Job 40 God, Man, and Beast – Part 1
God spoke in Job Chapters 38-41 to challenge Job and in a way God challenges all people (including every person today), by asking questions which only God can truly answer! 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! Let us always keep this in mind.
In job 40-41, God describes the relationship between Himself, man, and 2 great beasts!
Please open your Bibles to Job 40 and read along with me…..
As we already noted last time, V1-5 of Job 40: Job finally confessed to God that he needed to keep his mouth shut and allow Only God to speak! How often do we speak our minds without filtering it through God first? We must bring every thought captive through Jesus Christ! Even when we pray, sometimes we are just speaking our minds without really thinking of God and we think our prayers will be effective!
We note again in v6-7: God calls Job (and in a way all human beings) to understand who God is in comparison to humans; and as we will note, to 2 large beasts as well!
What can we say about the rest of this chapter?
V8-24: Although created in God’s image, God notes the limitations of human beings:
V8: How can anyone question God when everything started with Him? But yet, people still do, don’t they? Do we?
V9-10: If a person has physical attributes and powers like God, then make themselves beautiful, honored, and majestic!
V11-14: If a person can bury all people proud and wicked, then should they be able to save themselves?
V15-24: Can a person capture and control the mightiest creature (behemoth) God ever created?
What’s a behemoth? Some say a behemoth is a hippopotamus or a crocodile! Let’s take a closer look at what says…
V15: God made the “behemoth” along with people and feeds on grass like an ox.
V16: Hips and stomach muscles are powerful!
V17a: Tail sways like a cedar (i.e. strong)! So, how powerful is the tail of a hippo??
V17b: Strong thighs which cannot be unraveled! Are crocodiles really known for their thighs??
V18: Bones and limbs are strong like metals!
V19: God ranks the behemoth as one of his greatest creatures but God can kill him in an instant!
V20-23: The behemoth is comfortable by the river, no matter how raging, but can also relax amongst the flowers!
Can the behemoth really be a hippo or a crocodile? Let us also note that if we do a research on the word, we will find that “behemoth” is not one creature but plural; behemoth are many types of creatures! If behemoth creatures are described by God as…(see list)… Doesn’t it sound like dinosaurs? We can not deny the existence of dinosaurs on earth; archaelogists have unearthed many dinosaur bones! The question of course is what happened to them?
Here’s another thought of why God questions human beings; without considering God, people today will come up with all sorts of theories why we no longer have dinosaurs. These theories sound really good and we can just depend on them without considering God; that dinosaurs became extinct because they ran out of food, an asteroid hit the earth which caused catastrophic consequences for animals, volcanic eruptions caused much heat on earth (hhhmmmm…remember our discussion last week about climate change); oh, some scientists say that dinosaurs are extinct because a pandemic happened!
Here’s something else interesting which scientists today will tell you; no one knows how dinosaurs evolved!! Some scientists will tell us that birds are dinosaurs; but why do we still have birds today and not non-avian dinosaurs? Scientists should really consider Job 40:15 to know where all creatures came from!
And so again the point of God’s questioning, humans can come up with all sorts of theories and believe in themselves that God does not exist! Is this still true today? Sadly, yes.
How can we respond to a world who do not believe in God based on God’s challenge to Job in chapter 40?
1. People still question God today don’t they? But here’s what’s interesting; People who question God don’t even believe in God! How can you question what you really don’t believe? Now before we chuckle at that…
Can this happen to Christians; Christians believe in the Son of God saving them but yet they still question God? Something is wrong with that picture right? The solution of course is complete trust in God’s Word! And so, speaking of dinosaurs, how would you explain dinosaurs in the Bible? Could dinosaurs fit in Noah’s Ark? Here’s a clue, consider the hippos, crocodiles, other lizards, sharks, whales, and turtles and how long creatures survived before the flood!
2. Are human beings really capable of making themselves beautiful, honored, and majestic? All we have to do is look at human history or the conditions of our societies to answer this question! Romans 3:23…. Only God can save humans! Can Christians today be too focused on making themselves beautiful, honored, and majestic? We must always depend on God for everything perfect for He is the only One perfect! Be careful of self-elevating yourself! Allow God to perfect you!
3. Can a human being control all who are wicked or proud? History tells us some have tried; but where are these supposed “superhumans” are now? They are all dead! But yet, some still try to control people today and people follow them! All humans will fail and they will fail us; Only Jesus Christ can be fully depended on who will never fail us!
4. Can a human being completely control wild beasts like a grizzly bear, lions and tigers, sharks, a velociraptor, or a corona virus? All creatures are created by God and only God can control every creature although man thinks they can! Always trust God and know your limitations as human beings created by God! Romans 3:23 – because of sin, many animals have become wild and dangerous!We must always humble ourselves to God in everything!
Take a moment to quietly ponder bout how we see our selves before God… Pray to humble yourself before him…
Benediction: James 4:13-17; 4:7-10…..
