117. King Over All the Children of Pride
Hymns: RHC 8 Holy, Holy, Holy 41 Before Jehovah’s Awful Throne 559 Near the Cross
Job 41:1-34
1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? 2 Canst thou put a 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? orwho 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 scales 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 joy before him. 23 The flakes 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. 27 He esteemeth iron as straw, andbrass 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 stones 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. 34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.
King Over All The Children of Pride
OUTLINE
- Men Humbled Unable to Subdue It
INTRODUCTION
Before the fall of man, Adam and Eve were residing in the Garden of Eden. It was the fairest paradise ever known to man, surpassing the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Nineveh, more than the garden of Cyrus, the Persian King, more exquisite than the gardens of the Roman emperors. Better than the Pukekura Park in New Plymouth, New Zealand, touted one of the most beautiful gardens in the world, set at the center of the breezy coastal city of New Plymouth, Pukekura Park stretches over 128 acres with alluring formal gardens, stunning waterfalls, and expansive greenhouses of ferns and indoor plants.
CH Spurgeon described well the Garden of Eden, “It was full of all manner of delightful fruitful spot wherein the man who was set to keep would have no need of toil, but would find it a happy and refeshing exercise to train the luxurious plants. No sweat was ever seen upon his happy brow, abundance of luscious fruits ministered to his necessities. No inclemencies of weather disturbed his repose. No winter wind scattered the leaves of Eden, no summer heat burned up its flowers. There were sweet alternations of day and night, but the day brought no sorrow, and the night no danger. The beasts were there; yet not as beasts of prey, but as the obedient servamts of that happy man whom God had made to have dominion over all the works of His hands. In the midst of the garden grew that mysterious Tree of Life, of which we know so little literally, but of which, I trust, we know so much in its spiritual meaning, for we have fed upon its fruits, and have been healed by its leaves. Hard by it stood the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, placed there as the test of obedience. Adam’s mind was equally balanced, it had no bias to evil, and God left him to the freedom of his will, giving this as a test of his loyalty, that if obedient, he would never touch the fruit of that one tree.
Why need he? There were tens of thousands of trees, all of which bowed down their branches with abundant fruit for his hunger and his luxury. Why need he desire that solitary tree which God had fenced and hedged about? But, in an evil hour, at the serpent’s base suggestion, we know not how soon after his creation, he put forth his hand and plucked from the forbidden tree! The mere plucking of the fruit seems little to the thoughtless, but the breaking of the Maker’s law was a great offence to heaven, for it was man throwing down the gage of battle against his Creator, and breaking his allegiance to his Lord and Master; this was great, great in itself and in its mischievous effects, for Adam fell that day, and out of Eden he was driven to till the thankless, thorn-bearing soil, and you and I fell in him, and were banished with him. We are in his loins. He was the “father of us all,” and on us he has brought the curse of toil, and in us all he has sown the seeds of iniquity.
Let it never be forgotten, in connection with the Garden of Eden, that we are not now a pure and sinless race, and cannot be by nature, however civilised we may become. Men are born no longer with balanced minds, but a heavy weight of original sin in the scale. We are averse to that which is good. The bias of the mind of man, when is is born into the world, is towards that which is evil, and we as naturally go astray as the serpent naturally learns to hiss, or the wolf to tear and devour. [The leviathan in its terror over all that comes its way]
The house of manhood has been shaken to its foundations; each timber is decayed; the leprosy is in the tottering wall. Man must be made new by the same creating hand that first made him, or he can never be a dwelling place fit for God. Let those who boast of their natural goodness look to the Garden of Eden and be ashamed of their pride, and then examine their own actions by the glass of God’s most holy law, and he confounded that they should dream of purity. How can he be pure that is born of woman? “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing? Not one.” As our mothers were sinful, such are we, and such will our children be; as long as men are brought into the world by natural generation, we shall be “born in sin and shapen in iniquity;” and , if we are to be accepted by God, we must be born again, and made new creatures in Christ Jesus.
Alas! then, alas! for that first king’s garden! The flowers are gone; the birds have ceased to sing! The winter winds howl through it, and the summer sun scorches it! The beasts of prey are there. Fit image, if it be so, of our natural estate, for we were altogether given up to desolation and destruction, unless One mighty to have had espoused our cause.”
Ponder this statement, “Pride is the ground in which all other sin grows, and the parent from which all the other sins come.” It was the sin of pride that cause the most beautiful and perfect of God’s creature to fall.
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
A haughty spirit, a proud heart, not seen by others but known only to oneself and definitely to God. How we need to nip it in the bud and repent immediately.
We saw last week, the behemoth, most powerful, ferocious hyper-beast untamable by humans but not with God. For God, the behemoth is easily tamed.
Job was humbled, brought to absolute awe and silence, to give absolute submission to God so that he will finally acknowledge as the Sovereign Almighty Creator [Christopher Ash] and that he deserved out trust, submission and worhship [Swindoll] – Job 42:2 (KJV) I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
- Men Humbled Unable to Subdue It
1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? 2 Canst thou put a hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
Fishing is one of man’s favourite hobby to outwit and catch the unsuspecting fish. Not for the Leviathan. He could not catch him as a little fish with a rod and a line and a bait.
