As a society we don’t think about God’s power. We think and talk a lot about God, but we don’t think and talk a lot about God’s power. Job also forgot about God’s power, and that led Job to disrespect God. Job 40-41 tells us God scolded Job, and that is a good reminder to us that God has power, and it is unwise for us to forget that God has power.
At one time Job was wealthy, healthy, and respected. Then Yahweh allowed Satan to test Job by destroying all his possessions, all his children, and his health. At first Job did not sin with his lips despite his calamity and misfortune. However, over time Job began to complain about Yahweh. Job accused Yahweh of wronging him. He demanded an audience with Yahweh. Job demanded that Yahweh explain Himself. Yahweh allowed Job to go on like this for a long time, but Yahweh finally answered Job.
Job 40:6 – 42:6
Job 40:6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm and said,
Who does Job think he is?
Job 40:7 “Now gird up your[Job] loins like a man;
I[Yahweh] will ask you, and you instruct Me.
Job 40:8 “Will you[Job] really annul My[Yahweh] judgment?
Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?
Job 40:9 “Or do you[Job] have an arm like God,
And can you thunder with a voice like His?
Job can’t do what Yahweh can do.
Verses 10-13 is a list of things that Yahweh can do that Job can’t do. Yahweh challenged Job to do these things and prove that Job had the right to question Yahweh.
Job 40:10 “Adorn yourself[Job] with eminence and dignity,
And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.
Job 40:11 “Pour out the overflowings of your[Job] anger,
And look on everyone who is proud, and make him low.
Job 40:12 “Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him,
And tread down the wicked where they stand.
Job 40:13 “Hide them[proud] in the dust together;
Bind them in the hidden place.
Job 40:14 “Then I[Yahweh] will also confess to you[Job],
That your own right hand can save you.
The behemoth has power.
In verse 15 Yahweh reminded Job that Yahweh created the behemoth as well as Job. Yahweh’s point was that Job is a created being and that Job’s creator made a creature that is much more powerful than Job.
Job 40:15 “Behold now, Behemoth, which I[Yahweh] made as well as you[Job];
He eats grass like an ox.
Job 40:16 “Behold now, his[behemoth] strength in his loins
And his power in the muscles of his belly.
Job 40:17 “He[behemoth] bends his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
Job 40:18 “His[behemoth] bones are tubes of bronze;
His limbs are like bars of iron.
Job 40:19 “He[behemoth] is the first of the ways of God;
Let his maker bring near his sword.
The behemoth was the first of the ways of God because Yahweh created sea creatures before He created land animals. “Let his maker bring near his sword” means that only the creator of the behemoth has the power to kill the behemoth.
The behemoth is unafraid.
Job 40:20 “Surely the mountains bring him[behemoth] food,
And all the beasts of the field play there.
Job 40:21 “Under the lotus plants he[behemoth] lies down,
In the covert of the reeds and the marsh.
Job 40:22 “The lotus plants cover him[behemoth] with shade;
The willows of the brook surround him.
Job 40:23 “If a river rages, he[behemoth] is not alarmed;
He is confident, though the Jordan rushes to his mouth.
No one can catch the behemoth.
Job 40:24 “Can anyone capture him[behemoth] when he is on watch,
With barbs can anyone pierce his nose?
Job 41:1 “Can you[Job] draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down his tongue with a cord?
Job 41:2 “Can you[Job] put a rope in his nose
Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Men cannot control the leviathan.
Job 41:3 “Will he[Leviathan] make many supplications to you[Job],
Or will he speak to you soft words?
Job 41:4 “Will he[Leviathan] make a covenant with you[Job]?
Will you take him for a servant forever?
Job 41:5 “Will you[Job] play with him[Leviathan] as with a bird,
Or will you bind him for your maidens?
Job 41:6 “Will the traders bargain over him[Leviathan]?
Will they divide him among the merchants?
Job 41:7 “Can you[Job] fill his[Leviathan’s] skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
Job 41:8 “Lay your[Job’s] hand on him[Leviathan];
Remember the battle; you will not do it again!
In verse 8 Yahweh challenged Job to fight leviathan, His point being that it would end so badly for Job that Job would never try it again.
If man can’t control leviathan, then man can’t control Yahweh.
Verses 9-11 are the main point of this passage. No one dares mess with leviathan lest he gets hurt; likewise no one should mess with Yahweh. No man can prevail over leviathan and since Yahweh created leviathan, then man certainly cannot prevail over Yahweh. In other words, Yahweh has the power. Furthermore, Yahweh already owns everything under heaven, so man cannot give Yahweh anything.
