Today in God's Word—July 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
July 6, Job 41
“Behold, the hope of a man is false; he is laid low even at the sight of him. No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me? " - God, Job 41:9-10
As we hurtled through the vertical loops of the roller coaster, I heard my upside down wife scream, “I am a mother with small children!” When we reversed and went through the loops backward, she added, “Lord, if you get me off this roller coaster, I will never get on one again!" That was over 35 years ago. So far, she has kept that promise.
Perhaps you have had a similar experience, something so frightening or painful that you vowed to remember it, and never do it again. Memory serves us in many helpful ways, and one way is reminding us of pain or fear that we never want to encounter again. God described a crocodile in his last words of gentle reproof and stern warning to Job. In vivid poetic language, God described the 18 foot long killing and eating machine that no man in his right mind would want to fight. (I know Johnny Weissmuller wrestled crocodiles and killed them with his trusty knife in those old Tarzan movies. Don’t believe everything you see in a movie.) The reality is as the Lord put it: “Lay your hands on him; remember the battle — you will not do it again!”
God told Job that the crocodile was impossible to domesticate. He could not be caught and trained to work. He could not be made into a pet or a playmate. No one would put a leash on a crocodile and give the other end of that leash to his daughters.
There was not much of a market for crocodiles in those days because not many people were willing to try to capture and kill them. It was almost impossible to kill a crocodile with any ancient weapon because of his armor-like scales. Anyone who decided to do battle with a crocodile and survived would be unlikely to ever try it again.
God did not give this extended lesson about crocodiles to Job as a zoology lecture. It was not an episode of a television show like Deadliest Catch. God used the crocodile to teach Job that if he could not contend with one of God’s creatures, he surely was mistaken to think he could stand before the Creator of such a creature and contend with him.
Job had asked more than once for an audience with God. He wanted to plead his case before God. God was telling Job, "No. You don't want to do that." As the text says, “The hope of a man is false." Job may have hoped and imagined that he could contend with God, but he was wrong. His hope was false. Just as there was no creature on earth like the crocodile, so no created being is a match for God. Just as the crocodile commands fearful respect from lions and all other beasts, God has no rival among any of his creatures. He is king over all, even those “sons of pride” who imagine they can stand toe-to-toe with their Maker.
Let's remember that God told Job these things to humble him. He did not hate Job; he loved him. But Job needed to know his place, and so do we. Those of us who humble ourselves and learn from a warning will have less scars and less regrets than those who insist on learning from experience.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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