Job 39:1-4: “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer? Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth, when they crouch to give birth to their offspring, and are delivered of their young? Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open; they go forth, and do not return to them.“
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To think of the Book of Job is to reflect on Job’s long suffering; we note Job’s devotion to God, even in his despair, despite the loss of his property, his ill health, and the deaths of all his sons and daughters. After extended dialogue and counsel from friends, near the end of the Book of Job, the LORD speaks.
In chapter 38 of Job, G-d speaks of laying the foundation of the Earth (38:1) and ordering the stars (38:31), and then, in the beginning of chapter 39, the LORD asks Job, “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?” This man has had all his sons and daughters crushed to death after the roof caved in at a party they were all attending at the eldest brother’s house (1:13-19) and the LORD wants to talk about goats in the mountains?
The Judeo-Christian Bible is a strangely constructed set of sacred texts. While repeatedly (and seemingly vociferously) offering a focus on humans and human concerns, the Bible suddenly (and repeatedly) explodes in vibrant spikes of non-human concern. The Book of Job is such an explosion. (Revisit Episode 1 of Fresh Green Blessings for a reflection on the LORD’s seven-fold covenant with all the Earth at the end of the flood narrative – as another one of these periodic, colorful, non-anthropocentric explosions.)
From the birth of mountain goats and the calving of deer, the LORD will go on in Job chapter 39 to speak of wild asses, oxen, horses, hawks, ostriches, and more. We have all gone through “down times” or difficult periods. Imagine being depressed, anxious, or suffering and seeking remediation, health, and healing. How might we respond if our compassionate friend or our professional counselor responded to our pain with this question: “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?”
The Book of Job is not simply calling us to be wowed by G-d who knows all; The LORD is giving Job (and us) images to see: The mothers crouch to give birth…the young ones become strong…they grow up in the open…they go forth…they do not return. These are the LORD’s words. These wondrous things are happening, right now, far from “the tumult of the city” (39:7). This is the Earth. This is the world. This is the purview of the LORD and we are being invited into envisioning this, as well.
The LORD is inviting Job (and us) into this range of sacred awareness and concern. Right now, as you read (or listen to) these words, there are mountain goats and deer and their young. In this very moment, a young deer is growing up in the open; right now, a young goat may be going off, never to return. With all our heartfelt joys, with all our horrific pains, the calving deer are breathing in and out – right now. It is thousands of years later and the mountain goats will crouch and give birth to their offspring and be delivered of their young.
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We have all suffered. Some people have survived unspeakable horrors. For some, the level of trauma is so great. For others, there has been pain and hurt, but not such a depth of suffering. It is worthy to think of how we can bring health, healing, or even respite from pain to ourselves and others. Countless people have written of “nature as healer.”
Can our Mother Earth and the natural world bring healing to your body, mind, and spirit? What happens to you at those times when you step beyond the boundaries of anthropocentric concern? What happens to your body, mind, and spirit in those moments of “vaster vision” when you are appreciating a tree, an animal, the woods, a mountain? Ask yourself a simple question: Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
(Music: Courtesy of Adrian Von Ziegler, “Circle of Life.” )