs considerably shorter than its hinder, which enable it to ascend with more facility than to descend, and lead it, when pursued;to attempt to gain the ~ummits of the mountains. In accordance with this peculiarity, it is interesting to not.e that Jehovah describes the animals as" rock-climbers." 2. The circiimstana1 alludd to. This is not so much the secrecy of their gestation. as the ease and facility with which they bring forth. " They bow themselves, they, bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows," i.e. those things which cause. their labour-pains, viz. their offspring; and these young animals thus easily born, though not witbout pain," are in good liking," i.e. grow up lusty and strong, not by feeding upon corn, as the Authorized Version seems t.o imply, but in the open country, away from their dll.D'ls, whom they early forsake, going forth and not returning unto them. 3. ~ question thenanent. Jehovah a.,;ks Job if he knows the time when these monntain goats, or rock-climbers, bear, or can number the months that the. binds fulfil. Clearly not designed to test the amount or accuracy of Job's infonna'tioq concerning natural history, this interrogation i;eems as little meant to' affirm that everything connected with the pregnancy of these creatures was a mystery, It~ int,ention rather is to emphasize the fact that the whole process of conception and par~ turirion is carried on with such admirable regularity, ease, and success, as to suggest the thought that it must be owing to the wise guidance and watchfnl ea.re of eoml! presiding mind. "Well," asks J'ehovah, "w.hose is it? ls it thine, 0 Job? or- is it_ not rather mine? " IT. Tm: WILD ABS. (Vers. 5-8.) 1. Its s1mftness of foot. This··cbara.cterlstic i~ alluded to in the name pere. Consul Wetstein (quoted by Delitzsch) describ~s the wild ass ss a dirty yellow creature with a white belly, single-hoofed and long-eared, ita hornless head somewhat resembling that of a gazelle, though much larger, and,its bail; having the dryness of the hair of the deer. Like the wild ox, a large soft-eyed creature~ horned and double-hoofed, it is remarkable for its swift running, which enables it to out-distance the .fleetest rider. 2. Its love of freedom. This feature is referred to i.ti the 11CC011d name, 'arod, which uenotes its shyness and untamableness, and is further represented by depicting it as scorning the tumult of the city, i.e. as fleeing from the haunts of men, and regarding not the crying of the driver, i.e. refusing to be subjected to the yoke, as scouring the desert in its boundless independence, and finding for itself a home in the harren laod or salt places, i.e. uncultivat-ed and uncultiva.ble regions, 3. Its means of stpport. The wi.ld ass licks the natron of the desert, as "all wild animals that feed oo plaots have a partiality for lickiog salt" (Delitzsch); and in quest of her~e it roams to the uttermost limit of the mountains, "sniffing after every green thing." 4. Its posse.ssion of a MaJJter. 'J'his thought is suggested by Jehove.b'i; int,errogations. "The wild ass loves liberty; but who ma.de him free? Wh~ l.oo,ied hiB ban&? Who sent him forth to scour the plain and range the bills? Was it thou, 0 Job? or was it I? The wikl ass scorns the yoke of the. driver; but who inspired him with thiB iodomitahle iW1tinct? Who taught him to lick the salt and crop the .herb? Are not these my doiags, 0 my censurer? Canst thou bind this ass that I have loosed? Canst thou set a yoke upon him as I do? Art thou able to give him food as I am, or to build for him a stall as I have done in the va.~t step,r ? It i1 clear, then., that thou art not the maater of a wild a~s, much less of a world. OB. XXXIX. 1~ao.J THE BOOK OF Jon. 636