Job 38:41Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And his fledglings signify the holy preachers deriving their calling from him; they believe not through their own strength, but through the might of their Redeemer. It is rightly stated that when his fledglings cry out to God, they recognize their own inability. Although they yearn to strengthen souls through their good intentions, they hope for these actions to be shaped by Him Who creates everything within. Their genuine faith allows them to grasp the truth that “therefore he that planteth is nothing, but God that bringeth all things back,” 1 Cor. 3:7.

However, what is meant by the wandering nature of these fledglings, lacking sustenance, signifies the deep desires of zealous preachers? While they eagerly anticipate the arrival of individuals into the Church’s embrace, whom they wish to warm with fervent care, they express their heartfelt desires to gather them from various places. This mental restlessness reflects a kind of wandering; they traverse different locations, changing their resolve while seeking to unite souls. The movements of the raven's young reflect the Gentiles, instructed by the very teacher of the Gentiles. His burning love compels him to roam from place to place; he longs to move on because the love that fills him drives him to action. While separated from the Romans, he pens, “I think of you continually, always asking in my prayers that the will of God may some day favour me to come to you, for I long greatly to see you,” Rom. 1:9-11. Remaining in Ephesus, he informs the Corinthians, “Behold, for the third time, I am ready to go to you,” 2 Cor. 12:14. Again, during a moment of hesitance in Ephesus, he expresses to the Galatians, “I wish I were now with you and had changed my voice,” Gal. 4:20. While imprisoned in Rome and unable to visit the Philippians, he vows to send a disciple, saying, “But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also, when I learn of your circumstances, may be comforted in spirit,” Phil. 2:19. Despite being constrained in Ephesus, he writes to the Colossians, “Though I am absent in body, I am with you in the Spirit,” Col. 2:5. Observe how he wanders; although physically limited, he is spiritually present, cherishing those present, conveying messages to those absent, and sharing his actions with those in his presence while revealing his desires to those who hear him. This interpretation suggests he is truly connected to those he is with and apart from those he is not.

A deeper understanding of his explorations comes through his words to the Corinthians, where he states, “I will come to you when I have passed through Macedonia, for I will pass through Macedonia; but I will perhaps remain with you even in winter,” 1 Cor. 16:5-6. Let us consider the nature of this wandering. Take note that in one location he lingers, in another, he plans to depart, and in yet another, he implies he might go out of his way. Why such eagerness to visit various places, unless there is a unifying love at work? The love that connects all that has been separated fills Paul's heart, allowing it to reside among many. He draws all nearer to God as he radiates his heart's intentions more broadly. Paul yearns to share everything in his teachings, embracing all with his love; he desires both to live for all while remaining in the flesh and to benefit all through the sacrifices of faith, beyond the flesh. Thus, let the young ravens meander, meaning let the Gentile sons emulate their master, shaking off mental sloth; when they find no soul, their sustenance, they should know no respite. They should strive for continual advancement; by serving others, they too should be hungry for their own nourishment. However, while preaching fervently, they will struggle to provide the Gentile world with the sustenance of faith, leading to the rightful inquiry, Who shall prepare food for the raven, when his chicks cry out to God, wandering because they have no meat? Job 38:41.

Additionally, the term ‘raven’ may symbolize the Jews, darkened by disbelief. It is noted that their children cry out to God, and that it is God who prepares food for this raven, certainly because the holy Apostles, rooted in the lineage of Israel, intercede for their people, nurturing them with spiritual insight, akin to how the raven's young are fed by those of their flesh. As the young cry out, the raven is fed; for while the Apostles advocate for the formerly unbelieving populace, leading them toward the knowledge of faith, the people then proclaim with the voices of the nourished young. In this verse, we must closely examine what has been articulated regarding the nourishment prepared for the raven, both when its young cry out and when they wander. Sustenance is provided for the raven while its chicks cry out, paralleling how the Apostles were preaching in Judea, which, receiving the Word of God, was enriched with spiritual wisdom—first with three, then five thousand believers.

However, due to the multitude of the resistant, the messengers faced violence, leading to a scattering reminiscent of the young ravens' plight. When they turned to their kin, expressing, “We ought to speak the word of God to you first, but since you reject it and make yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will turn to the Gentiles,” Acts 13:46, the Apostles knew that with the Gentiles' faith, Judea would also come to believe. As it is written, “While all the Gentiles shall enter in, so shall all Israel be saved,” Rom. 11:25-26. Thus, the holy Apostles were particularly diligent, initially preaching to those who would listen, and later to those who resisted the example set by the Gentile conversions, with the hungry chicks seeking sustenance for that raven first by calling out and then by wandering. The raven discovers food wherever the young roam; as the Jews observed the Gentiles turning to God through the preachers’ work, they were shamed into recognizing their own disbelief's folly, prompting them to comprehend the Scriptures they had long overlooked. Once the young’s wanderings concluded, the Jews opened their hearts to taste the sacred Word, and by the completion of the Apostles' mission across the world, they finally grasped the truths from which they had long withheld due to their unbelief. Since it is only by the benevolent Divine Power that all these occurrences are realized, it has been aptly declared, Who shall prepare food for the raven, when his chicks cry out to God, wandering about because they have no meat? Now one understands that apart from Me, Who bears the burden of the faithless when their offspring plead with them and nourishes them with the preaching of the Word, no one can convert them by the end of their life’s wanderings.

