Job 41:25–34

Going back in part to the style of the first section, Jehovah dwells on how this beast cannot be wounded. Strong men are afraid of him. Terror and wounds make their hand tremble, so it misses its aim (verse 25, literally). Even if a sword should touch him, it fails to wound. No weapon can reach a vital spot, thrown from a distance or used close at hand. Iron is trampled down as straw, brass as rotten wood.

Like the behemoth, the leviathan is a strong and untamable beast... Then He declares that he is fierce, and even at the sight of him one is cast down. And if a creature is so mighty and strong, what must the One be who called this creature into existence? Verses 10 and 11 should be read: "Who then is he who can stand before Me (the Creator)? Who has first given to Me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine."

Men talk as if God's object was merely to occupy us with His works. God, on the contrary, brings forward His works to turn us away from our own thoughts and bow us to Himself. If the works of God are so wonderful, who is He that did the work? And what is man, if he dares to judge such a God?... Do you think that after this Job was occupied with behemoth or with leviathan? Not at all, but with God; and this was the design of it all.

God now shows Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him. What a terrible one this king over all the sons of pride is... But what could be God's object in describing the power of the adversary like this? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that You can do all things."

The mighty men of earth will be afraid when this man asserts himself (v.25). Neither the sword, spear, dart nor javelin can penetrate Leviathan's armour (v.26), and all men's efforts to defeat the Beast will be to no avail.

Now for the conclusion Job could easily draw: if he is proud, then he belongs to leviathan, the king who rules over the sons of pride. Jehovah has touched the secret in Job's heart. He has searched out the depths of it. He had cherished pride, the Devil's crime.

Leviathan was a water creature. He appears to be the crocodile, the most fearsome of all water animals — unless it was another similar animal, now extinct.

No account could be shorter or more expressive than the one of his lower parts. The underside is like the sharpest broken pottery, as he rolls it like a sledge over the rivers.

Even if a sword should touch him, it fails to wound. No weapon, from a distance or close at hand, can reach a vital spot. He tramples iron down like straw, brass like rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee, and the flying sling-stone is like harmless chaff. He mocks darts and spears. His under parts, lying flat on the earth, are not weak, but like strong pieces of broken pottery.

This is God's picture of the creature. Can we doubt that He would also draw from it the more dreadful description of "the Beast," and of the self-will that makes him what he is? "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?" (Revelation 13:4)... The very "mire" of the people, for the time at least, protects him. The turmoil he creates in the earth, marking it with ruin, shows his pathway. He has no equal upon earth. As the crocodile is king over all proud beasts, so this beast is king over all the children of pride. Shall Job, shall we, do him reverence and help on his kingdom?

Iron and bronze weapons, arrows, darts, slingstones and javelins are useless against him (vv.27-29). Underneath too he is equipped to resist attack (v.30).

Here leviathan typifies the power of darkness. Both the behemoth and the leviathan typify Satan, his character and his rule. He is king over all the sons of pride... And here is the conclusion Job could easily draw. If he is proud then he belongs to leviathan the king who rules over the sons of pride. Jehovah has touched the secret in Job's heart. He has searched out its depths. Job has cherished pride, the Devil's crime.

Coming to the individual application, we see in this "crooked serpent" a figure of the perverted will of man. All sin has its roots in disobedience... What good is the effort to reform the world, to tame the crocodile? Men may dream and plan, and try to drive misery off the earth. But creation, groaning as it is, mocks human efforts to subdue its own perverted will.

People talk as if God's aim was only to occupy us with His works. God does the opposite. He brings forward His works to turn us away from our own thoughts and bow us to Himself. If the works of God are so wonderful, who is the One who made them? And what is man, if he dares to judge such a God?... Do you think that after this Job was occupied with behemoth or with leviathan? Not at all, but with God; and this was the design of it all.

