God’s Power in the Leviathan
“Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? Can you put a reed through his nose, or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you? Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever? Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you leash him for your maidens? Will your companions make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants? Can you fill his skin with harpoons, or his head with fishing spears? Lay your hand on him; remember the battle—never do it again! Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him? No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up.
Who then is able to stand against Me? Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine. “I will not conceal his limbs, his mighty power, or his graceful proportions. Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle? Who can open the doors of his face, with his terrible teeth all round? His rows of scales are his pride, shut up tightly as with a seal; one is so near another that no air can come between them; they are joined one to another, they stick together and cannot be parted. His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go burning lights; sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke goes out of his nostrils, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth. Strength dwells in his neck, and sorrow dances before him. The folds of his flesh are joined together; they are firm on him and cannot be moved. His heart is as hard as stone, even as hard as the lower millstone. When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; because of his crashings they are beside themselves. Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; nor does spear, dart, or javelin. He regards iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make him flee; slingstones become like stubble to him. Darts are regarded as straw; he laughs at the threat of javelins. His undersides are like sharp potsherds; he spreads pointed marks in the mire. He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. He leaves a shining wake behind him; one would think the deep had white hair. On earth there is nothing like him, which is made without fear. He beholds every high thing; he is king over all the children of pride.”
Now God is describing another of his unusual and untamable creatures, the Leviathan. Generally, Leviathan is considered to be a multi-headed sea creature or even a huge whale. But whales rarely “spread pointed marks in the mire.” Again, God is giving an example of one of his creations that is totally uncontrollable by men. Having already described animals with which Job is familiar, God now describes the second creature that will figure prominently in Scripture.
Why does God go into such detail about the Leviathan? God wants Job to realize that there are parts of creation that are completely beyond Job’s comprehension, let alone his ability to control. Job must understand that God’s power is unlimited. Why does God go into all this detail? Again, as with Behemoth, we don’t know what may happen at the end of time. Behemoth and Leviathan are the stuff of nightmares, the ultimate bogeymen. It is quite possible that these creatures once existed and it is equally possible that these creatures may still be lurking somewhere in creation, waiting for the time when evil becomes rampant, at which time they may reappear. “On earth there is nothing like him, which is made without fear. He beholds every high thing; he is king over all the children of pride.” This statement would support the idea of a dragon, rather than a whale. Whales sing to each other and whales that have been caught in fishing nets have returned to thank those who have set them free. Unless Leviathan is a rogue whale, the whale theory won’t work.
APPLICATION: Why does God even mention either of these creatures, let alone go into such detailed descriptions of them? God wants Job-and us- to know that He is in charge of every single part of creation, including the things that terrify us. Heretofore, Job has considered the disasters that have already befallen him as the ultimate in suffering, but God is reminding him that there are even worse things from which God has shielded him.
There are all kinds of stories about people walking along paths in the dark and fog with their faithful dog nudging them at intervals, only to realize that the dog has protected them from stepping off high cliffs and falling into chasms or into the sea. We have no idea how many times God has protected us from destruction.
December 13, 2013, my husband and I were on our way home in a blinding snowstorm. I was driving because my husband had had dental surgery. As we entered a long curve, the Holy Spirit began silently screaming in my mind, “Stay to the right! Stay to the right!” I moved the car as far to the right as I could without dropping the right wheel off the road. Just then there was a loud BANG! An inexperienced driver had attempted to pass a line of cars on that curve and had just hit our left front fender. Had I been in the middle of our lane, we would have been hit head – on. As it was, the impact tore off the left front wheel and sent us careening into a shallow roadside ditch. We narrowly missed striking a rural LP gas pipeline. But the accident could have been far worse. Half a mile down the road, the roadside bank dropped off sharply into a small ravine. Had we gone off the road at that point, we could have been killed.
Romans 8:37-39 tells us, “Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Job never got to meet Jesus that we are aware of. But when God is telling Job about Behemoth and Leviathan, He is also reassuring Job that He is greater than any monster and that He can protect His people from any threat. All the time Job was suffering, God’s love was still there. God does not necessarily deliver us from our suffering, but He goes through it with us.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we praise You, that You are above all creation and that You are in control, even of monsters worse than Behemoth and Leviathan. Thank You for protecting us and preserving our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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