Hello everyone! Welcome to today’s Bible study on Job 41 – God’s Power In The Leviathan. According to Bible scholars, the events of the book of Job took place approximately before 2100 B.C.
I encourage you to turn to Job 41 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Job 41 with me. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know. All the scriptures that you find highlighted in purple in this post are from the NKJV.
In the Bible Study on Job 40, we read about Job’s reply to God and God’s answer to Job and He questioned Job about His Mighty and marvellous creation – the Behemoth through which He exhibited His Power. Well, in this Bible study on Job 41, we will read about The Lord talking about His power shown through yet another of His mighty creation – the Leviathan.
Without any further delay, let us study together Job Chapter 41, shall we?
The Lord Questions Job About Leviathan
1“Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook,
Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?
2 Can you put a reed through his nose,
Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3 Will he make many supplications to you?
Will he speak softly to you?
4 Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird,
Or will you leash him for your maidens?
6 Will your companions make a banquet of him?
Will they apportion him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
In Verses 1-7 of Job 41, The Lord questions Job if he can draw out Leviathan with a hook or snare his tongue with a line. The Lord asked Job if he could put a reed through Leviathan’s nose or pierce his jaw with a hook. The Leviathan is a powerful amd mighty creature than no man can go near ir approach. The Lord asked, will the Leviathan make many supplications to Job (or any man) to let him go free? Will he speak softly to Job because he is afraid of Job? Or, will the Leviathan make a covenant with Job or will he serve Job as his servant? The answer is obviously no. The Leviathan obeys no man.
Can Job (or any man) play with the Leviathan like they play with a bird? The Lord asked, ‘Can Job put the leviathan on a leash for the ladies of his household like a dog on a leash’? Can Job and his companions trade the flesh of leviathan among merchants? Can Job fill the leviathan’s skin with harpoons (spear) or his head with fishing spears? The Lord through these rhetoric questions reveal how mighty and powerful of a creature the leviathan is and in turn He reveals how mighty and powerful He (God) is.
What Is The Leviathan?
In Hebrew, Livyatan, or Liwyāṯān means twisted, turn, wind or coil. It is a sea/monster or serpent and there is none like it in existence. However, the amplified version of the bible calls the leviathan as a crocodile which were once fiercer and humongous than they are now. Most of you reading this now, might also have heard of the Leviathan spirit which is a very dangerous and evil one which twists, turns and coils words, relationships and anything that it wishes to do.
The Lord Warns Job Of The Dangers Of Going To Battle With Leviathan
8 Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle—
Never do it again!
9 Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false;
Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?
In Verse 8 of Job 41, The Lord challenges Job to lay his hand on the leviathan. The Lord said no man can win a battle against the leviathan. If Job laid his hand on the leviathan then surely he would remember the severe backlash and defeat from the battle forever. He (Job) would learn a lesson to never go to battle with the leviathan again. In Verse 9, the Lord told Job that any hope of overcoming the leviathan is false hope. A man is already overwhelmed at the mere sight of this sea monster.
Who Is Able To Stand Against God – The Creator Of Leviathan
10 No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up.
Who then is able to stand against Me?
In Verse 10, The Lord asks Job if there is any man or creature fiercer than the Leviathan that he would dare to even stir him up? No man dares to stir up the Leviathan, including Job. If there is no man or creature fiercer than the Leviathan then it means that there is no man or creature or creation fiercer or more powerful than the leviathan’s Creator- God. Therefore, it means that no man or creature or creation is able to stand against God – The Creator, and win.
Everything Under Heaven Is The Lord’s
11 Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him?
Everything under heaven is Mine.
In Verse 11, The Lord tells Job that no one has preceded God or paid God first so that He could repay it. What God seemingly meant by Verse 11 is that, how then could Job expect God to repay him when there was no one who preceded Him (God) to pay Him first? God does not have a Creator. He is the Creator and He is Eternal. And, He existed before anything He ever created. He is the most powerful being that anyone could ever encounter. Everything under heaven belongs to the Lord, including monsters such as the behemoth and Leviathan which are far superior in physical might than humans. The Lord’s question to Job was, how then could Job resist God or go against God (The Creator) when he dare not go against the mighty leviathan (God’s creation)?
No One Except The Lord Can Handle Leviathan
12“I will not conceal his limbs,
His mighty power, or his graceful proportions.
