May 9, 2007

Reading through the Bible this year: http://www.emailbiblestudy.com/Schedule.htm

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

I apologize for being gone so long.  I have been very busy on my "vacation".  The kids have capitalized on the situation and we've been making trips to the beach, San Diego, and to the zoo.  Friday I am going to be taking a rules exam, required to return to work, and still have a ton of papers to fill out.  Our real vacation starts on next Wednesday, we're hoping to finish all the stuff for the railroad before we leave.  We still have a lot of details to work out.  Please keep us in prayer on this.  Shelley is getting botox shots around her head to eliminate the headaches, and we have several other interesting details to work out as well.

Job 39 (NLT)

The Lord’s Challenge Continues

39 ¹ “Do you know when the wild goats give birth?

Have you watched as deer are born in the wild?

²      Do you know how many months they carry their young?

Are you aware of the time of their delivery?

³      They crouch down to give birth to their young

and deliver their offspring.

⁴      Their young grow up in the open fields,

then leave home and never return.

⁵      “Who gives the wild donkey its freedom?

Who untied its ropes?

⁶      I have placed it in the wilderness;

its home is the wasteland.

⁷      It hates the noise of the city

and has no driver to shout at it.

⁸      The mountains are its pastureland,

where it searches for every blade of grass.

⁹      “Will the wild ox consent to being tamed?

Will it spend the night in your stall?

¹⁰      Can you hitch a wild ox to a plow?

Will it plow a field for you?

¹¹      Given its strength, can you trust it?

Can you leave and trust the ox to do your work?

¹²      Can you rely on it to bring home your grain

and deliver it to your threshing floor?

¹³      “The ostrich flaps her wings grandly,

but they are no match for the feathers of the stork.

¹⁴      She lays her eggs on top of the earth,

letting them be warmed in the dust.

¹⁵      She doesn’t worry that a foot might crush them

or a wild animal might destroy them.

¹⁶      She is harsh toward her young,

as if they were not her own.

She doesn’t care if they die.

¹⁷      For God has deprived her of wisdom.

He has given her no understanding.

¹⁸      But whenever she jumps up to run,

she passes the swiftest horse with its rider.

¹⁹      “Have you given the horse its strength

or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?

²⁰      Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust?

Its majestic snorting is terrifying!

²¹      It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength

when it charges out to battle.

²²      It laughs at fear and is unafraid.

It does not run from the sword.

²³      The arrows rattle against it,

and the spear and javelin flash.

²⁴      It paws the ground fiercely

and rushes forward into battle when the ram’s horn blows.

²⁵      It snorts at the sound of the horn.

It senses the battle in the distance.

It quivers at the captain’s commands and the noise of battle.

²⁶      “Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar

and spread its wings toward the south?

²⁷      Is it at your command that the eagle rises

to the heights to make its nest?

²⁸      It lives on the cliffs,

making its home on a distant, rocky crag.

²⁹      From there it hunts its prey,

keeping watch with piercing eyes.

³⁰      Its young gulp down blood.

Where there’s a carcass, there you’ll find it.”^[1]

I considered taking each section of this chapter as I did the previous one.  However, an overview might be better suited for today's study.  Notice the assortment of animals, wild goats, deer, wild donkeys, wild oxen, the ostrich, a warhorse, and the hawk, eagle (vulture?).  All of these animals are created and designed by God with specific characteristics involved.  Most of them are impossible to tame, due to the independent nature of these animals.  Yet God created them to fill a purpose in nature.  He cares for them, provides for them, and each of them has unique qualities that cause them to be extremely interesting to study. 

The question to Job indicates that the diversity of the animals and the unique way that they live is beyond human understanding.  Today we are starting to get a clue on how these creatures function, but we still cannot fully determine the reasons behind their behaviors.  It is also interesting when you consider the various behaviors of these animals and the evolutionist who claims that all creatures evolved.  Take a close look at the species indicated in this book.  Job is said to be the oldest book in the Bible, and there is no indication that the animals he described are any different than the same animals that we have today.  This bears good witness against evolution.  Another thing that bears witness against it is the fact that the behaviors of the animals are the same as the animals today.  They did not change with their environments, and careful study of the characteristics of the ostrich for instance, reveals that the bird is just as stupid today as it was then.  It can still run at speeds of 40 mph. 

God loves diversity.  We visited the zoo yesterday, and saw an incredible assortment of different creatures.  Many varieties of many species were on display.  I visited Ocean Beach a few days ago.  I would venture to say that there was a very wide variety of people represented ranging from the rich to the homeless.  And God loves every one of them the same, perhaps He loves the mistreated ones more than the better off ones.  God loves diversity, and created it in the very fabric of all of His creation.  That is the reason that all of us can stand back and marvel at His nature as well as marvel that He saw us, died on the cross for us, and rose from the dead just so that we could rise with Him and have fellowship with Him.

Enough said.  All comments are welcomed.

Father, as we consider Your word, open our eyes so that we can see and put into practice Your word in our lives.

In Him,

Joe Turner.