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OK! So you want to contend with God, you who wish to teach God, you wish to show God where He is wrong, the floor is open...(40:2). Job is given the opportunity to complain directly to God. Standing in the awesome presence, Job humbles himself and declines to answer (40:4-5). Author Philip Yancey exclaims, “I have a hunch that God could have read a page from the phone book and Job would have meekly consented” (Yancey, 62). And so it appears to be.
God sees the heart of Job. This is tactical humility and not heartfelt understanding. “The Lord must have from him a more frank confession of repentance and a deeper turning from himself and the past than this contrite response” (Penn-Lewis, 183)!
Many of us, in our walk, are turning to the Lord, but finding no solace. Job gets no solace here. Job is maintaining a right to his rights. His heart is not fully surrendered to the Lord. Yet, he has been pouring himself out to the Lord. The great preacher Charles Finney addresses this: “Much prayer, or that which is called prayer, is after all nothing by lusting in the Bible sense of the term. It is a craving of the mind after some selfish good. Much prayer is nothing but the pouring out of the cravings of a selfish heart. The Apostle James speaks of this state of mind: ‘Ye lust, and have not: ye kill and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts’” (Finney, 17). How many times have you heard this cropped to “you have not, because you ask not” (James 4:2-3)? Job is believing in his relief, according to his vision of what is right. It is self-centered desire. James is very clear about this and is not complementary: “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
God has tried to prod Job. He has appeared before Job. He has contrasted His power with His care. Job is clearly intimidated, but that is not God's purpose. If that were His purpose it would be better to occasionally appear and fry an egregious offender. All His might and power are set aside, God is wooing Job. Job will not open his eyes. God must expose the thing at the core of Job which resists the worship of God as He stands before Job. God will share something special: Job's way out of his torment.
Some commentators would like to reorder things in the last three chapters so that Job's replies come altogether, but God gets the last word. The repeat of “gird up your loins” is presumed to be added to make sense of stitching fragmented scrolls back together incorrectly (Clarke, note to 40:1 & 7). The theory is that the last chapters being on the outside of the roll are the most vulnerable to damage. I don't see much fruit in these speculations. The narrative is clear as is. The separation of Behemoth and Leviathan helps to ensure that they are not to be taken as an extension of God's description of His care for the animals as these scholars suggest (Clarke, note to 40:24), but are distinct allegorical descriptions of spiritual types.
Does Job think that he can demure and this resistance will stop God? The contention is still churning inside Job. God sees it. God repeats his opening challenge, answering out of the whirlwind and not out of a gentle breeze (40:6). “Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me” (40:7). Dear Job, I see your heart, “Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?” (40:8).
Here is the third set of instructional questions, or more properly challenges. ‘Are you ready to judge’ (40:9-13)? ‘Job, can you rise up above the proud and bring them into judgment’ (40:11-13)? Face the facts Job, if you can't pass judgment on the kings of the earth, how do you hope to pass judgment on God? If you are so powerful, then: “thine own right hand can save thee” (40:14). Such irony is not a trait normally associated with God, but Job is being stubborn. God tries to reason with him, but Job doesn't appear to hear anything. Job is walled off, shielded so tightly the very air will not pass through (41:15-17).
If you believe, as I did for years, that Job is just a guiltless pawn in a quarrel between God and Satan, look again. Job is under indictment. Compared to you and me, Job may be a saint, but in the midst of this struggle, God has dug something up in Job and its not gold. Job has not done anything wrong, his ways are still perfect, but there is a hardness, a resistance to God that allows the devil free access to continue to torment Job. Satan still believes he will win.
