Daily Scripture Reading Job 40:12 - 41:24
The conventional wisdom in society today is that all religions are the same. Many people reject the exclusive claims of Christianity and the truth that Jesus is the only way to heaven.
After Job and his friends had dialogued about Job’s situation, Yahweh rendered his opinion. Yahweh emphatically stated that He is unique and completely outside the realm of human endeavor. In other words, He proclaimed that He, the God of Christianity, is the Creator and the God of the universe.
We are currently reading the 22nd section of the book of Job. Yahweh challenged Job to do the things Yahweh does.
Job 40:12 Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him,
And tread down the wicked in their place.
Yahweh’s point was He, Yahweh can do this, but Job cannot.
Job 40:13 Hide them in the dust together;
Bind their faces in the hidden place.
Job 40:14 Then I will also praise you,
That your own right hand can save you.
Notice the word “then”. Yahweh said if Job could do the things listed in verses 12 and 13, then Yahweh would praise Job. The implied meaning was Job cannot do what Yahweh can do; therefore, Job is lower than God.
Job 40:15 ¶ “Behold now, Behemoth, which I made along with you;
It eats grass like an ox.
Notice the word “Behemoth”. The following words describe an animal called Behemoth which Job apparently was familiar with, or at least knew about.
Job 40:16 Behold now, its power in its loins
And its vigor in the muscles of its belly.
Job 40:17 It hangs its tail like a cedar;
The sinews of its thighs are knit together.
Job 40:18 Its bones are tubes of bronze;
Its limbs are like bars of iron.
The Behemoth was very powerful.
Job 40:19 ¶ “It is the first of the ways of God;
Let its Maker bring near its sword.
Job 40:20 Surely the mountains bring it food,
And all the beasts of the field play there.
Job 40:21 Under the lotus plants it lies down,
In the hidden place of the reeds and the marsh.
Job 40:22 The lotus plants cover it with shade;
The willows of the brook surround it.
Job 40:23 If a river oppresses, it is not alarmed;
It is secure, though the Jordan bursts forth to its mouth.
Job 40:24 Can anyone capture it before its eyes,
With snares can anyone pierce its nose?
Yahweh’s point was that the Behemoth is so powerful, humans cannot capture it.
Job 41:1 ¶ “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down its tongue with a cord?
Take note of the word “Leviathan”. This was a sea animal which was known to Job.
Job 41:2 Can you put a rope in its nose
Or pierce its jaw with a hook?
Job 41:3 Will it make many supplications to you,
Or will he speak to you soft words?
Job 41:4 Will it cut a covenant with you?
Will you take it for a slave forever?
Job 41:5 Will you play with it as with a bird,
Or will you bind it for your young women?
Job 41:6 Will the traders bargain over it?
Will they divide it among the merchants?
Job 41:7 Can you fill its skin with harpoons,
Or its head with fishing spears?
Job 41:8 Place your hand on it;
Remember the battle; you will not do that again!
If any human dared to fight the Leviathan, they would lose and never try it again.
Job 41:9 Behold, his expectation is a lie;
Will he be laid low even at the sight of it?
Job 41:10 No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse it;
Who then is he that can stand before Me?
The art of Hebrew poetry is repetition; therefore, many times the meaning and purpose of a passage can be summarized in one or two statements. Verse ten captures Yahweh’s meaning in this whole passage. Humans cannot overpower the behemoth and leviathan which were created by Yahweh; therefore, humans cannot overpower Yahweh, either. Humans are powerless to stop huge animals and they are powerless to stop Yahweh.
Job 41:11 Who has given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
The answer to Yahweh’s question is no one.
Within the human race, there is a sense of equality because each person contributes to society; thus, each person can demand something in return. A farmer needs medical care and a doctor needs food. The farmer produces and sells food for money and uses that to pay for a doctor visit. The doctor uses some of the money he earns from patients to buy the food he needs. That is true across all professions. People need each other to survive.
Yahweh does not participate in that system. He doesn’t need anything from anyone. He can survive without humans.
Furthermore, while some men are physically stronger than others, no single human is so powerful he can overpower all mankind. Yahweh, on the other hand, can overpower all men.
Throughout history, men have worshipped man-made idols. Those idols are mere wood and stone, and without the creative energies of humans, those idols would not exist. That is not true of Yahweh, the Creator of the Universe, the God of Christianity, the God of the Bible, the One and Only true God. Yahweh existed before humans. Man did not create Yahweh. Yahweh created man.
Many people claim all religions are the same, but that is not true. True Christianity is different from all other religions because we do not worship a man-made idol. Idols can be created, carried around, and destroyed. Christians worship a Living Being Who created the universe and everything in it, and Who cannot be contained or carried.
Job 41:12 ¶ “I will not keep silence concerning its limbs,
Or its mighty strength or its graceful frame.
The pronoun “its” refers to the Leviathan.
Job 41:13 Who can strip off its outer armor?
Who can come with its doubled bridle?
Job 41:14 Who can open the doors of its face?
Around its teeth there is dreadful terror.
Job 41:15 Its strong scales are its pride,
Shut up as with a tight seal.
Job 41:16 One is so near to another
That no air can come between them.
Job 41:17 They cling one to another;
They are interlocked and cannot be separated.
Job 41:18 Its sneezes flash forth light,
And its eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
Job 41:19 Out of its mouth go burning torches;
Sparks of fire leap forth.
Job 41:20 Out of its nostrils smoke goes forth
As from a boiling pot and burning reeds.
Job 41:21 Its breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes forth from its mouth.
Job 41:22 In its neck lodges strength,
And dismay leaps before it.
Job 41:23 The folds of its flesh cling together,
Hardened upon it and is not shaken.
Job 41:24 Its heart is as hard as a stone,
Even as hard as a lower millstone.
Many people claim all religions are the same. However, most religions involve the worship of man-made idols and/or adherence to man-made rules. When Yahweh spoke to Job, He made a clear declaration that He is above humanity. Yahweh created us as well as all the animals on the earth, including the animals humans are not able to corral and control. If humans cannot control God’s creation, then we cannot control Him, contrary to the ability of humans to create and carry the man-made idols that many people worship.
How strongly do you disagree with the claim that all religions are the same?
How well are you able to state the case that Christianity is unique and Jesus is the only way to Heaven?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”