Meet Leviathan, the fire-breathing dragon. I’m going to make a case that while Leviathan was certainly an ancient mythical figure representing chaos, (as I shared in my post on Job 24-26), I think it and Behemoth may have also been actual creatures. Why? Glad you asked.

1. In the context of Job they appear in a list of other known creatures. Here is the list from chapters 38 through 40:
   • lion, raven, mountain goat, deer, wild donkey, wild ox (aurochs), ostrich, war horse, hawk, eagle.
2. The text gives no indication that God suddenly switches to speaking of mythical creatures when He gets to Behemoth.
3. The descriptions of both Behemoth and Leviathan are physical. In fact, God says, “Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you…” Job‬ ‭40‬:‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬. Job is not a mythical creature. I know that some scholars take the position that this whole story is one long parable and totally fictional, (and one day we will find out), but either way, in its own context, Job is a real human.
4. God’s questions to Job about these animals are identical in style to the questions about space and the bottom of the ocean. Those are real but also far beyond Job’s power to control.

Ok, but Lacy… fire-breathing dragons?

Let’s look at how the text describes it.

• Jaw- unable to be pierced with hook
• Unable to be caught or domesticated
• Unable to be pierced with a spear
• Unable to be killed by hunters
• Terrifying to encounter
• Extremely powerful and large
• Graceful (“comely”) form
• v13 may indicate a double row of teeth which some past and present animals have
• Powerful jaws
• Dreadful teeth (and I don’t mean he needs to visit the dentist). Horrifying is a good word. Think: Jaws. 🦈
• It has scales. It’s a reptile or fish.
• So far we have a giant, powerful, terrifying reptile with frightful teeth. Sounds awfully dinosaur-y to me. Let’s continue.
• If it sneezes, it flashes light. (Fun fact: the Hebrew for “sneeze” here is atiyshah which sounds exactly like an animal sneezing. If you have pets, you know this sound.)
  • Yeah but- flashing light? C’mon, Lacy. An animal flashing light?
  • Ever seen a lightning bug? Bioluminescence is a thing.
• Red eyes. (That’s not creepy at all.)
• Breathes fire and smoke comes out of its nose.
  • Ok. Ok. That’s it. You just stepped across the threshold into fantasy.
  • Would you believe me if I told you there was a beetle that could spray would-be attackers with a liquid as hot as boiling water? There is. It’s the African Bombardier Beetle.
  • Ok. But fire?
  • Ok. You’re right. There is no known animal that can breathe fire or has sparks that shoot from its mouth or has steam coming from its nose. But why would God talk about a mythical creature for whole chapter using a lot of concrete language? We didn’t even finish the description. The skin is impenetrable, its heart is like a stone, its sharply-scaled belly drags through the mud tearing up the ground, it churns up an enormous boiling wake in the ocean (which seems to be its habitat).

We should stop and remember that this is Hebrew poetry. And in Hebrew poetry descriptions are about essence more than appearance. For example: “His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires.” Song of Solomon‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We aren’t supposed to take that literally. The bridegroom is a hottie but he is not made of gold. He is dazzling but he has not been literally “Bedazzled” for his wedding night.

I’m just spitballing here, but maybe the fire that Leviathan breathes is not literal flame but a way of communicating destruction. I mean, Jesus won’t have a physical steel sword sticking out of His mouth when He returns. It’s a reference to the Word of God in His mouth. Maybe that’s what’s going on here with Leviathan. When it opens its mouth, destruction happens. Maybe its heart is not physically as hard as a millstone but is like a millstone in essence. This creature is not soft-hearted. It’s ruthless. Afraid of nothing. I’m pretty open-minded though. If I find out at the pearly gates that there really used to be a fire-breathing sea serpent on Earth, I’ll probably say, “Cool!! Can I see it?!”

The word “Leviathan” is mentioned only 3 other times in scripture. Here they are:

“Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.” Psalm‬ ‭74‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. These all look to you, to give them their food in due season.” Psalm‬ ‭104‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” Isaiah‬ ‭27‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The second passage treats Leviathan as an actual known animal. In Psalm 74 Leviathan seems to be like something we’d call a Hydra- a mythical multi-headed sea monster. Psalm 74 has a creation context. God conquered chaos at creation. It may also be a hat tip to the parting of the Red Sea and the defeat of the gods of Egypt. The “day” referenced in Isaiah the day of judgment and resurrection of the dead. Definitely end-of-days stuff. And it’s clearly talking about more than a rare species of sea serpent. This Leviathan is some kind of spiritual enemy.

