Job 41:1 ¶ Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
Job 41:2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
Job 41:3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
Job 41:4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
Job 41:5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
Job 41:6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?
Job 41:7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?
Job 41:8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
Job 41:9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
Job 41:10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?
Job 41:11 ¶ Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
God now directs Job’s focus to leviathan, a complete contrast in nature with the mighty behemoth. As I read through this description, I couldn’t help but get the picture of a mighty, fire-breathing dragon.
Leviathan is described as a creature that can’t be caught with a hook. He has absolutely no fear of man. He is too dangerous to be captured and tamed or kept as a pet. The implication is that only a fool would try to capture him by any means. His skin cannot be pierced with darts (harpoons) or spears.
The LORD points out that as Creator of such a creature, why would anyone think they could stand against His authority. God boldly declares that everything under heaven belongs to Him; no one can claim authority over Him.
Job 41:12 I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.
Job 41:13 Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle?
Job 41:14 Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.
Job 41:15 His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
Job 41:16 One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
Job 41:17 They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.
Job 41:18 By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
Job 41:19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
Job 41:20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
Job 41:21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
Job 41:22 In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
Job 41:23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
Job 41:24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
Job 41:25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
Job 41:26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
Job 41:27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
Job 41:28 The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
Job 41:29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
Job 41:30 Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
Job 41:31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
Job 41:32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
Job 41:33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
Job 41:34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.
Leviathan is described as a striking creature to behold. Though tempting to try, he cannot be captured. He is covered with rows of scales that are interlocked so close together as to prevent even air coming between them. He has powerful jaws and teeth. When he sneezes, it produces flashes of light; and he shoots fire from his mouth and smoke from his nostrils. To further emphasize this point, we are told that he can kindle a fire in coals with his breath. He has a very powerful neck and causes terror wherever he goes. The implication is that his skin is so thick and his heart so well protected that no weapon of man can pierce it. He has no fear of man or his weapons. The scales on his underbelly are not only dense, but sharp. His powerful movements in the water make it look like the water is boiling and he leaves a great white wake behind him. He is the proudest of creatures and fears nothing on earth. There is no other creature like him in this regard.
Again, we can note that this is a very powerful creature whose primary domain is the sea. His demeanor is fierce and combative compared to the quiet confidence evidenced by the behemoth. As I have continued to meditate on this section, I think it is possible that these two animals can be seen as types in the creation of the contrast between the Creator and Satan. Behemoth is pictured in peace and at rest in the confidence of his superiority over the other creatures. Leviathan, however, is pictured with great pride and arrogance; he seems to need to bolster his confidence by inciting fear and terror everywhere he goes.
The prophet Isaiah connects the dragon in the sea with leviathan.
Isaiah 27:1 “In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.”
The coming antichrist is also pictured as coming from the sea and coming in the power of the dragon—Satan.
Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Revelation 13:1–2 “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”
Every comparison I make between leviathan and antichrist is actually a comparison to Satan as well since he is the controlling force behind the antichrist.
He cannot be caught or controlled by others. (v1-2)
He is proud and arrogant. (v3)
He is not trustworthy nor concerned with helping others. (v4)
He rejects discipline and cannot be tamed. (v5)
He cannot be manipulated by others. (v6)
He will act without mercy toward his enemies. (v7-9)
He cannot be intimidated. (v10)
His power and authority come through God’s permission and is limited according to God’s purposes. (v11-12)
He acts with impunity during the time allotted him according to God’s purposes. (v13-17)
His eyes and his words are penetrating and cause great fear to his enemies. His attitude is marked with simmering anger. (v18-21)
He is brash and bold in his sense of power. He relishes in the sorrow of his enemies. (v22)
He is hard-hearted and merciless. (v23-24)
He inspires fear in even the mightiest of men. (v25)
He fears nothing because nothing that man can do to him can stop him. (v26-30)
He causes great turmoil wherever he goes. His presence always leaves it mark. (v31-32)
He is full of pride to the point that he has no comparison on earth. There is no one on earth that can match his courage, confidence and power. (v33-34)
Job 42:1 ¶ Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 42:2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
Job 42:3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Job 42:4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 42:5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
I guess the LORD must have stopped speaking to the point that Job knew it was time for him to formulate a response. Just the thought of this scenario is incredible to me; Job has been in direct communication with the LORD. Like Job, there have been many times that I have wished that I could experience just that. Though not with an audible voice, the LORD has certainly completely humbled me many times during special times of prayer before Him.
