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Commentary on Job 41 verses 11–34
God, having in the foregoing verses shown Job how unable he was to deal with the leviathan, here sets forth his own power in that massy mighty creature. Here is,
I. God's sovereign dominion and independency laid down, Job 41:11. 1. That he is indebted to none of his creatures. If any pretend he is indebted to them, let them make their demand and prove their debt, and they shall receive it in full and not by composition: "Who has prevented me?" that is, "who has laid any obligations upon me by any services he has done me? Who can pretend to be before-hand with me? If any were, I would not long be behind-hand with them; I would soon repay them." The apostle quotes this for the silencing of all flesh in God's presence, Rom 11:35. Who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? As God does not inflict upon us the evils we have deserved, so he does bestow upon us the favours we have not deserved. 2. That he is the rightful Lord and owner of all the creatures: "Whatsoever is under the whole heaven, animate or inanimate, is mine (and particularly this leviathan), at my command and disposal, what I have an incontestable property in and dominion over." All is his; we are his, all we have and do; and therefore we cannot make God our debtor; but of thy own, Lord, have we given thee. All is his, and therefore, if he were indebted to any, he has wherewithal to repay them; the debt is in good hands. All is his, and therefore he needs not our services, nor can he be benefited by them. If I were hungry I would not tell thee, for the world is mind and the fulness thereof, Psa 50:12.
II. The proof and illustration of it, from the wonderful structure of the leviathan, Job 41:12.
1.The parts of his body, the power he exerts, especially when he is set upon, and the comely proportion of the whole of him, are what God will not conceal, and therefore what we must observe and acknowledge the power of God in. Though he is a creature of monstrous bulk, yet there is in him a comely proportion. In our eye beauty lies in that which is small (inest sua gratia parvis - little things have a gracefulness all their own) because we ourselves are so; but in God's eye even the leviathan is comely; and, if he pronounce even the whale, event he crocodile, so, it is not for us to say of any of the works of his hands that they are ugly of ill-favoured; it is enough to say so, as we have cause, of our own works. God here goes about to give us an anatomical view (as it were) of the leviathan; for his works appear most beautiful and excellent, and his wisdom and power appear most in them, when they are taken in pieces and viewed in their several parts and proportions. (1.) The leviathan, even prima facie - at first sight, appears formidable and inaccessible, Job 41:13, Job 41:14. Who dares come so near him while he is alive as to discover or take a distinct view of the face of the garment, the skin with which he is clothed as with a garment, so near him as to bridle him like a horse and so lead him away, so near him as to be within reach of his jaws, which are like a double bridle? Who will venture to look into his mouth, as we do into a horse's mouth? He that opens the doors of his face will see his teeth terrible round about, strong and sharp, and fitted to devour; it would make a man tremble to think of having a leg or an arm between them. (2.) His scales are his beauty and strength, and therefore his pride, Job 41:15-17. The crocodile is indeed remarkable for his scales; if we understand it of the whale, we must understand by these shields (for so the word is) the several coats of his skin; or there might be whales in that country with scales. That which is remarkable concerning the scales is that they stick so close together, by which he is not only kept warm, for no air can pierce him, but kept safe, for no sword can pierce him through those scales. Fishes, that live in the water, are fortified accordingly by the wisdom of Providence, which gives clothes as it gives cold. (3.) He scatters terror with his very breath and looks; if he sneeze or spout up water, it is like a light shining, either with the froth or the light of the sun shining through it, Job 41:18. The