Job: Not to Be Conquered

Job 40:6-41:34

Years ago, I led our church staff through a study of a book by Les Parrott called Control Freak. The book had a “Control Freak” assessment. I remember my score was off the “Control Freak” chart! Maybe you have a control problem as well. Parrott writes,

At any given moment, millions of Americans are scrambling to take control of their jobs, spouses, kids, health, and time. And it seems nothing is too petty to dismiss an opportunity to prove they are living life their way, making life an exhausting war of wills for everyone they encounter.[1]

Job also had a control problem. His pain brought him to the brink of demanding that God answer every one of his questions. He wanted to call God to the witness stand and drill him with inquiries. But the Almighty turned the tables. From Job 38 to 41, God peppers Job with over seventy questions focused on creation. First, God asked, “Job, can you explain my creation?” (38:1-38) by specifying, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know!” (38:4). Job was silenced. Second, God asked, “Job, can you control my creation?” (38:39-39:30). In this section, God focused on many of the animals he had created. He probed, “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high?” (39:26-27) Finally, after a brief interlude, God returns with this question: “Job, can you conquer my creation?” (40:6-41:34) That’s our focus today.

Job 40:6-9 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: ⁷ “Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. ⁸ Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? ⁹ Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?

After the first two rounds of interrogation, God grants Job a moment to express his humility. Job has no answers and no rebuttal. He states, “I lay my hand on my mouth” (40:4). Once again, God appears as he did initially “out of the whirlwind,” and instructs Job to “dress for action like a man.” Job wishes to question God and prove him wrong for his suffering. However, God leaves no room for this in his rhetorical question: “Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me so that you may be in the right?” God's strength and the storm that accompanied his entrance, possibly including lightning, hail, and thunder, demonstrate that Job is no match for the Lord Most High. God reminds Job that everything under heaven belongs to God (41:11) and is under his control. In Job 39, God describes twelve animals to demonstrate Job’s lack of control over the wildlife. Now, he wraps up with two beasts, created by him and controlled by him, that no man can conquer.

Job 40:15-19 Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. ¹⁶ Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. ¹⁷ He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. ¹⁸ His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. ¹⁹ “He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!

The Behemoth describes a very large animal God made, just as he created man. The exact identity of this creature remains unknown. Some speculate it was a diplodocus or an apatosaurus, while others suggest it could be a massive bull elephant. Most scholars believe God was referring to a hippopotamus, which can be five feet tall and weigh over four thousand pounds. Regardless of its identity, God uses it to illustrate that this beast cannot be conquered. The next animal God showcases is the Leviathan, another that no man can overpower. Traders have no chance of catching him, and no man will go near him.

Job 41:5-10 Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls? ⁶ Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants? ⁷ Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? ⁸ Lay your hands on him; remember the battle—you will not do it again! ⁹ Behold, the hope of a man is false; he is laid low even at the sight of him. ¹⁰ No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me?

Like the Behemoth, no one knows what the Leviathan truly was. Some speculate that it was a giant crocodile that could grow up to twenty feet long and weigh over two thousand pounds. “His back,” God says, “is made of rows of shields” (41:15). “Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth” (41:19). So perhaps this isn’t a crocodile, after all! We do know that the creature is virtually indestructible. Iron weapons are “as straw” and “bronze as rotten wood” when used against it (41:27). “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” (41:28-29). No human can dominate all of God’s creation! God drives home his sovereign control with these words:

Job 41:10-11 No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me? ¹¹ Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

God’s message to Job is clear: How could you possibly stand before me if you cannot conquer all that I have created? Using Job 41:11 to declare God’s majesty and sovereignty in Romans 11, Paul concludes,

Romans 11:36 “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

Paul’s benediction provides fitting words to end God’s encounter with Job. PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD Read Job 40:6-41:34. Focus on God’s argument that his creation cannot be conquered. Talking to God Thank God for his sovereign rule over all things. Reflect on the words, “Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.” Have Questions? Be sure to send your questions to our team. We are happy to assist you as you explore God's Word. Submit your question below, and we'll reply soon. And if you don’t know where you stand with Jesus, we would love to have that conversation with you. [1] Les Parrott III, The Control Freak: Coping with Ones Around You. Taming the One Within. (Zondervan, 2006), 11.