Job 41:9 “Behold, your[Job’s] expectation is false;
Will you be laid low even at the sight of him[Leviathan]?
Job 41:10 “No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him[Leviathan];
Who then is he that can stand before Me[Yahweh]?
Job 41:11 “Who has given to Me[Yahweh] that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
The leviathan is impenetrable.
Job 41:12 “I[Yahweh] will not keep silence concerning his[Leviathan] limbs,
Or his mighty strength, or his orderly frame.
Job 41:13 “Who can strip off his[Leviathan’s] outer armor?
Who can come within his double mail?
Job 41:14 “Who can open the doors of his[Leviathan’s] face?
Around his teeth there is terror.
Job 41:15 “His[Leviathan’s] strong scales are his pride,
Shut up as with a tight seal.
Job 41:16 “One[scale] is so near to another
That no air can come between them.
Job 41:17 “They[Leviathan’s scales] are joined one to another;
They clasp each other and cannot be separated.
The leviathan breathes fire.
I’m not sure whether to take verses 18-21 literally or figuratively. These verses describe a creature that can breath fire. There is no reason to not take them literally. Yahweh is certainly capable of creating a creature that breathes fire, and just because we never saw one doesn’t mean one never existed.
Job 41:18 “His[Leviathan’s] sneezes flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
Job 41:19 “Out of his[Leviathan’s] mouth go burning torches;
Sparks of fire leap forth.
Job 41:20 “Out of his[Leviathan’s] nostrils smoke goes forth
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
Job 41:21 “His[Leviathan’s] breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes forth from his mouth.
The leviathan is strong.
Job 41:22 “In his[Leviathan’s] neck lodges strength,
And dismay leaps before him.
Job 41:23 “The folds of his[Leviathan’s] flesh are joined together,
Firm on him and immovable.
Job 41:24 “His[Leviathan’s] heart is as hard as a stone,
Even as hard as a lower millstone.
Weapons cannot harm leviathan.
Job 41:25 “When he[Leviathan] raises himself up, the mighty fear;
Because of the crashing they are bewildered.
Job 41:26 “The sword that reaches him[Leviathan] cannot avail,
Nor the spear, the dart or the javelin.
Job 41:27 “He[Leviathan] regards iron as straw,
Bronze as rotten wood.
Job 41:28 “The arrow cannot make him[Leviathan] flee;
Slingstones are turned into stubble for him.
Job 41:29 “Clubs are regarded as stubble;
He[Leviathan] laughs at the rattling of the javelin.
The leviathan is invincible.
Job 41:30 “His[Leviathan’s] underparts are like sharp potsherds;
He spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mire.
Job 41:31 “He[Leviathan] makes the depths boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
Job 41:32 “Behind him[Leviathan] he makes a wake to shine;
One would think the deep to be gray-haired.
Job 41:33 “Nothing on earth is like him[Leviathan],
One made without fear.
Job 41:34 “He[Leviathan] looks on everything that is high;
He is king over all the sons of pride.”
Job repents.
Yahweh’s point in all this was to demonstrate that Job is nothing compared to Yahweh. He got the point.
Job 42:1 Then Job answered the LORD and said,
Job 42:2 “I[Job] know that You[Yahweh] can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
Job 42:3 ‘Who is this[Job] that hides counsel without knowledge?’
“Therefore I[Job] have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
Job 42:4 ‘Hear, now, and I[Job] will speak;
I will ask You[Yahweh], and You instruct me.’
Job 42:5 “I[Job] have heard of You[Yahweh] by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
Job 42:6 Therefore I[Job] retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.”
Key Verse
Job 41:10 “No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him[Leviathan];
Who then is he that can stand before Me[Yahweh]?
Fear of Yahweh
Prov. 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
Prov. 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
Prov. 15:33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom,
What happens when men see God?
Job 42:5 “I[Job] have heard of You[Yahweh] by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
Job 42:6 Therefore I[Job] retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.”
Is. 6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I[Isaiah] saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.
Is. 6:5 Then I[Isaiah] said,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
Rev. 1:17 When I[John] saw Him[God], I fell at His feet like a dead man.
Conclusion
Storms and wild animals have enough power to harm us; therefore, we don’t mess with storms and wild animals. We yield to storms and wild animals. Yahweh created storms and wild animals; therefore, Yahweh has more power than storms and wild animals. If we yield to storms and wild animals, then we should also yield to Yahweh. Job was not yielding to Yahweh, and Job 40-41 illustrates the consequences of not yielding to Yahweh. The lesson for us is to yield to Yahweh lest Yahweh scold us the way He scolded Job.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.”