Job Chapter 41:ALL

Welcome to Cross the Bridge Pastor David has been teaching lessons from the life of Job. Job is one of the oldest books in the Bible. We are finding out that what needed to be learned back then still needs to be learned by us today as we continue studying chapter 41. Now here's Pastor David.

Welcome to Job. The chapter we're in in the book of Job tonight is talking all about the Leviathan and it's interesting, fascinating, but you know, as far as working out how to love God and love your neighbor, the Leviathan, I am not sure how it works in there, but again, fascinating stuff. So we'll touch on that, but we also have Job coming to this incredible revelation. So let's pray and then we'll turn there. Lord, thank you. Thank you for this evening. Lord, thank you for the book of Job. Lord, there's so many things in here for each and every one of us.

Lord, help us not to be distracted by this incredible and wonderful creature that's spoken of. And Lord help each and every one of us to ask tonight, what does that mean to me? What are you saying to me? What is it God that you want me to change? What is it that you want me to do God? Lord, may we courageously ask that question tonight, knowing you give us the power. You give us the desire and the will to change us from worldly, envious, self-seeking people to loving God and loving people and putting God first and others second and ourself third. God, that's the way you constructed us.

You created us to live. And Lord, I pray especially for anyone here struggling with unforgiveness. Lord, I thank you that you tell us in your word that we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. So tonight, thank you God that we can forgive. We can love.

God, we can love the unlovable. We can forgive the unforgivable because we're doing it in your power and in your name. So Lord, we ask that you open our hearts to your word and open your word to our hearts in Jesus name. Amen. Praise God.

All right. Turn with me to Job chapter 41 and we're getting towards the end here of Job. And even though this book comes in the middle of the Hebrew scriptures, it's one of the oldest books written while our old Testament or Hebrew scriptures has the exact same books as the Jewish Bible or the Tanakh. Incidentally, the entire Old Testament in Hebrew is referred to as the Tanakh. The Torah is speaking of the first five books of the Bible.

Now that's official. Some people to clutter the matter will use Torah to refer to the Old Testament and sometimes they'll say Tanakh referring to the first five books. But generally speaking, what an incredible book and praise God that we live in a part of the world where we could join together and study the scriptures. Praise God for the freedoms that we have in this country. Amen. Praise God man. Chapter 41 of Job says, can you draw out Leviathan with a hook or snare his tongue with the line which you lower?

Can you put a reed through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Now this is in a section of scripture where God is speaking to Job and he's kind of overwhelming Job. He's asking Job some questions that show the strength of God and the humanity of Job. And so he asked these questions and the implied answer is no. It reminds me of the place in the New Testament where it says, you know, do all have the gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? And again, implied no.

It doesn't answer, but the implied is no. Of course, even as I say that, there's probably some fishermen in here. They're saying, well, not only can you hook the Leviathan with a hook, but I've done it. I just don't have any pictures cause he got away at the last minute. See, but I actually did have the Leviathan on the hook.

I don't know what causes fish to grow so rapidly from the time they're caught to the way they're described at the house, but it's an amazing growth process. In verse three, will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you? There is such intrigue in this mystery, in this chapter. And yet we could spend six hours talking about this beast, trying to figure out what it is or even who it is. And yet that really won't help us, spiritually speaking. Now, when we look at some attributes of this being, this beast, it really makes you stop and pause.

Let's do something we don't usually do and skip ahead a little bit. Let's look at the last few verses of chapter 41. Let's look at verse 32 and it says, he leaves a shining wake behind him.

One would think the deep had white hair on earth. There is nothing like him which is made without fear. He beholds every high thing and he is king over all the children of pride. At some point, it seems like we've gone from describing the Leviathan to describing the enemy, because the king, if you will, of prideful children would be the enemy, the prince of the power of the air, as he's known. So as we look at this creature, let's understand there's a lot going on. There's the obvious, there's the spiritual insinuated underneath it. I mean, it's really intriguing to sit and think about this, but again, look at what God is asking about the beast.

This is very interesting. Verse three, chapter 41. Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you?

Well, I thought we were talking about Leviathan. You see how this gets interesting and spiritual. And then verse four, will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever? We need to learn what this word covenant means.

Most words that we would use to describe it fall far, far too short. We'll use a contract and yet lawyers are experts at getting people out of contracts. And a covenant is not something you get out of. And actually the word covenant, there's a picture in the Hebrew literally meaning to cut or to bleed when you make covenant. So this is not just an agreement or a contract.

This is a lifelong unbreakable guarantee. And when we say unbreakable, we're talking about God who is given the covenant. Something very interesting happens when God is dealing with Abraham in the book of Genesis. And if you're not familiar with Jewish customs of the day, you could miss it because when God establishes his covenant with Abraham, their tradition of the day was that you would take animals and cut them in half and place part of them over here, part of them over there. Then the covenant parties would walk through the middle of the animals. And the agreement was we're making covenant. And before we break this covenant, we will be cut in two like these animals.