What is Job doing that is so wrong? He is holding on. He is holding on to his righteousness. He is holding on to the memory of all the good things he has done. He wishes to wave them in front of God. Luke tells us of the ruler who comes to Jesus asking, “Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life” (Luke 18:18)? Jesus' reply, which is not the answer, is off-putting. Apparently he was already sensing flattery and self-satisfaction. “Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother” (Luke 18:19-20). The ruler answers that he has followed the law from his youth. Jesus does not suggest that he is wrong, but answers, and this is the answer to the rulers question, “Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). The man went away sorrowful for he had a large stake in the things of this world. He would not open his hand and loose the riches of this world in order to receive the gift of eternal life. In another example, Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, came to Israel to seek Elisha. He had contracted leprosy and was told that Elisha could cure him. He arrived in great pomp and circumstance, terrifying the King of Israel, but Elisha didn't even go out to meet him. Instead he sent a messenger to tell him to dip himself seven times in the Jordan River. The general was very angry. “Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?” (2 Kings 5:11-12). He was expecting signs and wonders. He expected to be reverenced. “So he turned and went away in a rage” (2 Kings 5:12). This man was ready to reject the healing touch because his pride was offended.
It would seem that Job has nothing left to hold on to. But, like the Syrian general, he still has his righteousness, even if no one else believes him. Job is holding on to what he knows is right and what he knows is wrong. This is forbidden in one place specifically: the Garden of Eden. Our personal judgment is reserving the right to chose what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil. Acting on one's own understanding of good and evil is eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17).
This may seem esoteric, but bear with me. In Biblical analogy, fruit is the result of actions taken. “In an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Rom. 6:22). The tree of knowledge, is not of evil only, but, the knowledge of good and evil. As soon as Adam and Eve decided that their opinion was good and acted on that judgment, against the instructions of God, they were eating that fruit. I have heard all sorts of teachings on just what that fruit might have been. If it mattered, the Bible would tell us. What matters is that Adam's judgment was set over and against God's. At this moment, in his heart Job is eating the very same fruit even though he is not doing anything overtly sinful. In the crucible of supreme trial he is holding to Adam's choice, choosing his own opinion, and so remains under Adam's sin and therefore Adam's curse.
Verse 14 works two ways. It is a bridge between what comes before and what comes after. First there is the undercutting of Job's self-righteousness and pride. “Hast thou an arm like God?” (40:9); “then... thine own right hand can save thee” (40:14). But, there is more here than that. God is letting Job in on a secret: “I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee” (40:14). Let go! You are not the captain of this ship. You are not able to judge the kings of this earth. Open your hand and release your white knuckle grip on this world, and then your hand will be filled. The mountains themselves will feed you (40:20).
I would be remiss if I did not broach one topic here. To come to the wedding feast, you must wear a wedding garment. “And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 22:11-13). The wedding garment is the white garment of righteousness. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” (Rev. 3:5). You must repent, confess your sins, make yourself clean by the washing of the blood. “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14). Righteousness is essential. But paradoxically, even though we must be righteous or have cleansed ourselves from all unrighteousness, we are not justified, we cannot demand entry to God's presence. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). Righteousness is essential, but it is only the first step.
What is the secret to getting Satan off your back? “Behold now Behemoth” (40:15).
What follows is the description of two huge creatures, Behemoth and Leviathan. Because these two creatures are critical to the understanding of the entire book of Job, I must make some preparatory comments. On the surface this concluding description by God is puzzling at best. Many writers ignore the two beasts, or skim quickly over them. Carlo Martini catches the prevailing sentiment: “God's second discourse (40:6-41), which has caused rivers of ink to run from the pens of the exegetes, for it is difficult to determine what, if anything, of importance it adds to the first discourse. What is the point of the almost baroque descriptions of the two great animals: the hippopotamus and Leviathan? Why this delight in description that seems to detract from the dramatic climax which the book has now reached?” (Martini, 109-110).
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary suggests that these two creatures are ways in which God shows Job his own relative insignificance. This interpretation is suspiciously close to the ‘night vision’ of Eliphaz in chapter four, which is clearly not of God. His appears to be a popular opinion. Penne-Lewis paraphrases Gods discourse of chapters 40 and 41 with, “Behemoth is Mine, and and you are Mine. I have the sovereign right of doing what I will with Mine own. AND JOB IS VANQUISHED!” (Penn-Lewis, 189). Martini, quoted above, in similar fashion, suggested that they represent Egypt and Mesopotamia under God's power (Martini, 110). The suggestion is the same: God creates and controls the most powerful, so you had better toe the line. Barnes states this in a more mild fashion: “The general impression designed to be secured by this whole address is that of awe, reverence, and submission” (Barnes, Introduction to Job, section 5).
