Week 10: The Lord's Second Speech (40:6–41:34)

The Place of the Passage

God’s first speech directly answered some aspects of Job’s protest against injustice, and Job has formally withdrawn his complaint (Job 40:1–5). But that first speech was not a complete answer. When one has dead children, how satisfying is it to hear about the good ordering of (for instance) different animal species?

God redresses this deficit in a second speech, which directly focuses on Job’s criticisms of God (40:8). He directs Job’s gaze not to the natural order of things but to two terrifying beasts that represent spiritual evil. In speaking this way, he defends his justice to Job in such a way that Job is reduced to humble worship (42:1–6).

The Big Picture

The focus turns from the natural to the supernatural as God defends his justice by describing the coming battle with two fearsome monsters, Behemoth and Leviathan.

The Preparation of the Divine Warrior (40:9–14)

It is not uncommon in the Psalms to show the Lord radiating a luminous splendor before going to battle against his enemies (compare Pss. 29:3; 93:1; 96:6; 104:1).

After this preparation, what does God do in Job 40:12–14?

How do these verses directly answer Job’s complaint about divine injustice?

How do you think Job would have felt after hearing this self-description from the divine warrior?

How do you think the reader is supposed to reimagine God while reading this, especially after the false descriptions of God given by Job and his friends earlier in the book?

Behemoth (40:15–24) and Leviathan (41:1–34)

Through the poetry of these verses, God paints Job a vivid picture of the untamable, lurking strength of Behemoth and the invincible, impenetrable fierceness of Leviathan.

While God could be describing two entirely ordinary animals in these chapters, the fact that Job responds so differently to this speech compared to God’s previous speech, in which he described many animals (ch. 39), makes this unlikely.

Leviathan is described elsewhere as a supernatural opponent of God (Ps. 74:12–14; Isa. 27:1; Rev. 12:7–9).

What are some of the ways that these speeches challenge Job’s claims in his speeches, expand his vision, and change his view of God?

How does God’s speech about Behemoth and Leviathan challenge the theology of Job’s friends?

In two places, God speaks of a coming battle with these beasts (40:19 and 41:7–8).

How would this have been a comfort and a joy to Job?

What tone pervades these chapters? How would you characterize God’s attitude toward these creatures, and the coming battle?

Gospel Glimpses

THE JOY OF THE DIVINE WARRIOR. In his descriptions of Behemoth and Leviathan, God expands Job’s vision to show a cosmic evil at loose in creation, which God will one day defeat. As he shows Job evil on a scope Job can barely comprehend, God is neither apologetic nor defensive. If anything, he seems to praise his opponents (see especially 41:12).

What does this tell us about God?

This does not imply that there is anything good about these monsters.

Rather, it shows the joyful confidence of God as he looks forward to the day when he will scour every last bit of evil from his creation and make it new.

The one person who most clearly sees all that is wrong with his creation is also the one most enthusiastic about it—God.

What does this also tell us about God’s nature or character?

Job accepts God’s perspective on his still-unredeemed world and rejoices with him.

What does this then tell us about ourselves and how we can respond in the midst of difficult trials?

Following Job, we can withstand suffering without blackening God’s character or disparaging the goodness of created life, especially as we more fully understand the great price God paid to defeat the evil at loose in his creation—by taking it upon himself at the cross in the person of Jesus.

Whole-Bible Connections

WAR IN HEAVEN. Throughout his speeches, Job has viciously criticized what he considers to be God’s unjust administration of the cosmos. Although Job is aware of Leviathan (3:8), it does not occur to him that anyone other than God would be attacking him. God responds by expanding Job’s vision to include a cosmic enemy who would utterly overwhelm Job, but whom God will one day defeat (41:1–8).

What does this tell us about how we should view our place in the battle against evil?

What conclusions should Job draw from this?

What is and is not the enemy in these chapters?

God is not Job’s enemy, as Job thought—Leviathan is, while God is Job’s defender! God is also implying that he understands how much Job has suffered (in fact, he understands the true scope of Job’s suffering better than Job does).

What type of war is being described here?

But perhaps most important is the revelation that a great war is being fought behind the theater of earthly life—and …..

What is the prize?

We are!!!

Through pain, a great spiritual struggle is being waged over the saints.

What is the outcome of that battle?

Thankfully, God has already assured us of the outcome—defeat of our enemies and an eternity in his presence in the new heavens and the new earth.

GOD’S HIDDEN WISDOM. Our answers to evil and suffering tend to focus on trusting God in dark times, on waiting for our lives to get better, on God’s working all things out for good, and on the hope of heaven. These answers are certainly not wrong.

But how is God’s answer to Job different from that?

God’s answer to Job, however, is entirely different: he affirms the utter goodness of the world Job has been criticizing prior to the redemption of all things, a world in which chaos and evil are still given some room in God’s plans. While he promises to defeat this evil one day, God also sustains creation each day in the here-and-now. Trusting in God’s final defeat of evil, and remaining mindful of the war being fought over us, gives us strength to endure in our relationship with God while he allows Leviathan some measure of power over us.

Theological Soundings

DEEP SYMBOLISM. 

What do you think about some of the symbolism used in Job?

Some images in the Bible are relatively easy to understand, such as when the wicked are described as lions (Job 4:10). But there is a deeper and subtler symbolism in the Bible, which is found first in the serpent of Genesis 3, a creature clearly classified as a common animal (3:1) but who also knows things only God knows (compare Gen. 3:5 with Gen. 3:22).

Behemoth and Leviathan belong in this deeper category of symbolism, which speaks of realities that do not easily translate into earthly concepts or language. Their detailed physical descriptions are meant to evoke deeper spiritual realities of which we are only dimly aware. This is not the only way in which the Bible communicates, but it is one important part of God’s Word to us.