Job 39:11

So we have had the wild goats, and then the wild ass; and now what is called here a "unicorn." I do not know why it is called that… but here it should be the wild ox. We have the wild goat (v. 1), the wild ass (v. 5), and now the wild ox (v. 9). They follow one another in rotation. This is a more powerful animal than either of the others. There is a rising in the scale.

The Hebrew word is reem… There is nothing in the Scripture to suggest that the animal had only one horn; indeed Deuteronomy 33:17 speaks of "the horns of a unicorn"… and it must have been some animal the Israelites knew well. Its main characteristics are great strength and a nature no one can tame: unlike the tame ox, it cannot serve on a farm.

Whatever people think or say, neither Job nor anyone else can pretend to put the wild ox to man's ordinary work. No one can make it submit quietly to his control or care. Its strength might be priceless. But God made everything, and He gave Adam dominion over fish and birds, cattle, every reptile, and all the earth. Even so, He did not bind the wild ox with Job's rope in the furrow, or set it to harrow behind him. He never asked Job to leave the work of the field to this animal, at the beginning or at the end.

He, not man, has made them what they are, and ordered their habits and their dwellings. He has given some animals to carry man's burdens. Others He has left free from any such service, like the wild ass, with its house in the desert and its home on the open plain.

In the material world God proves that Job cannot explain how any of His works began. Now in Job 39 God makes him consider how unable he is to rule the animal world. Whether it is the unicorn, the horse, or the eagle, each and all are superior to Job in strength. How much more should He who created them and gave them their qualities command Job's reverence and fear!

The wild ox is understood to be a large antelope that no one can tame. Could Job make it plod in a furrow, pulling a plough, as oxen were taught to do? Its strength was more than enough for this, but how could man make use of such strength? Could he trust such an animal to bring home grain from the field? Of course the answer to all these questions is no, but this teaches us that there is much variety in God's creation that man cannot even understand, and it shows up man's limitations against God's unlimited resources.

That wild, untamed nature yields to only One. Can Job doubt that He will control all things? He will take even the wild powers of evil and make them the obedient servants of His will. So God will take captive the wild and wandering thoughts of His poor servant. He will bring a rich harvest of blessing out of his bitter experiences.