When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
God's questions about the horse end on a battlefield. The animal hears the trumpet, answers it, and catches the scent of war before it arrives. The picture is vivid. The question behind it is sharper: who put that fearlessness there, and what does that say about the God Job has been arguing with?
Why God Describes a Horse at All
God is not giving Job a nature lesson. Its aim is to break a man's confidence in his own judgment about God.
William KellyNow He comes to the horse itself, and to the war horse in particular. "Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder?" What have you to do with it? (vv. 19-25). It is a splendid description indeed, but it is all for the purpose of overwhelming Job with the folly of his pretending to talk about God.
The horse is one item in a long parade. God brings out each creature as evidence in the same case.
William KellyFrom the wonders of the lifeless creation above, beneath and around, Jehovah now turns to the animal kingdom. The lion, the raven, the wild goat or ibex, the wild ass, the wild ox, the ostrich, the horse, the hawk and the eagle appear one after another. They show the man who dares to sit in judgment on God's doings how ignorant and powerless he is.
The Cry Among the Trumpets
The cry "Aha!" is the horse's answer to the trumpet, and one Hebrew word carries it.
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe war-horse answers the trumpet with Ha, Ha: he is ready. Job 39:25. The same Hebrew word is translated AH, AHA.
The noise that ends the verse — the thunder of the captains and the shouting — only drives him forward. What would send another animal running does the opposite here.
Leslie M. GrantHe does not shy away from danger, but rushes right into it. Swordsmen opposing him do not slow him down (v. 22). The spear and the javelin mean nothing to him, but the clash of arms seems only to increase his fierceness and rage (v. 24). Though he is not a wild animal, when engaged in war he seems to have the qualities of the wildest of animals. The sound of the trumpet does not stop him, but spurs him on (vv. 24-25). As long as the noise and shouting of the battle continues, he continues his advance.
Courage That Was Given
Job did not give the horse its strength. God presses that point on him.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinDid Job give the war horse his strength, or clothe his neck with the rustling mane, or make him leap like the locust? The picture of the war horse in battle is sublime too. God shows Job a glimpse of His works, and of the wisdom that created them, as well as His care in keeping them. Such is the God whom Job has spoken against.
Magnificent, and Still No Refuge
Admiring the animal is one thing; leaning on it is another. One writer sets this animal beside God's warning to Israel.
Samuel RidoutThe horse, especially in the days our book speaks of, and in the East, was used chiefly in war. God warned His people not to put their trust in this mighty instrument of war: "The war horse is a false hope for salvation." "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God" (Ps. 20:7). It is He who "has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea" (Ex. 15:1). So infinitely exalted is Jehovah above all His creatures. Let Job remember how small he is, and humble himself before Him who is God over all. His deliverance must come, not from horses, but from the Lord on high.
The Power Christians Lack
Another writer reads the horse as a picture of power and asks why believers show so little of it.
A. J. PollockThe horse is a symbol of power. Read the graphic description of the horse by the Lord in Job 39:19-25... Now the Holy Spirit is given so that the believer may have power. Our Lord told the disciples to wait for the promise of the Father — "until you are clothed with power from on high." Why are Christians so little marked by power?
Summary
- Given — the horse's fearlessness is strength God handed out; Job never gave it, and could not have.
- Given, therefore humbling — God lines the horse up with the lion, ostrich, hawk and eagle. Job judged God's ways, yet he knows and controls nothing.
- Given, and eager — the cry at the trumpet means "he is ready"; spears and shouting only speed him up.
- Given, but not a refuge — God warned Israel not to trust horses; deliverance comes from the Lord, not from the strongest creature He made.
- Given, and still on offer — the God who clothed this neck with thunder now gives His Spirit; the Christian receives power and never produces it.