He had no bait wherewith to deceive him, no hook wherewith to catch him, no fish-line wherewith to draw him out of the water, nor a thorn to run through his gills, on which to carry him home. [Matthew Henry]
The Leviathan is an untamable creature in the sight of men.
3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
Will the Leviathan plead with you when you tie it up?
Will that beast speak soft and tender things? There are some divine humour here [Swindoll]
4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
Will it make a covenant with you and make itself your servant or prisoner forever?
He knows his own strength too well to make many supplications to thee, and to make a covenant with thee to be thy servant on condition thou wilt save his life.” [Matthew Henry]
5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
He could not entice him into a cage, and keep him there as a bird for the children to play with. There are creatures so little, so weak, as to be easily restrained thus, and triumphed over; but the leviathan is not one of these: he is made to be the terror, not the sport and diversion, of mankind. [Matthew Henry]
6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?
That he could not have him served up to his table [imagine seeing his dead body laid out on the fish market floor ready to be auction – Christopher Ash]; he and his companions could not make a banquet of him; his flesh is too strong to be fit for food, and, if it were not, he is not easily caught.
That they could not enrich themselves with the spoil of him: Shall they part him among the merchants, the bones to one, the oil to another? [Matthew Henry]
7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?
That they could not destroy him, could not fill his head with fish-spears. He kept out of the reach of their instruments of slaughter, or, if they touched him, they could not touch him to the quick.
8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
If men go about to seize him, so formidable is he that the very sight of him will appal them, and make a stout man ready to faint away: Shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? and will not that deter the pursuers from their attempt? Job is told, at his peril, to lay his hand upon him.
Touch him if thou dare; remember the battle, how unable thou art to encounter such a force, and what is therefore likely to be the issue of the battle, and do no more, but desist from the attempt.” It is good to remember the battle before we engage in a war, and put off the harness in time if we foresee it will be to no purpose to gird it on.
Job is hereby admonished not to proceed in his controversy with God, but to make his peace with him, remembering what the battle will certainly end in if he come to an engagement. [Matthew Henry]
9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
That it was to no purpose to attempt it: The hope of taking him is in vain, ”
10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?
There is no human being so strong and fierce that he dares to “stir him up”.
“If you think it would be scary to stand in Leviathan’s presence, just ask yourself what it must be like to stand in my presence?” [Christopher Ash]
When John saw te Son of man, he fell at his feet as dead.
Revelation 1:12-17 (KJV) And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
11 Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
God is the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth, to think of the Leviathan, we tremble then what about God Who is the creator of the fearful Leviathan!
God, having in v1-6 shown Job how unable he was to deal with the leviathan, here sets forth his own power in that massy mighty creature.
God’s sovereign dominion and independency is here laid down. 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.” [Matthew Henry]
The Lord makes it clear to Job that He alone controls this beast in the swamp! [Swindoll]
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 areterrible round about. 22 In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him. 23 The flakes 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.
In v12-24 is a description of the Leviathan. The behemoth was strong, the Leviathan is very strong and mascular. A bridle cannot be attached under his skin. To look into his face is to know the terror of facing a hungry great white shark at sea or a ferocious crocodile.
15 His scales 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.
V15-17 deccribed a back covered with impregnable shields of hard armour, with no vulnerable spaces between them where you might hope to land a harpoon or a sword. [Christopher Ash]
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.
V18-21 describe a fire-breathing dragon of a creature, with eyes so bright they outshine the dawn (v18) and “breath” that can light a barbeque. The fire that emantes from his nostrils and mouth reveal the heat and anger of the hatred and malice of the heart. [Christopher Ash]
22 In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
His neck muscles are terrifying and hard. He is an utterly scary creature who smells of death. [Christopher Ash] He makes terrible work wherever he comes. Those storms which are the sorrow of others are his joys [Matthew Henry].
23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
There are no soft places in his skin.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
And his chest or heart is hard like the lower millstone, a hard-hearted creature (cold inside) or may just mean that his chesk is rock-hard [Christopher Ash]
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. 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.
V25-29 shows what happends when human beings attack him. The Leviathan is crashing around (v25) in a terrifying way. You can attack him with swords (close combat) or with spears, darts and javelins (weapons from a distance), but they will have no effect. Tearing these weapons to pieces as if they were mere straw or rotten wood. He is not frightened by arrows, sling stones, clubs, javelins – he laughs at them all (v28-29). He is invincible to human attack.
30 Sharp stones 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.
In v30-32, we see him thrashing around mud and the water. His underside, where we might have hope to find a point of weakness, is “sharp” and hard (v30). He lives in “the deep”, thrashing around and making a white with the foam of his movements (v31-32). Here is a sea monster, a fire-breathing sea dragon, whose dwelling place is associated with evil, danger and hostility to God and death.
33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. 34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.
The description ends with his uniqueness (v33a) – on earth there is not his like.
He is unlike all other creatures. He fears nothing and no one in the created world (v33). “He is king” (v34). The world is full of proud and arrogant people, but he is the proudest, the strongest, the ruler of them all. He is the one who can really say “I am the greatest”. [Christopher Ash]
CONCLUSION
Job is led to acknowledge God Who is infinitely more powerful than the Leviathan. He only is Creator. Job is exhorted to trust God for he is the work of His hands. He will certainly take care of him. Amen.