From verse 15 to the end of Job 41, the Lord makes further reference to the wonders of His creation. He called Job's attention to behemoth and to leviathan — probably the hippopotamus and the crocodile. They had brute strength but no human intelligence. It would be easier to subdue them than to bring down proud man.

His under parts are the sharpest of shards; He spreads a threshing-roller on the mire, He makes the deep boil as a pot, He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.

As Leviathan stirs up the water, so the Roman Beast will stir up the nations (the sea) in tumultuous trouble. The "shining wake" he leaves behind him tells us that there will be marked results from the Beast's activity.

I have already said that nothing the Lord says there lies outside the life of men and animals and the creation as we know it. Some see a hidden picture in these creatures, but I do not believe there is the slightest justification for this... He was displaying the immense greatness of God. If one of God's creatures terrifies the man who looks at him, how wrong it was of Job to keep on questioning God.

Isaiah 27:1 says that in that day the LORD will punish leviathan the piercing serpent with His fierce and strong sword. He will punish leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the dragon in the sea. Here leviathan is a picture of the power of darkness. Both behemoth and leviathan picture Satan, his character and his rule. He is king over all the sons of pride. And now the conclusion Job could easily draw: if he is proud, then he belongs to leviathan, the king who rules over the sons of pride.

God now shows to Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him... But why would God describe the enemy's power like this? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that You can do everything."

Applied to each person, we see in this "crooked serpent" a picture of the perverted will of man. All sin has its roots in disobedience... What use is the effort to reform the world, to tame the crocodile? Men may dream and plan, and try to drive misery off the earth. But even while it groans, creation mocks human efforts to subdue its own perverted will.

The believer looked at in himself has no power to overcome Satan... It was independence of God that opened the door to Satan at the start, and simple dependence on God alone can shut it. It is very gracious of God to tell us how strong the enemy is, so that we may know that our only resource is a firm trust in Himself.

He is still more at ease in the water, making the deep boil like a pot, and the sea like a mixture of ointment. A ship does not more clearly make its path shine after it with its white, foaming wake.

Men talk as if God's object was merely to occupy us with His works. God, on the contrary, brings forward His works to turn us away from our thoughts and bow us to Himself. For if the works of God are so wonderful, who is He that did the work, and what is man if he dares to judge such a God? … Do you think that after this Job was occupied with behemoth or with leviathan? Not at all, but with God; and this was the design of it all.

He is no commodity for traders, no game for the hunter, no safe opponent in battle. The very sight of him might knock a man flat. Only a reckless man would provoke him. Yet what is that compared with making a stand before God? And who ever gave to Him, that He should repay, since everything under heaven is His?

"He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment" (v. 31). As Leviathan stirs up the water, so the Roman Beast will stir up the nations (the sea) into violent turmoil. The "shining wake" he leaves behind him tells us that there will be clear results from the Beast's activity.

The turmoil he creates in the earth, marking it with ruin, shows his pathway. He has no equal upon earth. As the crocodile is king over all proud beasts, so this beast is king over all the children of pride. Shall Job, shall we, do him reverence and help on his kingdom?

God now shows Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him. What a terrible king he is over all the children of pride! … But what could be God's object in describing the power of the adversary like this? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that You can do all things."

Now comes the conclusion that Job could easily draw. If he is proud, then he belongs to leviathan, the king who rules over the sons of pride. Jehovah has touched the secret in Job's heart. He has searched out its depths. Pride, the Devil's crime, has been cherished by him. And now, with the heart laid bare by Jehovah's dealing, we shall hear Job's voice once more.

The leviathan described here seems beyond doubt to be the crocodile, not the dolphin or the whale, as some learned men have argued… Nothing could be more vivid than these accounts. Nothing could be more forceful than the lesson for Job or anyone else. If such is the might of mere brutes, the product of God's creative will, what folly to resist, criticise, or even judge His ways!