We will never break this. It says Abraham, when they were getting ready to make the covenant and do the walkthrough, Abraham fell asleep and didn't walk through. What does that mean? The covenant's not in effect. It doesn't work.

No, no, no, no. Covenant's in effect, but it only has one guarantor and it's not Abraham. It's God.

That makes it unconditional and unbreakable. And anybody that wants to speak of the nonsense that God has broken his covenant with Israel needs to buy a globe and see that Israel is actually on the map now. Praise God. After 2000 years, I tell you what, if you want to talk about the validity and the accuracy of the Bible to someone, talk about Israel.

It's irrefutable. He has a covenant with Israel. Now, not only are they a nation again, but friend, boy, think about this. Ezekiel 38 and 39, give the picture of Armageddon. Ezekiel 37 shows Israel coming back to the land and can these dry bones live? And then Ezekiel 38, 39 describes Armageddon. It describes the nation coming against Israel, describes Persia or Iran being involved and describes Russia being involved. Tarshish and its young lions, speaking of the land of tin or Britain described in there.

Ethiopia, Libya. And it describes how all the nations of the world will gather against Israel just like they're doing right now. But see, this wasn't yesterday's newspaper. I'm talking about.

This is the book of Ezekiel that was written about 2,600 years ago, and it describes in detail exactly the situation we're seeing today. Things are happening. It's time to look up. I heard a brother say the other day, and it just struck me so deep. He said, it's time to go deep.

The storms are here. Interesting. Here's the life lesson. God has made a covenant available to mankind. Anyone willing to be a believing whosoever. Say that again. God has made a covenant available to mankind.

Anyone willing to be a believing whosoever. We'll talk about that more in just a moment. Pastor David will be back in less than one minute as he continues teaching in the book of Job. A great way to start out each day is with a practical email devotional every morning from Pastor David. Visit crossthebridge.com to start receiving yours for free. If you have a cell phone, you can also text the word ENCOURAGE to 94253.

That's 94253 to receive a short encouraging text from us each day. And now back to the teaching. Let's continue. Look at verse five. And again, if you can imagine, and as far as what this animal exactly is, I've done a lot of studying and looking at this and looking at it in the Hebrew and from different angles. And after spending a lot of time on this, I've come to the conclusive decision that I don't know. I mean, the moment I think I got it, there's another verse that says something else.

I'm like, oh, that doesn't work. You know, it's an elephant. No, it's a hippopotamus. No, it's a dinosaur. Could be. Now you're sitting there going, oh, dinosaurs didn't exist with man.

Careful, careful, careful. According to the evolutionary thing, but they've actually outside of Glen Rose, Texas, they've actually have fossils where there's a human footprint inside of a dinosaur print. Could be a dinosaur, could be a huge whale. Could be, could be, could be. You see, I mean, we could do this for a long time, but, you know, and then we would all ride home going, it could have been this, could have been that. And then when we get an argument at home, it's like, well, it was a leviathan. That was no, that's not very handy at the house.

So that's why I got to keep getting it. Verse five. Will you play with him as with a bird?

I don't think so. Or will you leash him for your maidens? God is, he's over the top here.

He's using these incredible analogies that are really, you know, showing Job the weakness and the flaws. Will your companions make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants? Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fish and spears?

That's where it sounds like a whale or something. Lay your hand on him. Remember the battle.

Never do it again. Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false. Now, of course, that means in our strength that whatever this being is, we can't overcome him in our own strength. Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?

This is a huge being. No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against me?

God switches gear and he says, you know what? I created this thing. I control it. I set forth how its skin is. I set forth how long the pregnancy lasts, how they breed, how they reproduce. I put in the female cycle. I put in the male fertilization.

I put all these things together. I control the life cycle, the lifespan of this animal. And you can't control anything regarding that animal that I control. So how do you compare to me, Joe? Anything that we compare ourselves to God over shows our weaknesses and our frailties. God is righteous, but the Bible says there's none righteous.

No, not one, not one among humans. He alone is holy. So verse 10, no one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against me?

Who has preceded me that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is mine. Now again, an interesting thing is in Ezekiel 38, 39, the nations are doing just that. They're declaring a war on God. They think they can take him.

They think they can stand against him. Verse 12 says, I will not conceal his limbs, his mighty power or his graceful proportions. Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle? Who can open the doors of his face with his terrible teeth all around? His rows of scales or his pride shut up tightly as with a seal. One is so near another that no air can come between them.

Speaking about his teeth, that sounds like a shark. It's just hard to figure out what this thing is. Verse 17, they are joined one to another.

They stick together and cannot be parted. Now we go to another section that it begins to sound like a dragon. And before you say, oh, there's no such thing as a dragon.

Just because you haven't seen one doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Amen? I see a lot of things in the Bible that I haven't seen yet that I will see.

In verse 18, now this is interesting. It sounds like a dragon. His sneezings flash forth light and his eyelids are like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go burning lights. Sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke goes out of his nostrils.

