Job 41:1-34
1 Canst thou draw out leviathana with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?
7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?
8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?
11 Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
12 I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.
13 Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.
15 His scalesb are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
16 One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.
18 By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
22 In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joyc before him.
23 The flakesd of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.e
27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
30 Sharp stonesf are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.g
34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.
Job 41:1. Canst thou draw out leviathan? This word is rendered by the LXX, “dragon.” It occurs in Isaiah 27:1, and is rendered whale, dragon, and serpent. Men are now satisfied that it is not the whale but the crocodile to which this description exactly refers. The harpooners can easily pierce a whale, as is denied of leviathan; the flesh of the whale is soft, but that of the crocodile is hard. Men never sling stones at the whale; but these have been tried in vain against the dragon. But the term crooked serpent, found in many versions, applies neither to the whale nor the crocodile; and must have been occasioned by the imperfect knowledge which the learned world then had of natural history. The crocodile, common to most of the great rivers and lakes under the torrid zone, is a most terrific animal. His figure nearly resembles the lizard. His length is usually from twelve to twenty feet, his body is covered with an almost impenetrable coat of mail, and the hunters can pierce him only between his legs and his body, which they sometimes do while he is asleep. In the water he reigns lord and king, and darts on the finny tribes with amazing velocity. Designed to float on the waters he moves his upper jaw, and when he closes it on his prey, he makes the valleys echo by the collision of his grinders. On the land, happy for man, his motion is slow. Maillet and Bartram have given the history of this animal at large, and the reader will be entertained in perusing their travels.
Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is called by Ezekiel, “the great dragon,” or crocodile, “that lieth in the midst of the rivers, which hath said, my river is my own: I have made it myself.”
Job 41:10. None dare stir him up. When he sleeps, resting his side against a tree, the beasts are afraid to awake him.
Job 41:21. His breath kindleth coals. His stomach is so hot that his breath, on a cold morning, appears like the steam of boiling water. The hyperbole of the ancients was sometimes very strong. The vine is said to have boughs like the cedar. Psalms 80:10.
Job 41:25. When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid; that is, the beasts of the forest. This animal is the dragon or crocodile. A traveller in Africa reports that a tiger leaped on a sleeping crocodile, and began to tear his scales. The dragon by some means got hold of the tiger's foot, and dragged him into the river, where he soon discoloured the water with his gore.
Job 41:29. Darts are counted as stubble. The whale cannot here be understood, for his body is exposed to the harpoon or dart: but of the scales of the crocodile all this is true.
REFLECTIONS.
Many of the creatures are so powerful and formidable, that we are by no means able to cope with them: how mad then must the presumptuous transgressor be, who defies the power and wrath of the Creator! If such sublime language were proper in describing the terrible force of leviathan; what words can express the power of God's indignation, who is a consuming fire? He indeed beholdeth all high things in order to abase them, and will show himself the offended avenger of all those who proudly exalt themselves against him: and who may stand in his sight when he is angry? But he more delights in showing his glory from the mercyseat, in encouraging sinners to take refuge under the shadow of his wings, and to prostrate themselves before him. If his anger be thus turned away from us, his omnipotence will be our protection; and then we need fear no enemy, though we shall have those that are far more formidable than leviathan. Satan the king and father of all the children of pride, with all his legions, is not confined to the ocean; nor can he be fenced out or fled from, or resisted by our puny arm. Our wisdom, strength, and resolution will be unavailing in this unequal contest; and far more useless, than sword or spear against leviathan; all opposition, all hope of overcoming or escaping, if left to ourselves, would be in vain. His heart is stoned against compassion, and he has been the cruel murderer of souls from the beginning; he rejoices in causing destruction, and looks on all the proud and lofty of the earth as his own. But the poor in spirit, who humbly trust in the Lord's mercy, are safe; relying on their Almighty helper they may defy and resist this tremendous foe, and be made more than conquerors over him. But they must remember that they are saved wholly by grace; for who hath prevented the Lord, that he should repay him? And if they are mercifully rescued from deserved wrath, and from the malice of Satan, they have no right to complain of any affliction or distress; or to boast of any wisdom, strength, or endowment of their own. Submission, dependance, and grateful obedience are their part; it behoves them to revere the divine Majesty, to be abased under a consciousness of their own vileness, to take and fill their allotted place, to cease from their own wisdom, and to give all glory to God their Saviour. When any man becomes proud of his personal strength and courage; let him be reminded of leviathan, that he may feel his inferiority. When he is vain of his sagacity, ingenuity, or mental endowments, let him consider how much Satan excels him in them all. Let us all consider the holiness of God, that we may be ashamed of our remaining unholiness; and remembering from whom every good gift cometh, and for what end it was given, let us walk uprightly and humbly with the Lord; for before honour is humility.