Contend With the Almighty – Job 40&41

I was watching American Idol and a contestant came on with quite an attitude of superiority. It was evident even in his walk in to perform for the judges. Lionel Richie told him at the end, after what seemed a pretty good audition, “I don’t like you” and asked the guy how that felt. He said it hurt. Lionel told him, “I need to bring you from up here to down here, then build you up again.” It was a call for humility. We’ll see if it worked. I think God is doing the same thing with Job. We’ll see if it worked.

And the LORD said to Job:

“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Then Job answered the LORD and said:

“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.”

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

“Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?

“Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor. Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him. Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand. Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below. Then will I also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you.

“Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron.

“He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword! For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play. Under the lotus plants he lies, in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh. For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him. Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth. Can one take him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a snare? “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord? Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words? Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever? Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls? Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants? Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? Lay your hands on him; remember the battle—you will not do it again! Behold, the hope of a man is false; he is laid low even at the sight of him. No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me? Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame. Who can strip off his outer garment? Who would come near him with a bridle? Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror. His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal. One is so near to another that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated. His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth. Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth. In his neck abides strength, and terror dances before him. The folds of his flesh stick together, firmly cast on him and immovable. His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the lower millstone. When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves. Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail, nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin. He counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee; for him, sling stones are turned to stubble. Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins. His underparts are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire. He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be white-haired. On earth there is not his like, a creature without fear. He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride.” (Job 40&41, ESV)

Yahweh concludes his monologue and questions with a final question and challenge to Job.

Is Job the faultfinder?  He has found fault with God’s judgment and longed to bring Him to court with an unbiased mediator.  He wanted to argue with God.  So here is his chance.  Let him answer God.

Job responds with a vow of silence, not motivated, it would seem, from a sense of his own guilt or shame, but from anger.  God told him to answer and he refuses.  He has longed for this moment and he passes it up.  He is treating God as if He is mean-spirited and simply waiting to pounce on Job once he seeks to defend himself.  God will have none of it, is obviously not satisfied with Job’s response, and begins the questioning all over again.

God sets up the same process.  He will ask questions and Job will answer.  But he initially asks questions this time about Job’s ignorance or arrogance at being willing to make God wrong to justify himself.  This is the same thing Job complained his friends were doing.

Job fails to recognize the unique prowess of God.  God adorns himself with majesty and dignity, glory and splendor. Yahweh deals with justice against the proud and wicked.  If Job can do the same things then God will acknowledge that Job can rescue himself.

What is the behemoth and Leviathan? We honestly don’t know. The point is, they are extremely powerful creatures, but God sees them as his pets. “Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.”

If Leviathan is so powerful, and God created him, how can God not be most powerful and why should humans think that they can control Him or manipulate Him in any way? Has Job learned his lesson?

Discussion Questions

1. Describe an experience of power you have had and how it made you feel.
2. If God had called you a “faultfinder” and told you to answer to the charge of arguing with God, how do you think you would respond?
3. What surprises you about Job’s response to that challenge from God?
4. Have you ever been guilty of putting God in the wrong, condemning Him that you might be right? Explain.
5. God made Behemoth as He made you. What does that mean to you?
6. What is God’s last statement about Leviathan saying to you:  “He is king over all the sons of pride”?