8.3-God of the Depths

8.3-

God of the Depths Job 41:12-34 Tim Gustafson

“When you go to the deep sea, every time you take a sample, you’ll find a new species,” says marine biologist Ward Appeltans. In one recent year, scientists identified 1,451 new types of undersea life. We simply don’t know the half of what’s down there.

In Job 38-40, God reviewed His creation for Job’s benefits. In three poetic chapters, God highlighted the wonders of weather, the vastness of the cosmos, and the variety of creatures in their habitats. These are things we can observe. Then God spoke of the mysterious Leviathan – for an entire chapter. Leviathan is a creature like no other, with harpoon-deflecting armor (Job 1:7, 13), graceful power (verse 12), and “fearsome teeth” (verse 14). “Flames stream from its mouth . . . smoke pours from its nostrils” (verses 19-20). “Nothing on earth is its equal” (verse 33).

Okay, so God talks about a huge creature we haven’t seen. Is that the point of Job 41?

No! Job 41 broadens our understanding of God’s surprising character. The psalmist expanded on this when he wrote, “There is the sea, vast and spacious . . . and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there” (Psalm 104:25-26). After the terrifying description in Job, we learn that God created a playpen for this most fearsome of all creatures. Leviathan frolics.

We have the present to explore the ocean. We’ll have eternity to explore the wonders of our magnificent, mysterious, playful God.