Job 41:11 - Meaning and Application

God has already shown Job that he cannot deal with the leviathan, that huge and powerful creature. Now God draws out the lesson: his own power is displayed in that mighty beast. First, God shows his full rule and independence in Job 41:11. He owes nothing to any creature. If anyone thinks God owes them, let them prove their claim and show what service put God under obligation, and they would be repaid fully, not by partial payment. This is what Paul uses to silence human boasting before God: “Who has given to him first, that he should be paid back?” (Romans 11:35). God does not give us the punishments we deserve, and he also gives us blessings we never earned.

God is also the rightful Lord and owner of all creatures. Everything under heaven, living or not, belongs to him, and this includes the leviathan in a special way. All things are his, so we cannot make him our debtor. “Of your own have we given you” is the right attitude before God. All things are his, so if he did owe anyone, he would have plenty to repay them. He does not need our service, and we cannot add anything to him. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it” (Psalm 50:12).

The next verse gives proof of this truth by drawing our attention to the leviathan’s design and strength, Job 41:12. God will not hide the parts of this creature, its power, especially when attacked, or the fitting beauty of its whole body. Even though it is huge and fearsome, it is still marked by wise order. We may think beauty is found in what is small, because we ourselves are small. But in God’s eyes even the leviathan is well formed, and if he calls the whale or crocodile beautiful, we should not lightly call any of his works ugly. It is enough to say that about our own work when we have reason to.

God is, as it were, giving us an anatomy lesson on the leviathan. His works show their beauty and excellence most clearly when we look at their parts and how they fit together. At first sight, the creature is threatening and hard to approach, Job 41:13, 14. Who would dare come close enough while it is alive to examine its skin, to bridle it like a horse, or to stand within reach of its jaws? Who would look into its mouth as we do into a horse’s mouth? If its mouth is opened, its teeth are terrible on every side, strong and sharp, ready to tear. It would make anyone shudder to think of placing an arm or leg between them.

Its scales are both its beauty and its strength, and so also its pride, Job 41:15-17. This fits the crocodile especially well, since it is known for its scales. If the passage is speaking of the whale, then the shields here may mean the layers of its skin, or perhaps whales in that region had scaly parts. The striking thing is how tightly the scales hold together. That keeps the creature warm, since no air can get through, and safe, since no sword can pierce those scales. Fish that live in the water are armed in this way by Providence, which gives them covering as it gives them a place to live.

The creature also spreads terror by its breath and by what it does with its mouth and nose. If it sneezes or blows out water, it flashes like light, either from the foam or from the sun shining through it, Job 41:18. People report that the eyes of the whale shine at night like a flame, or like the first light of morning. They say the same of the crocodile. Its breath is so hot and fiery, because of the strong heat within it, that people speak of burning lamps, sparks, smoke, and flame coming out of its mouth, as though enough to set coals on fire, Job 41:19-21. These are likely strong, picture-filled expressions meant to show us the fearsome wrath of God, which is what this whole description is meant to teach. “Fire comes out of his mouth” (Psalm 18:7-8). The breath of the Almighty, like a stream of burning sulfur, kindles Topheth, the place of judgment, and will keep it burning forever (Isaiah 30:33). The lawless one will be destroyed by the breath of the Lord’s mouth (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

The leviathan is also marked by unmatched strength and fierce courage. It terrifies all who meet it, but it is not terrified by anything else. Look at its neck, and you still see strength, Job 41:22. Its head and body are firmly joined. Sorrow seems to march before it, or perhaps storms move on in triumph before it, because it leaves destruction wherever it goes. What is misery to others is almost joy to it, and what tosses others about is like dancing to it. Its flesh is tightly knit, Job 41:23. The layers of flesh are joined so closely and are so firm that it is hard to pierce. It is almost as if it were all bone. Its flesh is like bronze, unlike Job’s own frail body, which he had complained was not so strong (Job 6:12). Its heart is as hard as a stone, Job 41:24. It has courage equal to its size. Though it is bulky, it is lively, not clumsy.