Job expresses his belief that there is nothing the LORD cannot do; in fact, he knew that we cannot even have a thought that can be hidden from Him. Job then references the question that God had posed to him earlier, basically—Who is this that presumes to question My actions with such limited knowledge and understanding? Job admits that he has been presuming to express understanding about things he did not truly understand. He was basically admitting that he had no idea of all the wonder involved with God’s creation and His provision for it. Again Job makes reference to God’s words to him—Listen to me and answer my questions. Job admits that his relationship with God had been one of hearsay at best, but now he has experiential knowledge that has made him ashamed of himself; in fact, the Hebrew declares that he despises himself as a vile person. I think he realized that he was placing more faith in his “good” actions before the LORD than he was in the character, power and authority of Almighty God. For this, Job declares that he is very repentant.
Isn’t that one of the prime deceptions that we continue to fall for today. Even we who daily strive to serve the LORD have to continually deal with the issue of pride—at least I know I do. We are so prone to focus on “doing” for the LORD rather than on yielding to Him to “do” through us. How often do we take the time to truly worship God and spend time with Him in meditation and the study of His word to get to know Him? How often do we take the time to appreciate the wonders of His creation? I’m afraid that the advances in knowledge and technology have made us appreciate God less rather than more. I think it is connected to God’s observation of the people at the tower of Babel, “Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” (Genesis 11:6) The computer has pretty much removed the language barrier, and man has accomplished some pretty amazing things. The greater the things that we accomplish on our own, the less we seem to appreciate the wonder of God’s creation. Instead of responding with awe to the wonders of the creation around us, we are much more prone to take them and, in turn, their Creator for granted.
Job 42:7 ¶ And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
Job 42:8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
The record of Job closes with God expressing His anger with Job’s friends and instructing them to prepare a burnt offering in repentance for wrongly representing God to Job. They were also to humble themselves before Job and ask him to pray for them. This implies that they would have to first ask his forgiveness for the added pain they caused him through their misrepresentation of God and wrong assessment of Job’s circumstances. In other words, they would have to admit they were wrong; and most of us have a hard time doing that.
Job 42:9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job.
Job 42:10 ¶ And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
All the men were obedient to God’s command. As promised, God accepted Job’s prayers on behalf of his friends and dealt mercifully with them.
I think it is also significant to note that the Lord once again turned Job’s circumstances to one of great blessing after he prayed for his friends. I think implied is that Job’s prayer was sincere; but I don’t think it was that hard for Job to forgive his friends in light of the insight as to how he judged himself in light of his experience with God. I couldn’t help but think of the following words of Jesus.
Mark 11:25 “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Though he suffered much loss, God blessed Job with twice as much as before.
Job 42:11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.
All of a sudden friends and family begin showing up to bemoan with Job and offer expressions of comfort after the fact. He is once again a very popular and respected man. Instead of holding grudges against those that had deserted him in his time of need, Job welcomed their fellowship. Each man gifted him with a piece of money and an earring of gold.
I think Job’s abilitiy to forgive pictured the work of change that God had wrought in the heart of Job through his experience. He recognized how much he needed God’s love and forgiveness and how God had responded to him with great grace and mercy. He wanted to show the same type of grace and mercy to his friends and family. He realized that if his “wise” friends had misunderstood his circumstances, how much more understandable that much less wise friends and family could have drawn the wrong conclusions as well. In fact, I wonder if maybe he had reflected on how he might have drawn similar conclusions had such circumstances befallen one of his friends. The important thing is that Job grew spiritually and became an even greater testimony to the importance of loving and obeying God.
Job 42:12 So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
Job 42:13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.
Job 42:14 And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch.
Job 42:15 And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.
Just to set the record straight, we are given numbers of Job’s livestock that reflect exactly double what he originally had. He was also given seven more sons and three more daughters. No, they couldn’t replace the ones he lost, but I know he expected to see them in the hereafter where he would enjoy double the family he began with. Point is made that his three daughters were beautiful beyond compare; and contrary to the customs of the day, he settled inheritances on his daughters as well as his sons.
Job 42:16 After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations.
Job 42:17 So Job died, being old and full of days.
After this, Job lived another 140 years and was blessed to see his great-great grandchildren.
Though God never gave Job a direct answer as to why he had suffered, Job was satisfied to know it was God’s will for him. If it was God’s will, it was for good.