Job 41

Job 41:1

3. Job Challenged to Consider Leviathan (Chap. 41)God has not answered Job’s complaints directly. Rather, He has just been saying in effect, “You should be able to trust the wisdom, love, and power of One who is so great, so majestic, so glorious.” 41:1-9 Another awesome amphibious creature is Leviathan, unique in the creation of God. Can Job harness him? God wants to know. “Touch him once and you’ll never try it again; you will never forget the fight” (v. 8 TEV). The term Leviathan in ancient Canaanite literature referred to “a seven-headed sea dragon,” but as Andersen points out, this “does not prove that Leviathan is still a mythological monster in this poem.” In English we use words like Thursday, January, and hell with no belief whatever in the pagan literary origins of the words themselves. Usage must determine meaning, and here God clearly challenges Job to consider a real creature, even if we can’t be positive today which one it was. A popular choice is the Nile crocodile, and several parts of the description do fit that reptile well. While the behemoth is primarily a land creature, Leviathan is primarily aquatic. Man cannot catch him with hook and line. Or domesticate him or make him a family pet. He is not considered a banquet delicacy. His armor-like exterior resists harpoons and spears, and the sight of him discourages meddling with him. 41:10, 11 God interrupts the description to ask a pertinent question: If men stand in such awe of a mere creature, how much more should they fear Him who created the creature, who is eternal, who is obligated to no one, and who is Owner and Creator of all? Kline comments: Here indeed is the point of the passage: Job is to discover from his inability to vanquish even a fellow creature the folly of aspiring to the Creator’s throne. 41:12-34 Back to Leviathan. His build is massive and his mighty power is enormous. His hide is a tough, protective covering. He cannot be bridled. His mouth and teeth are viselike. His skin and scales resemble armor with overlapping plates.

In poetic terms, the Lord describes his sneezes, eyes, mouth, and nostrils as terrifying when he is aroused. Leviathan’s strength is tremendous and his flesh compacted. While he himself is fearless, he fills the stoutest hearts with fear as he thrashes around, and normal weapons bounce off his hide. When he crawls through the mud, he leaves a trail of pointed marks, as if his underside was broken glass. He whips the water into a boiling pot, leaving a white phosphorescent wake. Even making ample allowance for the Oriental use of great poetic exaggeration (hyperbole), it is hard to see how even the largest crocodile could be called “king over all the children of pride.“The descriptions of the wild animals and possibly dinosaurs in these chapters reflect the glory, power, and majesty of God Himself.

They are His creation, and He purposely uses them to illustrate His own splendor and strength. Therefore, it is not surprising that He begins with harmless creatures such as the deer and the raven and gradually increases in size to the greatest of all creatures, the behemoth on land, and the king of all beastsLeviathan of the sea, which was unbelievably awesome in its reputation.