Job 39:1-2 "Do you know the month when mountain goats give birth? Have you ever watched a doe bear her fawn? Do you know how many months she is pregnant? Do you know the season of her delivery, when she crouches down and drops her offspring? (The Message)
In Chapters 38 & 39 Job is confronted by God and used creation to show Job his sovereignty, his power and his loving care. He asked questions like - 'who do you think did this? - how do the animals know when to? - are you the one who? - was it through your know how? - did you create him?
I chose verses 1-2 in chapter 39 because it made me think of Nicole, one of the kids in the Bow Clovers 4-H club. Nicole and her family raised goats and showed them every year at the Hopkinton State Fair. Their goats were Toggenburgs (Swiss dairy goats) and are credited as being the oldest known dairy goat breed. These goats are friendly, loving (as a goat can be) and
enjoy people.
Nicole and my daughter, Laura, were great friends and spent a lot of time together. Every March/April when the goats were ready to deliver, Laura and Nicole would spend all of their free time at the barn, never knowing the exact time these kids would come. The baby monitor was on in the house and everybody had one ear on that monitor. No one slept much waiting for the sounds of birth and when it came, everyone, including Laura, would go down to the barn to watch and assist if needed. Even though the family knew which time of year these kids were to be born, only God knew the exact moment.
Job was hurting, he was suffering and didn't see things clearly. He felt alone and had trouble remembering that God was in control of every part of his life and so by God asking Job all those questions, it got him to stop and say "Yes, God is in charge and then he decided he talked too much and was ready to listen. He had to admit that God could do anything and everything, that nothing and no one could upset God's plans. (The Message)
It's the same for us. God is in charge of life. He's in charge of when a goat kid is born, of when a storm comes, of when leaves change - everything.
Nancy