Moral Interpretation: There exists an additional moral interpretation of the raven's image. When the chicks are newly hatched and feeble, it is essential to provide them with abundant nourishment until they develop their black plumage; they must experience a longing for food until their form mirrors the dark hue of their wings. They flit back and forth in the nest, seeking sustenance with open beaks. However, as they begin to darken, their eagerness for food increases, yet their provision decreases. Every educated preacher who raises his voice while reflecting on his own sins, recognizing his own weakness as a sort of shadowy darkness, surely is akin to a raven. The disciples arise in faith, but they might be unaware of how to face their own weaknesses; they may neglect their memories of past sins, thus failing to exhibit the humility that counters worldly pride. Yet, they open their mouths to receive nourishment as they aspire to learn deeper mysteries. But their mentor may provide them with less substantial nourishment in response to their overwhelming lamentation for past failings. He genuinely mourns for them; he cautions them that they must first become aware of their shortcomings from the brightness of life, through acts of contrition, before they can receive appropriate nourishment from profound teachings.

As a raven prioritizes looking after its chicks with open beaks, it first checks that their bodies are adorned with the dark plumage of their wings. Likewise, a discerning teacher may withhold deeper mysteries from those he believes lack readiness to engage with the world. Consequently, the less outwardly darkened they are due to their attachment to worldly life, the less they are nourished by the divine Word, and the more they neglect bodily glory, the more they starve themselves of spiritual sustenance.

If, however, they confess their past lives with groans and lamentations akin to darkened plumage, their teacher promptly ascends in contemplation to deliver nourishment from above, like a raven considering sustenance for its chicks; and he brings forth the wisdom they long for. With the wisdom he initially received, he imparts spiritual nourishment to his eager disciples. He is more inclined to provide this nourishment from above, in direct correlation to their weeping repentance, as they blacken themselves through a rejection of worldly brightness.

As the young rave in darkened plumes, they also signify their readiness to soar; the more the disciples perceive themselves as lowly and humble, the more they foster a hope of rising to greater heights. The teacher attentively feeds those whom he discerns are able to assist others. Thus, Paul advises Timothy to nurture the newly fledged with greater attention, stating, “All that thou hast heard of me by many testimonies, thou shalt communicate to faithful men, who would be able also to teach others,” 2 Tim. 2:2. While the right to teach belongs solely to the preacher, the more comprehensive gift of the ministry is bestowed upon him from above. As long as he shares in compassion for his suffering disciples and wisely discerns the right moment for instruction, he benefits from the great insights granted to him, extending beyond his own understanding to those he diligently endeavors to assist. It is rightly stated, Who shall prepare food for the raven when his chicks cry out to God, wandering about, because they have no meat? For as the young ones cry out for nourishment, food is indeed prepared for the raven; as the attentive hearers yearn for the Word of God, profound gifts of insight are bestowed upon their teachers to satisfy their spiritual hunger.

God directed His attention towards Job, who had presumed to fathom these enigmas, and, drawing him in, presented him with inquiries grounded in nature, intending to illustrate that if one cannot decipher simple phenomena of the natural world, how much more impossible it is to grasp the moral questions that lie beyond. The first inquiry posed by the Lord regarded the origins and foundations of the earth, seemingly to highlight the limitations of human understanding and the vast unknowns of the surrounding world, given Job's inability to resolve even this fundamental matter. Meanwhile, God created the earth as effortlessly as a craftsman constructs a simple building—in His hands, the act of creation was so magnificent and splendid that the heavenly beings rejoiced with great acclaim.

The Creator’s power and wisdom are equally evident in the confinement of the deep waters and in the distinction between light and darkness. Yet, these depths and boundaries of light and darkness remain within the realm of human observation. Common meteorological phenomena—such as snow, hail, rain, and frost—are beyond human dominion, and the movements of celestial bodies and all atmospheric changes are likewise not controllable by humanity. Transitioning to the astonishing wonders of the natural world, which are invisibly close to human existence, the Lord reveals to Job that it is solely due to His paternal concern that predators and birds are able to find sustenance.