Leviathan (Job 41)

Do the extinct plesiosaur and the whale show God’s great majesty? Let’s look at Job 41.

Whether leviathan was a plesiosaur, whale, crocodile or just a large sea creature, was it too large for a simple fish hook?

Can you draw Leviathan out of the water with a hook, or tie down his tongue with a rope? Can you attach a bridle to his snout, or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he make many supplications to you, or will he beg you for mercy? Will he try to make a deal with you, so that you may take him in servitude forever? (Job 41:1-4 ISV)

Was Leviathan easy to play with, tie up or cut up for food?

Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants? Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears? Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. (Job 41:5-8 KJV)

Is anyone, who is expecting to simply capture Leviathan, lying to themself?

Behold, his expectation is a lie; Will he be laid low even at the sight of it? No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse it; Who then is he that can stand before Me? Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine. (Job 41:9-11 LSB)

Did this creature have great strength, armor and ferocious teeth?

I will not be silent about his limbs, Or his mighty strength, or his graceful frame. Who can strip off his outer covering? Who can pierce his double armor? Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth there is terror. His strong scales are his pride, Locked as with a tight seal. One is so close to another That no air can come between them. They are joined one to another; They clasp each other and cannot be separated. (Job 41:12-17 NASB)

In the light of electric eels, the bombardier beetle and fireflies, is it possibly a literal creature?

Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn. Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds. Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth. (Job 41:18-21 NIV)

Was this sea creature enormous and of brute force bringing sorrow?

Strength dwells in his neck, And sorrow dances before him. The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved. His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone. (Job 41:22-24 NKJV)

Can this creature be stopped by an arrow, a simple spear, club or a slingshot?

When it rises, the mighty are afraid, gripped by terror. No sword can stop it, no spear, dart, or javelin. Iron is nothing but straw to that creature, and bronze is like rotten wood. Arrows cannot make it flee. Stones shot from a sling are like bits of grass. Clubs are like a blade of grass, and it laughs at the swish of javelins. Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass. It plows up the ground as it drags through the mud. (Job 41:25-30 NLT)

If a man cannot conquer Leviathan, how then can Job contend with God?

He makes the deep to boil like a pot. He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. He makes a path shine after him. One would think the deep had white hair. On earth there is not his equal, that is made without fear. He sees everything that is high. He is king over all the sons of pride. (Job 41:31-24 WEB)

Does Jesus eventually conquer a creature very similar to the Leviathan?

So the great dragon was thrown down. The old snake, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was thrown down to the earth; and his angels were thrown down with him. (Rev 12:9 CEB)

Do the extinct plesiosaur and the whale show God’s great majesty? You decide!