Job 39:13 - Meaning and Application

The ostrich is a remarkable bird, very large, yet it never flies. Some have called it a winged camel. Here God describes it and points out several things about it.

First, the ostrich shares something with the peacock: beautiful feathers (Job 39:13). Some read the verse as, “Did you give proud wings to the peacock?” Fine feathers often make proud birds. The peacock has long stood as a picture of pride, and when it struts and shows off its feathers, even Solomon in all his glory is not dressed like it. The ostrich also has fair feathers, yet it is a foolish bird. Beauty does not always come with wisdom.

Other birds do not envy the peacock or the ostrich their bright colors, and they do not complain because they lack them. So why should we grumble if others wear finer clothes than we can afford? God gives his gifts in different ways, and the gifts that look most impressive are not always the most valuable. Who would not rather have the nightingale’s song than the peacock’s tail, the eagle’s sharp eye and soaring wing, or the stork’s natural care for its young than the ostrich’s beautiful wings and feathers, which cannot lift it above the ground and do not come with that same care?

Second, the ostrich has something that belongs to it in a special way.

1. It is careless with its young, and it is a good thing that this is only true of the ostrich, because it is a very bad trait. Notice how it leaves its eggs exposed. It does not go off to some hidden place and make a nest, like the sparrows and swallows do (Psalm 84:3). Most birds, and many other creatures, follow a strong instinct to protect and provide for their young. But the ostrich is so strange in nature that it drops its eggs anywhere on the ground and makes no effort to hatch them. If the sand and sun hatch them, fine, that may happen without her help, because she will not warm them herself (Job 39:14). She does not even keep them safe. The foot of a traveler may crush them, and a wild beast may break them (Job 39:15).

But then how are any young ostriches born, and why has the species not died out? We must think that God, by special providence, either uses the heat of the sun and sand to hatch the eggs, as some believe, or that the ostrich does not always behave this way, even though she often does.

Why does she leave her eggs so exposed? First, because she lacks natural affection (Job 39:16). She is hardened against her young. That is unlovely in any creature, and far worse in a human being who claims to be humane. It is especially bad to be hardened against helpless young ones, who cannot protect themselves and have done nothing to deserve harsh treatment. It is worst of all when a creature is hardened against its own young, as if they were not hers, even though they are truly part of her. Her work in laying the eggs is wasted because she does not have the tenderness and concern she should have for them. Those who are least afraid of losing their work are often the ones most likely to lose it.

Second, she lacks wisdom (Job 39:17). God has kept her from wisdom. This shows that the skill other animals have for caring for their young is a gift from God. When that skill is missing, God has withheld it. So, by the folly of the ostrich as well as by the wisdom of the ant, we are meant to learn wisdom.

Just as the ostrich neglects her eggs, many people neglect their own souls. They make no safe place for them and leave them open to Satan and his temptations. That is clear proof that they lack wisdom. Many parents are also careless with their children. Some fail to provide even for their bodies, not caring for their own household, their own flesh and blood, and so they are worse than unbelievers and as bad as the ostrich. But many more are careless about their children’s souls. They do not care about their upbringing and send them into the world untrained and unprotected, forgetting how much corruption is in the world through sinful desire, which will surely crush them. So their labor in raising them comes to nothing. It would be better for the nation if they had never been born.

Too many ministers also act this way with the people under their care. They should stay among them and watch over them, but instead they leave them on the earth and forget how active Satan is in sowing weeds while people sleep. They overlook those they should be overseeing, and in effect they are hardened against them.

2. The ostrich is careful for herself. She leaves her eggs in danger, but if she herself is in danger, no creature tries harder to escape. When danger comes, she lifts up her wings and uses them for speed rather than beauty, and with their help she runs so fast that even a horseman at full speed cannot catch her. She scorns the horse and its rider (Job 39:18). Those who have the least natural affection often show the strongest drive to save themselves. Let the rider not boast about his horse’s speed when such a creature as the ostrich can outrun him.