Job 39:13

HOW HAS A STUPID BIRD LIKE THE OSTRICH SURVIVED?

"The wings of the ostrich wave proudly;

But are the pinions and plumage of love?

For she leaveth her eggs on the earth,

And warmeth them in the dust,

And forgetteth that the foot may crush them,

Or that the wild beast may trample them.

She dealeth hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers:

Though her labor be in vain, she is without fear;

Because God hath deprived her of wisdom,

Neither hath he imparted to her understanding.

What time she lifteth up herself on high,

She scorneth the horse and his rider."

God's question for Job in this section is not grammatically stated but implied, as indicated by our title for these verses. Can anyone explain how such a senseless creature could survive throughout the millenniums of human history?

"But are the pinions and plumage, of love" (Job 39:13)? The exact meaning here is obscure; but Rawlinson wrote that, "The question here is, 'Does the ostrich use those beautiful pinions and plumage for the same kindly purpose as other birds, namely, to warm her eggs and further the purpose of hatching them."'[3]