Well, I see some people do that, but I think it's a little different. As from a boiling pot and burning rushes, his breath kindles coals and a flame goes out of his mouth. Of course, again, the interesting thing is this could be describing the enemy. His breath kindles coals and flame goes out of his mouth. Strength dwells in his neck and sorrow dances before him. The folds of his flesh are joined together. They are firm on him and cannot be moved. Here's an interesting one. Verse 24, his heart is as hard as stone.

Even as hard as the lower millstone. So again, that makes you wonder what is being spoken of here. Is it an animal or is it our spiritual enemy?

Is it speaking of a physical animal and underscoring a spiritual concept? One thing's for sure, in the comparison between God and Job or God and people, if you will, people are down here. God's up there. Any religion that teaches humans or gods or human can become gods is not biblical. The Mormons believe that we become gods. Shirley MacLaine told everybody years ago, I am God. Boy, am I disappointed. No, I'm kidding. She's obviously not God.

There's a difference. See, we can feel really good when we compare ourselves to one another, but when we compare ourselves to God, how do we look then? Psalm 8, it's a great Psalm. It's only nine verses, but it talks about man. It says, Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name and all the earth who has set thy glory above the heavens, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained.

I use the King James incidentally for the Psalm because it's kind of poetic in verse three. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him. For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels and has crowned him with glory and honor. Thou mayest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands. Thou has put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beast of the field, the fowl of the earth and the fish of the sea and whatsoever passes through the paths of the sea. Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. There's a big difference between man and God. And when you start thinking about it, it's like, who are we that you consider us? It would be a mystery if God just sent the Bible to us.

He did a lot more than that. He sent this son to die for us. Verse 24, his heart is as hard as stone. Has your heart become hard in any area towards someone, maybe towards family, friends? I miss my church. Had a pastor tell me early on, he said, man, always, always put a priority on you spending time with the Lord personally so that you can stay tough skinned, but soft hearted.

That's a great description, tough skinned, soft hearted. I don't always hit the goal. I am not perfect. Like y'all, I'm working it out, learning to love people and learning that Facebook is an illusion. Has this ever happened to anybody here or listening where you're having a good day and you're worshiping God got a couple of awesome verses in the morning from your devotional, maybe had some private worship time. Man, praise God. Oh, yeah, I got to check this on Facebook and you go on Facebook. Man, I didn't know I was a worm. They said I was a worm, so it must be a worm because they called me a worm and it must be true because it's on the Internet. Two minutes later, you're shot down in flames. What changed?

Nothing really, except what your eyes are on. Don't get me wrong. Facebook is an awesome ministry, but be careful. First of all, make sure other people have your password. Make sure your wife has your password or your husband has your password.

They don't have it. You need to fix that tonight. And if you ask for that password and they start going to call the church, we'll help you because something's wrong. You know, it reads in Psalm 30, verse five, wonderful verse. It says for his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Man, that's good stuff. So verse 24, it says as hard as his hardest stone, even as hard as the lower millstone, when he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid because of his crashings.

They are beside themselves. Though the sword reaches him and cannot avail nor to spear, dart or javelin. He regards iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee. Sling stones become like stubble to him.

Darts are regarded as straw. He laughs at the threat of javelins. His undersides are like sharp potsherds.

Those are like pieces of pottery that are broken. He spreads pointed marks in the mire. He makes the deep boil like a pot. He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. He leaves a shining weight behind him.

One would think the deep had white hair. On earth there is nothing like him which is made without fear. He beholds every high thing. He is king over all the children of pride. You know what?

I don't know what it is, but I don't want to see it. Amen? I don't want to hang out with this creature. Go love the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. How do you receive this gift of everlasting life from God? First, acknowledge you are a sinner in need of forgiveness. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died for you on the cross, taking your sin upon himself to provide forgiveness for you. Then ask for him to enter your heart in life, turning away from your sins, that is, your own selfish desires, and then open your heart to follow God's plan for your life. You can start your new life by praying something like this from your heart. Dear Jesus, I believe that you died for me, that I could be forgiven. I believe you are resurrected, that I could have a new life. Lord, I have done wrong things and I am sorry.

Please forgive me for all of those things and please give me the power to live for you the rest of my life. In Jesus' name, amen. My friend, if you prayed that prayer today for the first time or are coming back to God after wandering away, please let us know. Email PastorDavid at CrossTheBridge.com and share your good news. That's a great first step to growing in your new faith. We'd love to email you back some more ways to continue in this wonderful adventure of faith. Remember that you are not alone and you are loved. Also, don't forget to visit CrossTheBridge.com to discover more resources provided at no charge to help you learn more about the Bible. If you'd like to help us share God's word with others, please click on the donate button and support this program with your regular gifts and tune in to Cross The Bridge weekend editions each Saturday and Sunday on this station or on the CrossTheBridge.com website. God bless you and have a great day.