“Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied its ropes? – Job 39:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 24, 2015): Job 39

Queen Victoria was born 196 years ago today. This dowdy Queen who went through many ups and downs in popularity during her long reign as Queen is often remembered only for her “Victorian Morality” and for originating the phrase “We are not amused.” (Victoria denied ever saying those words and those who knew her said that she was often amused – at least during some periods of her life.) But reading through a history of Victoria can be a sad exercise. She seemed to be a woman who was kept under wraps; she was molded by everyone around her. Victoria was brought up under the “Kensington System” – a system of rules which kept Victoria away from anyone who her mother found to be undesirable, which included most of her father’s family. It was a system that enforced a constraining morality on the young Victoria, hoping to keep her away from the decadent example being set by other members of the Royal Family. This was quite possibly the beginning of the Victorian morality for which she is known. The rules seem to have been intended to keep her weak, and dependent on mom.  

But the pattern of reining Victoria in seemed to continue even into her reign as Queen. She seemed to be misled about the people around her, and then after her husband, Prince Albert, died, Victoria seemed to rein herself in. It wasn’t until her diaries were released after her death that we began to realize what a remarkable woman she was, and the extent of her influence on public policy during her reign. One has to wonder how different things might have been if Victoria had been simply turned loose on the world.

The wild donkey that God mentions here is likely the onager. The onager is a large donkey, almost more like a horse, although the onager’s legs are much shorter than a horse. But unlike their domestic cousin, the donkey, the onager has been found almost impossible to tame. To live, it must run free.

And so God asks the question – “who was it that set the onager free?” Can you fathom why you can tame a donkey, but an onager must be free? Who was it that untied the onagers ropes so that they can never be tied back up again. They were questions that Job and his friends could not answer. We still can’t explain so much about the differences between the two animals. And with dwindling European habitats for the Onager, the animal has been placed on the wildlife endangered list. There may soon come a day when the only onagers we will be able to see will be in zoos – still untamed and with spirits that drive them to be free.

And maybe that is not a bad description of Queen Victoria. She was an onager who needed to run free. Circumstances conspired against her freedom and tried to keep her safe within a prison meant to protect her – and yet, she still found a way to run free.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 40