Everything will be put right after Job is thoroughly cowed. This view of God leads to the most jaded relativized vision of the Almighty. According to this viewpoint, God comes out to be a cosmic bully. Those who subscribe to social darwinism often see this sort of ‘primitive’ view of God in the older books of the Bible. Only in later books of the Bible, will God appear merciful and longsuffering. I hope that I have so far demonstrated that there is nothing primitive about the concept of God displayed here. It is the God of Moses: “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Exod. 34:6-7). This is the same God Jesus introduced us to.
If God were overpowering Job here, why doesn't Job collapse into terminal depression? By this view, Job has been bullied into a corner for no known reason. All he can do is sit down and be quiet, a child unjustly condemned. Instead, Job's demeanor is completely transformed: “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (42:5-6).
Behemoth, it is suggested is a hippopotamus, and Leviathan is often referred to as a whale, a sea-monster or crocodile (Barnes, note to 40:15 & 41:1 contain extensive discussions; also: Vicchio 2020, loc. 9233). Adam Clarke's Commentary spends a great deal of time trying to decide exactly what these two creatures are, but neither Barnes or Clarke spend any time examining their significance to Job. Clarke goes to great length to argue that Behemoth is a mammoth or a mastodon. There are several who argue that Behemoth represents a dinosaur (Jackson, ChristianCourier.com(Vicchio 2020, loc. 9648).
The importance of the two creatures do not lie in what they are, but in what they describe. What they may or may not be based on in the physical or mythical realm is of only tangential interest. A mastodon could not save Job from Satan. God is sending Job an important message. Behemoth is “the chief of the ways of God” (40:19), and is linked with Job's deliverance. “Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee. Behold now Behemoth...” (40:14-15). Leviathan, on the other hand, “is a king over all the children of pride” (41:34). Leviathan is blocking Job's path to God.
There are two non-canonical books with descriptions of the two creatures which might help to fill in the background understanding of Behemoth and Leviathan. The first is from the book of Second Esdra (also known as 4,5 and 6 Ezra; the earlier 2 Ezra is now called Nehemiah and 3 Ezra is now 1 Esdra) found in the Slavonic Bible and in the Latin Vulgate Appendix: “The dumb and lifeless water produced living creatures, as it was commanded, so that therefore the nations might declare your wondrous works. Then you kept in existence two living creatures; the one you called Behemoth and the name of the other Leviathan. And you separated one from the other, for the seventh part where the water had been gathered together could not hold them both. And you gave Behemoth one of the parts that had been dried up on the third day, to live in it, where there are a thousand mountains; but to Leviathan you gave the seventh part, the watery part; and you have kept them to be eaten by whom you wish, and when you wish” (2 Esdra 6:48-52, NRSV). This creation account tells us little about the two creatures kept in existence at that time except to suggest that they are both water creatures to be eaten, but one is living in dry land.
The second reference is from The Book of Enoch and gives a description of the two creatures in the context of judgment. “That day has been prepared for the elect as a day of covenant; and for sinners as a day of inquisition. In that day shall be distributed for food two monsters; a female monster, whose name is Leviathan, dwelling in the depths of the sea, above the springs of waters; And a male monster, whose name is Behemoth; which possesses, moving on his breast, the invisible wilderness. His name was Dendayen in the east of the garden, where the elect and the righteous will dwell” (Enoch 58:6-8, page 67).
Biblical scholars believe the Book of Enoch to have first appeared by one hundred and fifty years before Christ. I mention it here, as it gives us an independent evaluation of what Behemoth and Leviathan represented to the Jews before the time of Jesus. This book is quoted by Jesus and several of the New Testament writers, and Jude mentions the book by name (Jude 14-15).