eyes of the whale are reported to shine in the night-time like a flame, or, as here, like the eye-lids of the morning; the same they say of the crocodile. The breath of this creature is so hot and fiery, from the great natural heat within, that burning lamps and sparks of fire, smoke and a flame, are said to go out of his mouth, even such as one would think sufficient to set coals on fire, Job 41:19-21. Probably these hyperbolical expressions are used concerning the leviathan to intimate the terror of the wrath of God, for that is it which all this is designed to convince us of. Fire out of his mouth devours, Psa 18:7, Psa 18:8. The breath of the Almighty, like a stream of brimstone, kindles Tophet, and will for ever keep it burning, Isa 30:33. The wicked one shall be consumed with the breath of his mouth, Th2 2:8. (4.) He is of invincible strength and most terrible fierceness, so that he frightens all that come in his way, but is not himself frightened by any. Take a view of his neck, and there remains strength, Job 41:22. his head and his body are well set together. Sorrow rejoices (or rides in triumph) before him, for he makes terrible work wherever he comes. Or, Those storms which are the sorrow of others are his joys; what is tossing to others is dancing to him. His flesh is well knit, Job 41:23. The flakes of it are joined so closely together, and are so firm, that it is hard to pierce it; he is as if he were all bone. His flesh is of brass, which Job had complained his was not, Job 6:12. His heart is as firm as a stone, Job 41:24. He has spirit equal to his bodily strength, and, though he is bulky, he is sprightly, and not unwieldy. As his flesh and skin cannot be pierced, so his courage cannot be daunted; but, on the contrary, he daunts all he meets and puts them into a consternation (Job 41:25): When he raises up himself like a moving mountain in the great waters even the mighty are afraid lest he should overturn their ships or do them some other mischief. By reason of the breakings he makes in the water, which threaten death, they purify themselves, confess their sins, betake themselves to their prayers, and get ready for death. We read (Job 3:8) of those who, when they raise up a leviathan, are in such a fright that they curse the day. It was a fear which, it seems, used to drive some to their curses and others to their prayers; for, as now, so then there were seafaring men of different characters and on whom the terrors of the sea have contrary effects; but all agree there is a great fright among them when the leviathan raises up himself. (5.) All the instruments of slaughter that are used against him do him no hurt and therefore are not error to him, Job 41:26-29. The sword and the spear, which wound nigh at hand, are nothing to him; the darts, arrows, and sling-stones, which wound at a distance, do him no damage; nature has so well armed him cap-a-pie - at all points, against them all. The defensive weapons which men use when they engage with the leviathan, as the habergeon, or breast-plate, often serve men no more than their offensive weapons; iron and brass are to him as straw and rotten wood, and he laughs at them. It is the picture of a hard-hearted sinner, that despises the terrors of the Almighty and laughs at all the threatenings of his word. The leviathan so little dreads the weapons that are used against him that, to show how hardy he is, he chooses to lie on the sharp stones, the sharp-pointed things (Job 41:30), and lies as easy there as if he lay on the soft mire. Those that would endure hardness must inure themselves to it. (6.) His very motion in the water troubles it and puts it into a ferment, Job 41:31, Job 41:32. When he rolls, and tosses, and makes a stir in the water, or is in pursuit of his prey, he makes the deep to boil like a pot, he raises a great froth and foam upon the water, such as is upon a boiling pot, especially a pot of boiling ointment; and he makes a path to shine after him, which even a ship in the midst of the sea does not, Pro 30:19. One may trace the leviathan under water by the bubbles on the surface; and yet who can take that advantage against him in pursuing him? Men track hares in the snow and kill them, but he that tracks the leviathan dares not come near him.
