At a Low Ebb

We read about the behemoth yesterday, and now we encounter the leviathan; another legendary monster symbolic of cosmic powers, but this time resembling a crocodile. The rest of the chapter is a vivid description of this animal. This is great fun–even if the stuff of nightmares–but there is a serious point: like Satan in the opening chapters, all-powerful forces in the world are under God’s control. They are totally subservient to their creator, like it or not. This chapter continues God’s reply to Job, with the implication that Job is powerless against such forces; only God can subdue them. “Everything under heaven belongs to [him]” (11). So despite all that has gone before, Job has no claim against God. 

So now what? It could be argued that perhaps this is Job’s lowest point. He is still suffering, with no end in sight to his troubles, and now the very God he is depending on dismisses all his claims for justice. God wins, whatever Job says.

I went through a black patch in my late twenties, when all I could pray was, “Lord, don’t let me go.” The connection between God and me was as tenuous as a gossamer thread, and I was barely hanging on to my end of it. Thankfully, God did hold on and brought me through that time, but while it was going on I did not know he would do this, any more than Job knew the end of his own story. It may be that someone reading these notes is in a similar position. You feel battered on all sides, and, because God is sovereign and all-powerful, there is nothing you can do to influence him towards rescuing you. Take courage–there’s one more chapter to come!

After reading about the greatness of God, how does this make you feel?