The desert dwelling of Behemoth here seems to contrast with the physical details of Job, but only when assuming these creatures to be physical creatures of our animal kingdom (i.e. hippopotamus and crocodile). More important is that these creatures form a contrast meant to lead men who eat them either to “a day of covenant” or “a day of inquisition”. Enoch goes on to say, “These two monsters are by the power of God prepared to become food, that the punishment of God may not be in vain” (Enoch 58:14, page 68).
Here, Behemoth dwells in physically humble circumstances. He lives in a barren desert and crawls on his belly. Yet, he possesses “the invisible wilderness”. His place is “in the east of the garden, where the elect and the righteous will dwell.” Leviathan appears to dwell in riches: “the depths of the sea, above the springs of waters.” In the description of Job chapters forty and forty-one, both creatures appear to be water dwelling. As we saw in 2 Esdra, both are originally water dwelling, but one is now land dwelling. In the book of Enoch and the book of Job humility seems to be characteristic of Behemoth, but very much not of Leviathan.
In a reference to Leviathan and dragons, Psalms refer to the above mentioned slaying by God to become food: “Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness” (Ps. 74:13-14).
The book of Job describes a massive creature who dwells at the waters edge Behemoth (be-hay-mohth'). First notice that Behemoth is not carnivorous. He “eats grass as an ox” (40:15). He is not seeking to “bite and devour” (Galations 5:15). Rather, despite his power, Behemoth is peaceful. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
“His strength is in his loins” (40:16). The loins speak of passion. Moses is instructed to have the loins or mid-sections of his priests (Aaron and his sons) covered in a linen girdle or breeches from the loins to the thighs (Exodus 28:42). This separates them from the world. God instructs Jeremiah to make such a girdle and then bury it (Jeremiah 13:1-4). When he unearths it again, it has rotted away (Jeremiah 13:6-7). And so the Lord says, “After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear” (Jeremiah 13:9-11).
“This evil people–which walk in the imagination of their heart” (Jeremiah 13:10). “Seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.” (Numbers 15:39-40). Behemoth seals his passion to the Lord for praise and for glory. Further the passions of the flesh are firmly belted. “And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins” (Isaiah 11:5).
“His force is in the navel of his belly” (40:16). The navel speaks of attachment, and the belly speaks of digestion and gestation. Ezekiel blames Jerusalem's sin on their failure to cut the navel at birth by severing their attachment to the Amorites, Canaanites and Hittites (Ezekiel 16:3-4) who bring perversion to the people of God. God foresaw this temptation and so instructs the children of Israel, “drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places” (Numbers 33:52). “If ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides” (Numbers 33:55).
Some Bible translations speak of the ‘muscles of his belly’ (NIV). The Hebrew term in the Strong's can indicate a ‘cord’ or ‘sinew’. Attachment to God is an important aspect of Behemoth, therefore I prefer the King James translation. The alternate translation does retain the bulk of the allegorical significance. The root meaning of our english word ‘religion’ similarly means a ‘cord’ or ‘binding’. Proverbs 3 speaks of righteousness, mercy, leaning on God, not yourself, so that, “It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones”. Again the sense is that of holding onto God over and above “thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
Emotions cook in the belly. Brooding fills the belly until ‘we have had our belly full’ or ‘we can't stomach any more.’ As the Book of Enoch indicates, the importance of the two creatures, is that we take in the one which will bring us into covenant with God. Ezekiel's vision brings him before God: “Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll [scroll] that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them” (Ezekiel 3:3-4). Fill yourself with the richness of God. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).
I have to wonder if Behemoth was not in Christ's thoughts, “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever” (John 6:53-58).
