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Job 30:29
29 I am a brother ['ach] to dragons [tanniyn], and a companion [rea`] to owls [bath] [ya`anah]. KJV-Interlinear
29 'I have become a brother to jackals, And a companion of ostriches. NASB
The dragon or jackal is a reference to some unidentifiable dog, wolf, or hyena. The owl or ostrich refers to daughters of answering or daughters of the ostrich, and denotes the similarities of the habits of the wild animal.
Both the jackals and the ostrich are wild animals and live courtesy of the land or wilderness. Their life is typically one of misery, and their cry in the night is a mournful cry or screech.
Job uses a couple of animals generally known for their wild, unidentifiable, or not too bright, nature. But bright enough to be able to survive in the wild. Both of which choose to live away from or secluded from the public view of society. But because of their mournful living conditions, they cry out in the night, for lack of any other way to express their sorrowful life.
The life they have, is the life that they have chosen. The living conditions they have are the conditions they have chosen.
When everywhere around them, better opportunities are available, but their own stubbornness, their own refusal to become a part of a normal social structure, is the only thing that keeps them isolated.
And while keeping to their chosen world, they cry out mournfully in the night for all to hear but unable to see, because of the darkness which surrounds them.
And this is yet another expression of life when God is excluded from ones life. The normal setting and environment for a person was designed by God, and exists within the fellowship sphere. Within that sphere, life is secure and prosperous.
Outside of that sphere, is the desert, the jungle, the isolation from society, normal society, where life is never better than miserable.
However, when people choose to live in that way, then they tend to not notice their discomforts, but take them as a normal part of their life.
Jobs condition was lower than a miserable one. He feels as though he has fallen to the level of wild and mournful animals. And, because of the nature of his disease, he is helpless and unable to change his status.
Such is the power of the carnal life. A life without God. However, there is always a way out, but that requires a change of attitude. And though we have modern medical procedures, modern insurance protection, modern financial structures, often times changing ones attitude is the greatest barrier to getting to a better life.
