Job 39:12

Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather [it into] thy barn?

Wilt thou believe {H539} him, that he will bring home {H7725}{H7725} thy seed {H2233}, and gather {H622} it into thy barn {H1637}?

or rely on it to bring home your seed and gather the grain from your threshing-floor?

Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?

Wilt thou confide in him, that he will bring home thy seed, And gatherthe grainof thy threshing-floor?

Commentary

Context

This verse is part of God's dramatic speech to Job from the whirlwind, spanning chapters 38 through 41. God is systematically questioning Job about the vastness and complexity of His creation, highlighting Job's limited understanding and control compared to God's sovereign power over the natural world. God begins this discourse in Job 38, challenging Job's claim to wisdom.

Job 39 specifically focuses on various wild animals – the mountain goats, the wild ass, and in verses 9-12, the wild ox (often translated 'unicorn' in the KJV). God describes the strength and untamable nature of this creature, asking rhetorical questions that underscore its independence from human control. Verse 12 is the culmination of this description, asking if Job could possibly domesticate such a creature to perform essential farming tasks.

Key Themes

  • God's Sovereignty Over Nature: The passage emphasizes that God alone has control over the most powerful and untamable creatures, demonstrating His absolute authority over all creation.
  • Human Limitation: The question highlights the boundary of human power and influence. Job, despite his wisdom, cannot manage or utilize these wild forces for his own purposes.
  • Trust and Reliability: The verse contrasts the unreliable nature of the wild ox for human labor with the implicit need for reliability in tasks like farming and gathering harvest. It points to where true reliability lies – not in creation, but in the Creator.
  • Humility in the Face of Divine Wisdom: God's questions serve to humble Job, revealing the vast gap between human understanding and divine knowledge and power.

Linguistic Insights

The animal described in Job 39:9-12, translated as "unicorn" in the KJV, is the Hebrew word re'em (רְא֡ם). While ancient translations and tradition sometimes associated it with a mythical unicorn, modern scholarship widely identifies the re'em with a powerful, now extinct wild ox known as the aurochs. The description in verses 9-11 perfectly fits a large, strong, and untamable bovine, making the question in verse 12 about its suitability for domestic farm work (pulling a plow, harrowing, bringing in harvest) particularly poignant and rhetorical. The term emphasizes its wild, unbroken nature.

Practical Application

Job 39:12 reminds us that not everything in the world is within our control or operates according to our plans and needs. Just as Job could not rely on the wild ox for his harvest, there are forces in life and nature that are beyond our management. This verse encourages a posture of humility, acknowledging the limits of human power and wisdom. It directs our attention to the ultimate source of power and reliability: God, who sovereignly governs even the wildest parts of creation. We are called to place our trust in the Lord, not in our ability to control every circumstance or creature.

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Cross-References

  • Amos 2:13

    Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed [that is] full of sheaves.

  • Matthew 3:2

    And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

  • Nehemiah 13:15

    ΒΆ In those days saw I in Judah [some] treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all [manner of] burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified [against them] in the day wherein they sold victuals.

  • Haggai 2:19

    Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless [you].

  • Proverbs 3:16

    Length of days [is] in her right hand; [and] in her left hand riches and honour.

  • Matthew 13:30

    Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
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