What is the meaning of Job 39:20? Do you make him • God fires a direct question at Job: “Do you make him…?” (Job 39:20). • The obvious answer is “no,” highlighting how totally dependent all creatures are on their Creator. • Similar challenges appear in Job 38:4 (“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”), Psalm 104:24 (“How many are Your works, O LORD!”), and Isaiah 45:9. • The point: humanity neither designs nor powers the warhorse; only the Lord does. This truth humbles Job—and us—before the wisdom and sovereignty of God (Romans 9:20). leap like a locust • “Leap like a locust” pictures the horse’s explosive spring, an image anyone in the ancient Near East would recognize. – Joel 2:4 draws the same comparison in reverse: invading locusts resemble warhorses. • The horse’s athletic power is not a random accident of nature; it is intentional craftsmanship by God. • Every burst of energy declares, “The LORD is my Maker” (Psalm 148:10). striking terror • The horse “strik[es] terror,” a reminder of battlefield reality. • Proverbs 21:31 notes, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.” The animal’s very presence unnerves enemies, yet ultimate outcomes remain in God’s hands (Psalm 76:6). • Even fear itself is subject to the One who fashioned the creature that provokes it. with his proud snorting • “His proud snorting” describes the thunderous, confident sound a warhorse makes when charging. – Jeremiah 8:16 says, “The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan; at the sound of the neighing… the land quakes.” • God instills that bold spirit; no human can manufacture it. • The verse underscores how God equips His creation with both form and attitude to accomplish His purposes (Job 39:22–25). summary Job 39:20 reveals a Creator who not only brings the horse into existence but also endows it with remarkable agility, courage, and presence. The verse presses Job—and every reader—to acknowledge human limitation and to marvel at divine mastery. Faced with a warhorse that leaps, intimidates, and snorts with pride, we are reminded that the same God who governs such power also governs our lives, calling us to humble trust and wholehearted worship. |
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