Since its flesh and skin cannot be pierced, neither can its courage be shaken. Instead, it frightens everyone else and throws them into confusion, Job 41:25. When it rises like a moving mountain in the great waters, even the mighty are afraid that it will overturn their ships or do them some other harm. Because of the water breaking around it, which seems to threaten death, they clean up their lives, confess their sins, turn to prayer, and prepare to die. Job 3:8 speaks of those who, when they see a leviathan stirred up, are so afraid that they curse the day they were born. Some people are driven to curses, others to prayer. Even then, as now, sailors did not all respond the same way to the sea’s terror, but all agreed on one thing, there was great fear when the leviathan rose up.

All the weapons used against it do nothing, Job 41:26-29. Sword and spear, which strike at close range, are useless. Darts, arrows, and sling-stones, which strike from far away, do no damage. Nature has armed it completely, from head to toe, against all of them.

The defensive weapons men use against the leviathan, like a breastplate, are of no more use than their attack weapons. Iron and bronze are as light to him as straw and rotting wood, and he laughs at them. This paints a picture of a hard-hearted sinner, one who despises the fears of the Almighty and laughs at the warnings of his word.

The leviathan is so little afraid of the weapons used against him that he shows off his toughness by lying on sharp stones, sharp-edged things (Job 41:30). He rests there as comfortably as if he were lying in soft mud. Those who want to endure hard things must train themselves for hardness.

His very movement in the water stirs it up and makes it churn, Job 41:31, Job 41:32. When he rolls, tosses, or hunts his prey, he makes the deep boil like a pot. He raises a great froth on the water, like a boiling pot, especially one boiling ointment. He also leaves a shining path behind him, something even a ship in the middle of the sea does not do (Proverbs 30:19). One can track the leviathan under water by the bubbles on the surface, and yet who would dare use that sign to chase him? Men track hares in the snow and kill them, but whoever tracks the leviathan does not dare come near him.

After giving this detailed account of the creature’s parts, power, and fine shape, the writer closes with four general truths about him. First, there is nothing like him among the creatures on earth: “On earth there is not his like” (Job 41:33). No creature in this world equals him in strength and terror. Or, if earth is being set against sea, then his rule is not on land, but in the waters. None of the wild creatures on land come close to him in size and strength. It is a mercy that he is kept in the waters, and that God’s providence watches over him (Job 7:12), because if such a terrible creature were allowed to roam the earth, human life would be unsafe and miserable.

Second, he is bolder and more fearless than any other creature. “He is made without fear.” Creatures are as they were made, and the leviathan is built with courage in his nature. Nothing frightens him. Other creatures seem made for fleeing, while he seems made for fighting. In the same way, among people, some are naturally bold and others naturally afraid.

Third, he is very proud. Though he lives in the deep, “he beholds all high things” (Job 41:34). He looks with contempt on the rolling waves, the rocks above him, the clouds overhead, and the ships with their tall sails. He does not think they make him smaller or threaten him. Those who are great are often proud.

Fourth, he is “king over all the children of pride,” meaning he is the proudest of the proud. As Mr. Caryl explains it, he has more reason to be proud than the proudest people in the world have. That should humble the high and haughty looks of men. Whatever outward strengths people boast in, the leviathan surpasses them and rules over them.

Some understand this line as speaking of God instead: He who sees all high things is King over all the children of pride. He can tame Behemoth (Job 40:19) and the leviathan, great and stubborn as they are. This whole discussion of the two creatures was meant to prove that only God can look on proud men and bring them low, tread them down, and hide them in the dust (Job 40:11-13). So it ends with the point proved. There is One who sees all high things, and whenever people act proudly, he stands above them. He is King over all the children of pride, whether beast or human, and he can make them bow or break before him (Isaiah 2:11). The proud looks of man will be brought low, the high thoughts of men will be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted.