The ostrich is the largest of the known birds that lives today, because sometimes it reaches more than 2 m. of height and about 140 Kg. of weight. The head is quite small and flattened, with very large eyes; The neck, very flexible, measures approximately 1 m. long and, like the strong legs and head, is devoid of feathers. However, the plumage of the body is abundant, and the long, soft feathers of the wings and tail were much appreciated in ancient times, as they are today.
The lustrous black and white plumage of the male contrasts with the dull gray-brown color of the female. The ostrich is the only bird that has only two toes on each foot, one of them equipped with a huge claw-shaped hoof, which becomes a dangerous weapon when forced to defend itself. However, its height and sharp vision usually allow this enormous bird to spot its enemies from afar and to move away with caution. Although the ostrich feeds mainly on vegetation, it is also carnivorous, and its indiscriminate diet includes snakes, lizards and even small birds.
The ostrich, known in antiquity as the camel bird, can endure long periods without water, and therefore thrives in uninhabited wastelands. Along with jackals and similar creatures, the Bible is used to represent the life of the desert and describe the ruinous desolation of Edom and Babylon. Job, rejected and detested, sitting on ashes and crying pitifully, considered himself a brother to the jackals and a companion to the daughters of the ostrich.
Later, God attracted Job's attention to the ostrich, and what he pointed out illustrates in a surprising way some of the rare characteristics of that bird. The ostrich is incapable of flying, its wings can not support the weight of the bird, and its sternum, flattened, does not have the keel where the muscles that facilitate the flight of the birds rest. The feathers of the ostrich, although beautiful, do not have the small filaments in the form of a hook or barbules that become entangled and provide the feathers of the flying birds with the air resistance that makes the flight possible.
(Job 39:13, 18)
God spoke about the ostrich to a man named Job. He told him that he is so fast that when he spreads his wings, "he laughs at the horse and its rider"
Unlike other birds, which build their large nest firmly on the tops of trees, buildings or tall rocks, the ostrich simply digs a shallow hole in the ground and surrounds it with a small embankment. The female lays eggs there, weighing an average of 1.5 kg each; there may be a considerable number of eggs in the nest, placed by two or three different females. The male incubates the eggs of the nest during the night and the female, during the day, although it has been observed to leave the nest during certain periods of the day when the sun is hot. On these occasions the eggs, although they have a very thick shell, are exposed to being spoiled or stolen by animals or humans.
The claim that the ostrich treats its children abruptly, as if they were not theirs, and that it is said that ostriches are cruel in the treatment of their offspring, has provoked the objections of those who claim that these birds are quite solicitous in caring for their chicks. Although it is true that the Hebrew term (rena · ním) used in Job 39: 13 can apply grammatically to both the male and the female of the ostrich, some lexicographers understand that it refers to females, and so it seems, for in the next verse.
Job 39:14
Because it leaves its eggs to the earth itself, and in the dust keeps them warm.
The ostrich has certain characteristics that are said to astonish scientists, who usually classify it among the 'lower or more primitive' live birds. It has a gall bladder, a characteristic organ of mammals, but it has no other family of birds, which collects uric acid. It also has eyelashes that protect your eyes from the sand that rises with the wind. So although he does not enjoy much intelligence, the strong and swift ostrich gives credence to the wisdom of his Creator.
God uses the example of the ostrich and its characteristics in order to broaden the panorama of many erroneous attitudes that we can have. Everything that parents minister through the growth of their children, can affect them when they leave the child either positively or negatively. Then let's use reason beyond all that is at a glance, let's practice faith and expand the word to everyone who needs to hear it.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
"God made everything beautiful in its time, and put in the human mind the sense of time, even when man can not understand the work that God does from beginning to end"