Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord? Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? (Job 41:1,2 ESV)
Leviathans
I used to wonder what a Leviathan was. I remember reading that a Leviathan was a dinosaur still lurking in the ocean’s depths, coming up occasionally to swamp the Israelites’ ships and cause nightmares. I remember reading that a Leviathan was a demonic creature, huge and impossible to tame. I remember reading that a Leviathan was a mythical creature conjured in ancient children’s tales to frighten disobedient kids towards obedience.
But I do not wonder these days, because I have experienced frightening things enough in my life. Whether it was a near car accident, a terrible storm, an angry terrorist on the news, or the howl of a beast somewhere in the nearby woods… in a way, those things are all Leviathan for me.
I have no influence or control over those things that might frighten me. But God reminds Job that we do not have to control them. Because our God, Father Son and Holy Spirit, does. Those things are nothing to Him. Because He made them, whatever they are. Because He uses them, whatever they are. Because He makes them appear (and be!) tiny compared to Him.
It is not that scary things are not scary. It is that our Jesus is bigger.
We are peculiar, we do not need to fear Leviathans.