God continues 'She forgets that a foot may crush them, or that a wild animal may trample them.' This verse describes a danger to the ostrich's eggs: they may be crushed or trampled. The ostrich's seeming carelessness about this danger (leaving eggs in dust where they can be damaged) suggests a creature whose reproductive strategy does not seem optimal. The mention of possible crushing and trampling introduces suffering or loss into the discussion of animal life. The ostrich's eggs may be destroyed; the ostrich's strategy seems not to prevent this. The verse implies that divine creation includes vulnerability to harm. God has created the ostrich with a reproductive strategy that leaves eggs vulnerable to destruction. The verse subtly suggests that suffering and loss are woven into the fabric of creation, not random intrusions upon an otherwise perfect cosmos.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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