2.Having given this particular account of his parts, and his power, and his comely proportion, he concludes with four things in general concerning this animal: - (1.) That he is a non-such among the inferior creatures: Upon earth there is not his like, Job 41:33. No creature in this world is comparable to him for strength and terror. Or the earth is here distinguished from the sea: His dominion is not upon the earth (so some), but in the waters. None of all the savage creatures upon earth come near him for bulk and strength, and it is well for man that he is confined to the waters and there has a watch set upon him (Job 7:12) by the divine Providence, for, if such a terrible creature were allowed to roam and ravage upon this earth, it would be an unsafe and uncomfortable habitation for the children of men, for whom it is intended. (2.) That he is more bold and daring than any other creature whatsoever: He is made without fear. The creatures are as they are made; the leviathan has courage in his constitution, nothing can frighten him; other creatures, quite contrary, seem as much designed for flying as this for fighting. So, among men, some are in their natural temper bold, others are timorous. (3.) That he is himself very proud; though lodged in the deep, yet he beholds all high things, Job 41:34. The rolling waves, the impending rocks, the hovering clouds, and the ships under sail with top and top-gallant, this mighty animal beholds with contempt, for he does not think they either lessen him or threaten him. Those that are great are apt to be scornful. (4.) That he is a king over all the children of pride, that is, he is the proudest of all proud ones. He has more to be proud of (so Mr. Caryl expounds it) than the proudest people in the world have; and so it is a mortification to the haughtiness and lofty looks of men. Whatever bodily accomplishments men are proud of, and puffed up with, the leviathan excels them and is a king over them. Some read it so as to understand it of God: He that beholds all high things, even he, is King over all the children of pride; he can tame the behemoth (Job 40:19) and the leviathan, big as they are, and stout-hearted as they are. This discourse concerning those two animals was brought in to prove that it is God only who can look upon proud men and abase them, bring them low and tread them down, and hide them in the dust (Job 40:11-13), and so it concludes with a quod erat demonstrandum - which was to be demonstrated; there is one that beholds all high things, and, wherein men deal proudly, is above them; he is King over all the children of pride, whether brutal or rational, and can make them all either bend or break before him, Isa 2:11. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and thus the Lord alone shall be exalted.
39. His power upon earth is said to be preeminent over all, because though he has fallen below men by the merit of his doings, yet he transcends the whole human race by the condition of his angelic nature. For though he has lost the happiness of eternal felicity, yet he has not lost the greatness of his nature; by the strength of which he still surpasses all human things, though he is inferior to holy men, by the baseness of his deserts. Whence also the meritorious recompense of the Saints, who are contending against him, is the more increased, the more he is defeated by them, who boasts that, by the power of his nature, he has as it were a right to rule over men. It follows;
Who was made to fear no one.
40. He was indeed so made by nature, as to be bound to feel a chaste fear for his Creator; that is to say, with a subdued and fearless fear, not with the fear which love casts out, but with the fear which remains for ever and ever, that is, which love begets. For a loving wife fears her husband in one way, an offending handmaid fears her master in another. He had therefore been so created, as, with joyful dread, to fear his Maker with love, and to love Him with fear. But by his own perversity he was made such as to fear no one. For he scorned to be subject to Him by Whom he had been created. For God is in such way above all, as to be Himself subject to no one. But this Leviathan, beholding the height of His loftiness, aimed at the privilege of the fatal liberty of ruling over others, and being subject to no one, saying, I will ascend above the height of the clouds, and I will be like the Most High. [Is. 14, 14] But he lost His likeness, because he proudly desired to be like Him in loftiness. For he who was bound to imitate His charity, in subjection, aimed at gaining His loftiness, and lost through pride that which he was able to imitate. He would, doubtless, have been lofty, if he had been willing to cleave to Him Who is truly lofty. He would have been lofty, if he had been contented with a participation in true loftiness. But while he proudly aimed at high estate by himself, he rightly lost that which was participated. For having left that First Cause, to Whom he was bound to adhere, he aimed at being, in a sense, his own first cause [‘principium’]. Having forsaken Him, Who was able truly to be sufficient for him, he decided that he was able to be sufficient for himself, and fell the more beneath himself, the more he raised himself up against the glory of his Creator. For him, whom a slavery akin to freedom exalted, a slavish freedom cast down. With which liberty he is so let loose, as to fear no one, but he is grievously restrained by this very want of restraint. For, by the heavenly judgment which wisely ordains all things, the liberty which he desired, fettered him; because he, who was able to subdue even the elements, if he had been willing to fear the One Whom he ought, is now, though in every way not fearing, subject to every punishment. He doubtless would fear One with possession of all things, who now, by not fearing One, suffers all things.