I wonder if both can’t be true? Satan is compared to a roaring lion. Lions are real. He’s also called the Ancient Serpent. Snakes are real. But spiritual beings are also real, even if not part of the physical creation.

Perhaps there is double-entendre here. Perhaps Leviathan was a giant, ancient marine reptile that Job knew existed. It also makes for great illustration of a spiritual reality that God had to deal with at creation but will also deal with on judgement day. Maybe there is a spiritual entity that fits this description.

There are some pretty amazing beings in heaven. Cherubim would be rather frightening. Recall that God stationed some at the entrance of Eden. They are described in Revelation as being like animals or a man but with multiple wings, and “full of eyes” (perhaps facets like brilliantly cut gems). In Ezekiel they’re described similarly but each one has 4 faces. Seraphim appear in Isaiah. They have 6 wings and fly. That’s about all the description we get. Except that the Hebrew word seraph means burning, or fiery serpent (venomous from the fire of the bite, or from the bright fiery color like copper). A flying, winged serpent was a very common image in the ancient world. Egypt is rather famous for its many depictions. The Aztecs worshiped the feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl. I’m just saying- not every entity described in the Bible as inhabiting the spiritual realm is a humanoid. Some are like mammals. Some like birds. And some possibly even like snakes. If you want to think Biblically, it takes a little getting used to. A truly Biblical picture of heaven will have powerful animal-like creatures alongside humaniish ones. But probably no winged, naked babies.

Whether Leviathan was a sea serpent, a mythical chaos dragon, a spiritual being, or some complex amalgamation of all three, Job clearly gets the message. If he is scared of Leviathan, he better fear the One Who made it and can defeat it. This is how God frames his speech about Leviathan:

“Will you discredit my justice and condemn me just to prove you are right? Are you as strong as God? Can you thunder with a voice like his? All right, put on your glory and splendor, your honor and majesty.”
‭‭Job‬ ‭40‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

You want God to face you man to man? You demand that He treat you as an equal? Ok. Show me what cha got.

Job’s got nothing.

And I’m pretty sure that is the point of the whole science exam and in particular, the consideration of the 2 untamable creatures: Behemoth and Leviathan. God is helping Job see just how powerless and unknowing he is. And if he doesn’t have the chops to handle the reigns of the universe, by what right does he claim that the Creator is doing a bad job?

There is an ancient Chinese proverb (which I I found long ago in a fortune cookie):

“He who stands by should not criticize he who does.”

Job needed that fortune cookie. 🥠

I suppose the whirlwind is still whirling as God falls silent. I imagine Job was silent for a while too. Then he says, “I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.

I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” Job‬ ‭42‬:‭3, 5-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

You may remember that I said (a few days ago) that Job was going to have to eat his words. He just did. Back in chapter 13 he responded to Zophar with:

“Look, I have seen all this with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, and now I understand. I know as much as you do. You are no better than I am. As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty. I want to argue my case with God himself.”
‭‭Job‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Job only thought he was an expert prepared to argue toe-to-toe with God. He had to take it all back. But I love how he responds with humility and grace and honesty.

Then the Lord addresses Eliphaz and tells him the he, Bildad, and Zophar were wrong about Job. (Some people in your life will not realize they are wrong about you until God Himself tells them.)

“So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.”
‭‭Job‬ ‭42‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Shoo. Eliphaz and Co. absolutely dodged a bullet here. They had been misrepresenting God. (That’s why it’s not a good idea to put their quotes on a coffee mug.) You can’t tell me that the God of the OT isn’t gracious.

Job prays for these guys who called him every name in the book and accused him of every sin they could think of. That is character. This is the kind of man Job is. And God knew it all along.

And The Satan? He’s been proven wrong too. Reminds me of this scene:

“Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” Revelation‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I bet Job is somewhere in that shouting crowd. And so will all those who trust in Job’s Mediator and Intercessor- Jesus- who is the messenger from Heaven Who rescues from the grave.

(I think a Pentecostal “Go ahead and give God a praise!” is fitting here.) 🙌🏼

I imagine the rest of chapter 42 in Paul Harvey’s voice coming through the radio… (so you have to read it in your best Paul Harvey impression)…

📻

“When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.

So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.”
‭‭Job‬ ‭42‬:‭10‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

And now you know…

…the rest of the story.