Job 41 LEVIATHAN! In the lengthy and very graphic description of creation, the animal kingdom and then the two untamable creatures - the Lord uses the same kind of language as Job and his friends. Whether men involved in the discourse spoke in a poetical form because it was cultural at that time and place as the actual way of expression, or whether it was to impress each other, the Holy Spirit guided their words for our benefit. In the words of the Lord to Job, He uses the same poetic way of speaking, but even the written words surpass any of the words of the men in description, verbal impressions and force. The words used to describe leviathan make the reader to see in the mind's eye, that which goes way beyond our normal imagination.
In the Lord's description of behemoth in the chapter before, we are made to look at a huge land creature that could never be tamed or used by men for anything, let alone a useful purpose. Men have made huge machines that can move great tonnage of material, and sometimes the word "behemoth" is used to describe them. The difference obviously is machines have no life. The behemoth the Lord describes was a great land creature with a life of its own, and could only be controlled by God because he was the One who created it.
In the description of leviathan, the Lord first speaks not only of its inability to be controlled by humans, but of the ferocity of its nature. It was one mean animal! It resisted any attempt to be tamed. This sea creature was a monster that was not able to be caught in any way, nor to be killed by the weapons humans used. It had no pacific nature, and if a person put a hand on it, they would never do it again. The passage reads like someone had tried to control it and the battle that resulted was of such a nature that no one else should ever try.
A number of weapons are mentioned that were used by people to kill or capture fish, whales and other sea creatures. Hooks, ropes, harpoons and long handled spears that have been used to catch other sea creatures were useless against leviathan. Its size, ferocity and the physiology of the animal made it impervious to capture. After the descriptions of nature and animals, the Lord makes His point to Job.
There is no one who is able to overcome the power and nature of leviathan except the One who created the creature. That Person was the One who was talking to Job. That was the same Person of whom Job had been making demands. he had been complaining, seeking to argue with and he came very close to sinning against in his anger. The audacity of Job was confronted directly, dramatically and unforgettably by the One who had created and controlled leviathan - and Job.
How small and insignificant we feel in just reading the words the Lord spoke to Job. How terrifying and impacting they must have been when they were spoken to him personally by our Lord Himself. The Lord made plain to Job that He is not under obligation to anyone. What He speaks is truth. What is done is by the omnipotence and omniscience of Him who is omnipresent. Job's ignorance showed because he was absent when the Lord created all things by the word of His power. Job could not explain the forces of nature. He could not overrule what God does nor control the forces of nature. Frail mortal men are entirely dependent on God for everything whether we like to admit it or not.
Our explanations of things we observe come far short of the reality that is beyond the scope of human intellect. How much more do the things which we cannot see defy our "scientific investigations" into what they really are. Our limitations of time, space and matter keep us from going to further dimensions of existence that are known to God, but not revealed to us. In order to explain the unexplainable, we humans fall into the trap of speculation. If we are not careful, we will do as so many other people do, make our "vain imaginations" into "scientific proofs." all over this world one man's speculations have become the basis of evolution and atheism. Evolution is taught to our children as truth and is supported by the governments of many nations. Darwin admitted his theory was only a speculative attempt to verbalize what he considered observable "evidence."
Following the point of this whole message to Job when the Lord said, "Who hath preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine," the Lord gives a physical description of leviathan. From its jaws to its tail, the Lord describes its invulnerability to man's attempt to defeat or control it. The power found in creation is an evidence of the supreme power found in the Lord alone. "All power in heaven and in earth" is His. Every form of power and supremacy to man finds its source in God. Skeptics and atheists try to avoid the unexplainable by saying "There is not God," or as written in the Psalms, "No God for me." To deny what we cannot explain is foolish, arrogant, unscientific, audacious and just plain dumb. But it is so surprising that seemingly intelligent people simply think, "I am God," or "God is who I say He is."
In these chapters where God speaks, we learn how important it is for us to submit to the authority of God, even when we cannot explain very much of what is around us, then to experience His wrath because of unbelief. Those who do not believe on Him, "The wrath of God abideth on him." When we have the truths of God who is all-powerful, the Creator and Sustainer of everything, impressed on our minds and hearts, then we will approach Him in a way that is appropriate in our own spirit. "They that worship the Father, must worship Him in spirit and in truth."
We submit to truth revealed in the Bible and then act upon the truth we have learned. When we do that, we can experience the reality of life that is "life indeed," "abundant life." That kind of life goes way beyond the limits of "scientific evidence" to the life of faith that pleases God. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were not made of things which do appear." The works of God in the creation of this one creature are such an evidence of power, prowess and the impact this gives, are a reminder that the creature is subject to the Creator, not the other way around.
We cannot comprehend God or His ways, nor can we control that which He has created without His permission. He knows that which we need and has allowed for that. There are many things we do not know now, nor do we need to know. There are creatures that can be used by men because God has allowed that to be so. It is enough when we have learned what God wants for us, whether it be good or bad, that we accept the fact He has that right. He can do what He wants and we do not have the inherent right to know why. If He chooses to let us know His reasons in some way, so be it. If He does not so choose, we rest in the knowledge of His wisdom and sovereignty, by faith. We simply have to put out unreserved faith in Him who created and maintains us by His compassionate benevolence and grace.