41. He was therefore made to fear no one, no one, that is, because not even God. But he neither feared that which he was about to suffer. But it had been doubtless more blessed for him to avoid punishments, by fearing them, than by not fearing, to endure them. He changed therefore his desire after high estate into hardness of heart, in order that he, who sought in his ambition to rule over others, might feel not, through hardness of heart, that he has wrought wickedly. For because he did not obtain the right of the power he sought for, he found the madness of insensibility a kind of remedy for his pride; and because he was not able, by going beyond, to surpass all things, he, by making light of these, prepared himself to meet all things. But his pride is still further carefully described.
“It will esteem the deep as growing old.” … This Leviathan, therefore, will look on the deep as growing old [white-haired], because it so infatuates the hearts of the reprobate as to infuse in them a suspicion that the approaching [eternal] judgment may come to an end. For it imagines that the abyss is growing old in thinking that the heavenly infliction of punishment will ever be brought to a close. This ancient deceiver, therefore, in the minds of the wicked that it binds up, makes light of future punishments, as if they were bound by a terminal limit. This only prolongs their faults without any limit from reproof, and that they may not put here an end to their sins the more they imagine the punishments of sins will be there brought to a close.…[In these ways] “there is no power on earth that can be compared with it.” … For though it has lost the happiness of eternal felicity, yet it has not lost the greatness of its nature. By this strength it still surpasses all human things, though it is inferior to holy people, by the baseness of its deserts. Hence the meritorious recompense of the saints, who are contending against [the devil], is the more increased, the more it is defeated by [the saints] when it boasts that by the power of its nature, it has a right to rule over people. It follows, “Which was made to fear no one” [a creature without fear]. The Leviathan was so indeed made by nature as to be bound to feel a chaste fear for its Creator; that is to say, with a subdued and fearless fear, not with the fear that love casts out, but with fear that remains for ever and ever.… Even the Leviathan had thus been so created, as with joyful dread to fear its Maker with love and to love him with fear. But by its own perversity, [the Leviathan] was made such as to fear no creature.
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SUMMARY
Job 41:33 serves as the climactic declaration regarding Leviathan, a creature so utterly unique and formidable that it stands without peer on earth. This verse encapsulates the beast's unparalleled nature and inherent fearlessness, not merely as a description of an animal, but as a profound testament to the Creator's own immeasurable power and unchallenged sovereignty over all creation, including the most terrifying forces. It highlights that if such a creature exists beyond human mastery, then its Maker is infinitely more unchallengeable and awe-inspiring.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several powerful literary devices to convey its profound message. Hyperbole is evident in the declaration that "there is not his like" on earth, magnifying Leviathan's unique and unparalleled power to an extreme degree. This exaggeration serves to heighten the creature's formidable nature, thereby amplifying the power of its Creator. Personification is subtly present in attributing "fearlessness" to Leviathan, suggesting an almost conscious, indomitable will that transcends mere animal instinct, emphasizing its unyielding character. Furthermore, the entire description of Leviathan, culminating in this verse, functions as Symbolism for the untamable forces of chaos and the limits of human power. By demonstrating His absolute control over such a creature, God symbolically asserts His dominion over all chaotic elements and challenges to His authority. The verse also contributes to the overarching Rhetorical Question that God implicitly poses to Job: if you cannot master this creature, how can you possibly challenge or comprehend its Maker?
