Job 39
1“Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn? 2Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth? 3They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn. 4Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; they leave and do not return. 5Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness? 6I made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling. 7He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver. 8He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing. 9Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night? 10Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you? 11Can you rely on his great strength? Will you leave your hard work to him? 12Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor? 13The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but cannot match the pinions and feathers of the stork. 14For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand. 15She forgets that a foot may crush them, or a wild animal may trample them. 16She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain. 17For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding. 18Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider. 19Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane? 20Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? 21He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle. 22He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword. 23A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance. 24Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance; he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds. 25At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor. He catches the scent of battle from afar— the shouts of captains and the cry of war. 26Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread his wings toward the south? 27Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high? 28He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag. 29From there he spies out food; his eyes see it from afar. 30His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.”
Life is short. Where are you going?
You just read God’s own words, and one day every one of us will stand before Him. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). This life will be over sooner than you think — do you know where you are going when it is?
The Bible says, “Man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). If you died today, would you be ready?
Are you a good person?
Most of us think we are. But God doesn’t measure us against other people — He measures us by His Law. Look honestly at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3–17):
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make for yourself an idol.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Honor your father and mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness.
- You shall not covet.
Have you ever told a lie — even a small one? Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? Have you ever wanted what belongs to someone else? Jesus said that anyone who looks with lust “has already committed adultery … in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), and the Bible says “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).
If we’re honest, we have all broken God’s Law — and “whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). “There is no one righteous, not even one … there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10–12).
That leaves every one of us guilty before a holy God. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and “whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). This is why our world is full of tragedy — and without Christ, every life ends in the greatest tragedy of all.
But God made a way
“God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus lived the perfect life we never could, and on the cross He took the punishment we deserved: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Three days later He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
It’s like standing guilty in court when the judge steps down and pays your fine himself. Forgiveness is a free gift — you can’t earn it: “It is by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God, not by works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” Jesus — John 10:10
What will you do with Jesus?
“Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15). Turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus alone — “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Don’t put it off — “now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
And when you turn to Him, you won’t be met with a frown — you’ll be met with a celebration. Jesus said, “there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). He is “mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness … He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Like the father who ran to embrace his lost son, He is waiting with open arms — and heaven throws a party when you come home (Luke 15:20–24).
If you died today, where would you spend eternity? Today you can be forgiven, made new, and have real, abundant life — now and forever.
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.