Handling "dragons"! Series

We are almost done with our study of the Book of Job. We noted at the end of the Book, God challenged Job, and in a way, God challenges all people (including every person today), by asking questions which only God can truly answer! Again, the point of God’s questioning is: No matter how smart, how religious, how ambitious a person is, they can never know everything!

Only God knows everything! God is God and He created everything including us! Let us always keep this in mind. Only God knows everything and it would be wise for us to learn what God says and He does it out of love!

In Job 40-41, God questioned Job regarding the relationship between Himself, man, and 2 great beasts! We studied the “behemoth” last time; today we will look at another great beast, the “leviathan”.

Open your Bibles to Job 41 and read along with me….

Before we note God’s questioning, let us note how we can describe the “leviathan”.

V1-2: a strong creature (can not be pulled in like a fish) and can likely be found in the sea

V3-5: cannot be tamed like a pet or a bird

V6-10: cannot be caught or sold or be awaken by man

V12-13: limbs and skin are strong and powerful

V14: strong jaw with fearsome teeth

V15-17: back has layers of shields which can not be parted

V18-21: smoke and fire can come out of its mouth and nostrils

Let us pause here for a moment and think about this; is it really believable for a creature to actually live here on the earth which can spew out fire? We need to note first of all that God tells us there was a fire breathing creature on earth at one time; so, believing in a fire breathing animal on earth takes faith in God! But…. There are creatures on earth today which can do amazing, unbelievable things, as simple as fireflies, chameleons, or creatures in the deep ocean which glows; the bombardier beetle which can emit chemicals which explode and are toxic to other creatures!! God can create a creature however He likes and we can believe in God!

V22-24: has a powerful neck, skin are like scales tightly joined, firm and immovable, chest is hard as rock

V25: the mighty are terrified when the leviathan rises up

V26-29: swords, spears, darts, javelins, arrows, slingstones, clubs, and lances has no impact on the leviathan

V30-32: undersides are like jagged broken pots and where the leviathan swims causes a boiling wake

V33-34: a creature without fear and king over all that are proud

If someone were to draw a picture of the leviathan with the descriptions stated here in Job 41, what would people call it today? A leviathan was a strong creature which is comfortable in the sea, can not be caught, be awakened or tamed by a human, has strong unpenetrable scales-like skin, powerful jaw with fearsome teeth, has layers of shields on its back, can spew out smoke and fire, a powerful neck and chest, terrifying as it stands, no manmade weapon of iron, metal, wood or stone can hurt him, a wake of boiling water follows where he swims, has no fears and can rule over anything proud!

Except for not having wings, but because the leviathan is fearless and can spew out fire, we would call this beast a dragon! There are many man-made myths about dragons (like the wings), but God tells us there were huge dragon like creatures which roamed the earth.

Now, it seems that Job knew about the leviathan. Let’s imagine we are Job and God questions us regarding a dragon like creature: Can we hook a dragon like a fish? Do you think a dragon will beg us for mercy? Can you make a dragon your pet? (maybe in a cartoon in Disneylalaland!) Can you catch a dragon and sell it? Would you dare touch a dragon’s mouth with large sharp teeth and fire from it can sear you? See if you can hurt a dragon with swords, spears, arrows, and clubs, when a dragon will just laugh at you? Will you stand proud in front of a dragon when it can just kill you?

Job knew the answer and we should too that we can not compete with or master a dragon-like creature!

Take a look again at v10-12 of Job 41….. What is God saying to Job and to every human being?

- God created the leviathan and every creature belongs to God!

- God can speak about the leviathan because God knows everything about it!

- No human can stand up against a leviathan; and so, why stand against God who created it?

Take a quick look at Job’s response in Job 42:1-5….