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 41:33 stands as a powerful theological statement about the absolute sovereignty and incomparable power of God. By presenting Leviathan as a creature utterly beyond human control and without peer on earth, God underscores His own infinite superiority over all creation. This verse challenges any human presumption of self-sufficiency or ability to comprehend or control the divine. It reinforces the biblical truth that God is the sole, ultimate authority, whose power is not merely greater than ours, but qualitatively different and infinitely transcendent. The fearlessness of Leviathan, a creature of God's making, serves to highlight the even greater, unchallengeable nature of God Himself, who is the source of all power and existence, and who is truly "without fear" because there is nothing that can threaten His being or thwart His purposes. The verse ultimately directs our gaze from the formidable creature to its even more formidable and glorious Creator.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 41:33 invites us into a deeper experience of awe and humility before the Creator. In a world that often seeks to tame, categorize, and control everything, this verse reminds us that there are aspects of God's creation, and certainly God Himself, that remain utterly beyond our grasp and comprehension. The untamed power and fearlessness of Leviathan, designed by God, serve as a mirror reflecting the even greater, unchallengeable power of the Almighty. This should cultivate within us a profound reverence, moving us beyond mere intellectual assent to God's power to a visceral sense of His majesty. It calls us to relinquish our attempts to control or fully understand God's ways, fostering instead a posture of humble trust. When confronted with life's overwhelming challenges or seemingly chaotic circumstances, remembering that God controls even the most fearsome "Leviathans" of creation can instill a deep peace and confidence in His sovereign care, knowing that nothing is too great for Him to manage. This verse encourages us to rest in the unshakeable power of the One who fears nothing, for He is the Lord of all.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is Leviathan, and is it a literal creature?
Answer: Leviathan, as described in Job 41, is a creature of immense power and terrifying attributes, often depicted as a sea monster or a massive aquatic beast (like a crocodile or a whale). While some scholars interpret it as a literal, though exaggerated, description of a real animal (perhaps a super-crocodile or a dinosaur), many others view it as a symbolic representation. In ancient Near Eastern mythology, similar creatures often embodied primordial chaos or forces of evil. In Job, whether literal or symbolic, Leviathan primarily serves as a powerful illustration of God's absolute sovereignty over all creation, including the most untamable and fearsome elements. Its purpose is not merely zoological, but theological, demonstrating that if humanity cannot conquer this creature, it certainly cannot contend with its Maker.
Why does God describe Leviathan to Job instead of answering his questions about suffering?
Answer: God's discourse to Job, particularly the detailed descriptions of creatures like Behemoth and Leviathan, is not a direct answer to Job's "why" questions about his suffering. Instead, it is a profound demonstration of God's infinite wisdom, power, and sovereignty, which are far beyond human comprehension. By showcasing His mastery over the most terrifying and uncontrollable elements of creation, God implicitly challenges Job's limited perspective and presumption to question divine justice. The purpose is to humble Job, reminding him of the vast chasm between finite human understanding and infinite divine knowledge. This confrontation leads Job to a place of repentance and renewed trust in God's unsearchable ways, as seen in Job 42:1-6. The message is that God's power and wisdom are so immense that His ways cannot be fully grasped by humanity, and therefore, trust in His character and sovereign purposes is paramount, even amidst inexplicable suffering.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Job 41:33 describes a creature of unparalleled earthly might and fearlessness, it ultimately points beyond Leviathan to the one who truly has "no like" in all creation: Jesus Christ. Leviathan's indomitable nature foreshadows Christ's absolute triumph over all the forces of chaos, sin, and death. Just as Leviathan is "made without fear" in its earthly domain, so too was Jesus utterly fearless in confronting the powers of darkness, enduring the cross, and conquering the grave. He is the true unparalleled one, not merely among earthly creatures, but as the unique God-man, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. His resurrection demonstrates that He is indeed seated at the right hand of God, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, having made a public spectacle of the very powers that once held humanity captive. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Christ has overcome the world and its greatest fears, including death itself (Hebrews 2:14-15). Thus, the fearlessness and unparalleled nature of Leviathan in Job 41:33 serve as a shadow, pointing to the ultimate, unmatched, and eternally triumphant sovereignty of Christ, in whom we find true peace and security, for He has conquered all that we could ever fear.