Strong men are afraid of him; through terror and wounds their trembling hand misses its aim. Even if a sword should touch him, it fails to wound. No weapon can reach a vital spot, whether from a distance or close at hand. Iron is trampled down like straw, brass like rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee. The hurtling sling-stone is like harmless chaff. He mocks darts and spears… "Upon the earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. He beholds all high things; he is a king over all the children of pride."

He called Job's attention to behemoth and to leviathan — probably the hippopotamus and the crocodile. They had brute strength but no human intelligence. It would be easier to subdue them than to bring down proud man. In Job's day human inventions had hardly begun. So this was probably not as obvious then as it is now, when people subdue these mighty creatures with ease — but not so, proud man!

Here the lesson is His control of creatures whose strength defies man. In that way they picture pride and unstoppable strength. They stand at the highest point of creature power. Can Job subdue or control these? No — does he not find himself morally in their company, since he has lifted himself up against God?

Both the behemoth and the leviathan picture Satan, his character and his rule. He is king over all the sons of pride… And now the conclusion which Job could easily draw. If he is proud, then he belongs to leviathan, the king who rules over the sons of pride. Jehovah has touched the secret in Job's heart. He has searched out its depths. He had cherished pride, the Devil's crime.

Man's pride will reach its ultimate peak in an arrogant challenge against God. Then the Lord Jesus will meet this challenge in awesome power… This will be the fearful end of the one who "is king over all the children of pride." What a lesson for us to learn now to judge our own pride!

God now shows Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him… But why would God describe the power of the adversary like this? Surely it was to lead Job into entire dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that You can do all things."

The leviathan described here seems beyond doubt to be the crocodile, not the dolphin or the whale that some learned men have argued for... Nothing could be more vivid than the accounts of each. Nothing could be more forceful than the conclusion for Job or anyone else. If such is the might of mere animals, the result of God's creative will, what folly it is to resist, criticise, or even judge His ways!

If in behemoth we see the spirit of falling away from revealed truth in religion, in leviathan we see it in civil government... But this is looking ahead to how it comes to a head in the last days. The principle is independence of God, trying to make a name for itself. It has been visible since the days of Cain, who built a city, and of Nimrod, who founded the first great world-empire. This is not limited to whole nations. The same spirit of strong self-will shows itself in the individual too. It tolerates no contradiction. It refuses to be under authority, and nothing can tame it. Who has ever bound and held the proud will of man?

God now shows Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him. What a terrible one this king over all the sons of pride is. This world has rejected the King of Righteousness and chosen the horrible slavery of Satan instead. But what could God's purpose be in describing the power of the adversary this way? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself.

When this Roman Beast arises, he will be in league with the Antichrist. The Antichrist will set up an idolatrous image in the temple area of Jerusalem in honour of the Beast (Rev. 13:14-15). This will be the ultimate peak of man's pride, an arrogant challenge against God. Then the Lord Jesus will meet this challenge in awesome power. Both of these enemies of God will be "thrown alive into the lake of fire" (Rev. 19:19-20). Such will be the fearful end of him who "is king over all the sons of pride." What a lesson for us! We should learn to judge our own pride now.

Both the behemoth and the leviathan represent Satan, his character and his rule. He is king over all the sons of pride... And now comes the conclusion Job could easily draw. If he is proud, then he belongs to leviathan, the king who rules over the sons of pride. Jehovah has touched the secret in Job's heart. He has searched out its depths. He had cherished pride, the Devil's crime. And now, with his heart laid bare by Jehovah's dealing, we shall hear Job's voice once more.

As the crocodile is king over all proud beasts, so this beast is king over all the sons of pride. Shall Job — shall we — bow to him and help his kingdom along? If not, only one path was open for him, and for us.

"Now my eye sees You." It was nothing external now, no distant rumour... Do you think that investigating the structure or habits of behemoth and leviathan would have led to anything like this? Certainly not. He had to do with God Himself, who used them for that very purpose, and had by them turned Job away from everything to Himself.