13 Who can remove his outer coat?
Who can approach him with a double bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of his face,
With his terrible teeth all around?
In Verses 12-14 of Job 41, The Lord said that He will not conceal the leviathan’s limbs nor his power nor his graceful proportions. No one can remove his outer coat. No one could approach the leviathan with a double bridle. There is no man that can open the mouth of the leviathan that is tightly shut. When his mouth is open he has fierce, sharp and terrible teeth all around that will create terror and fear in anyone looking at it.
The Lord Talks About The Pride Of Leviathan
15 His rows of scales are his pride,
Shut up tightly as with a seal;
16 One is so near another
That no air can come between them;
17 They are joined one to another,
They stick together and cannot be parted.
In Verses 15-17 of Job 40, The Lord explains how the leviathan’s scales are rows of pride and is shut up tightly as a seal. He is a prideful creature according to God’s description. The scales of Leviathan are so tightly packed that no air can get inbetween them. They are joined together and cannot be parted. The Lord exhibited His power through His creation of Leviathan that no man can tackle.
The Leviathan Breathes Out Fire And Smoke
18 His sneezings flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning lights;
Sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils,
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes out of his mouth.
22 Strength dwells in his neck,
And sorrow dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together;
They are firm on him and cannot be moved.
24 His heart is as hard as stone,
Even as hard as the lower millstone.
In Verses 18-24 of Job 41, The Lord tells Job how the leviathan breathes out fire. When he sneezes he flashes forth light and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning (dawn/sunrise) – red in colour. He sends burning lights and sparks of fire out of his mouth. He spews fire.
The smoke goes out from his nostrils as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath is so flaming hot that it kindles coals and a flame goes out of his mouth and destroys everything around him. Strength dwells in his neck and wherever he goes he creates destruction and that is why sorrow dances before him. The folds of his flesh are joined and firm on him and cannot be moved. He has a heart of stone as hard as the lower millstone which is larger and heavier than the upper millstone that they used in ancient days to mill/grind.
Leviathan Cannot Be Tamed Or Attacked
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
Because of his crashings they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail;
Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.
27 He regards iron as straw,
And bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones become like stubble to him.
29 Darts are regarded as straw;
He laughs at the threat of javelins.
In Verses 25-29 of Job 41, the Lord told Job how the mighty men are afraid of Leviathan because their swords, or spears or darts or javelins do not hurt him. To the leviathan, the iron is as mere straw, so light in weight. Bronze is like rotten wood to him. He is not afraid of arrows either. Slingstones are like stubble to the leviathan. Darts are also mere straw to him. He laughs at the threat of javelins. No human weapon scares or hurts the leviathan because he is more powerful than any human or human weapon thinkable.
The Leviathan Is The King Over All The Children Of Pride
30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds;
He spreads pointed marks in the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 He leaves a shining wake behind him;
One would think the deep had white hair.
33 On earth there is nothing like him,
Which is made without fear.
34 He beholds every high thing;
He is king over all the children of pride.”
In Verses 30-34 of Job 41, The Lord explains how the undersides of the leviathan are like broken pieces of pottery. And, because of his sharp underside, he spreads pointed marks like a threshing sledge (according to the amplified version) when he moves and grooves on the mire (muddy river banks). He makes the deep waters where he lives boil like a pot. In short, he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. He moves so swiftly that he leaves a shining wake/streak behind him on the waters. One would think that the deep waters had white hair because of the white foam that it emits when it is boiling from the flames and heat of the Leviathan. There is no creature like the leviathan on the earth which is made without fear. He is fearless.
The Leviathan is not afraid of any high thing because he is the king over all the children of pride. There is no creation that more proud than the Leviathan himself.
Conclusion
This brings us to the end of the bible study lesson on Job 41. The Lord talks to Job about the fearless and untamable Leviathan that He had created. No man can go against the leviathan in battle. It is a lost battle. Only God can handle him. It holds true even for this spirit. If Leviathan is so mighty and great in power, how much greater is God the Creator who created Leviathan in the first place? Also, the leviathan spirit is also commonly associated with the spirit of pride. Everyone who has a pride issue or a spirit of pride are in someway under the influence of the leviathan spirit. I hope you learnt something from this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey.
If you have any comments or questions for me, kindly leave them in the comments box below. I highly appreciate it. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until Next Time!