“He moveth his tail like a cedar” (40:17). “The Hebrew word (châphêts) means ‘to bend, to curve;’ and hence, it commonly denotes ‘to be inclined, favorably disposed to desire or please’” (Barnes, notes to 40:17, also: Strong, H2656). I witnessed the power of Hurricane Gloria passing over Long Island. I was astounded at the strength of the pine trees which were bent flat to the ground by the power of the wind. What was truly astonishing is that they immediately popped back up when the wind ceased. As a carpenter, I know that wood, because of its ability to absorb a tremendous shock and still return to its original shape is sometimes more durable than steel. Axes, shovels and other tools have wooden handles for that reason. Barnes suggests that this is suggesting more than flexibility, but the willingness to bend (Barnes, notes to 40:17).
God continues His description: “The sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron” (40:17-18). This speaks of a strong foundation. The frame of the Behemoth, the bones, are as strong as iron and brass, the metals of Job's day. From this we conclude that the Behemoth is solid at the core. Even when he bends, there is vast strength.
The clue to that strength is the odd middle reference “the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.” “Stones” or testicles is translated as “thighs” in other English translations. I assume this is for modesty's sake. Strong's defines the Hebrew word ‘pachad’ to mean ‘testicle’ (Strong, H6344). At the risk of immodesty, I believe something important is revealed here. Both because of the importance of lineage to the Hebrews and because of the awesome mystery of procreation, the testicles take on sacred character. A man who is injured there is forbidden to enter the assembly of the Lord (Deuteronomy 23:1). If two men are fighting, and the wife of one seizes the other man's genitals, her hand is to be cut off (Deuteronomy 25:11-12). It can also be said that the testicles are the seat of lusts and passions that defile, degrade and destroy if not carefully controlled. Mosaic law is filled with stringent rules regarding sex, marriage, rape, incest, homosexuality and bestiality. Punishment for transgression is grave.
So we return to Behemoth: “the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.” His passions, and I don't assume that this refers only to sexual lust, are tied up or under control. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Proverbs clarifies this further. “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones” (Proverbs 3:7-8). A healthy and strong relationship to God come from righteousness and humility. This strength is not obtained by ‘self-control’ but by bending the desire to God.
“He that made him can make his sword to approach unto him” (40:19). Meekness, even unto death. This is a special characteristic of Behemoth. “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Behemoth willingly stretches forth his neck to the sacrificial blade. “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).
Submission by reason of attachment to God is a special source of strength. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). The authority you have to rebuke the devil, is in exact proportion to your submission to God. Job's walk is submitted out of fear, but his heart is held back. Now that the maker's sword cuts him, Job cries foul. Behemoth is strong by reason of absolute and total submission to God.
An alternate translation of this passage reads: “He is the chief of God's ways: he that made him gave him his sword” (40:19, Darby; see also: Barnes, notes to 40:19). This translation is less revealing of the special character of one who is chief of the ways of God. But it reveals an aspect of God's chief in action. God's living word is His sword, made available to all who come near. Jesus in particular is seen in John's vision with the sword. “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword” (Revelations 1:16).
“He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens [marshes]” (40:21-22). Behemoth hides in God. All glory is surrendered to God and the Lord's comfort surrounds him. Although God has been describing Behemoth's great strength, he now shows that this strength is hidden in his meekness.
The Lord speaks to the meek, unassuming, person, for they are willing to listen. “The meek will he teach his way” (Psalm 25:9). God commissions Isaiah to “preach good tidings unto the meek” (Isaiah 61:1). God used Moses powerfully because “Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). The meek are therefore set apart for salvation: “God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth” (Psalm 76:9; also: Psalms 37:11, 147:6, and 149:4). “For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation” (Psalm 149:4).
The meek are fed continually: “Surely the mountains bring him forth food” (40:20), and “The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about" (40:22). "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty... He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him” (Psalm 91:1 and 15). God takes care of his servants. “I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10). This passage from Psalm 81 is speaking in the context of obedience (or lack of it). By reason of his submission (40:19), the Behemoth is cared for by God Himself (40:20).
“When the river rages, he is not alarmed; he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth” (40:23, NIV). Having surrendered all, Behemoth is fully in the hands of God, and has found full assurance of the eternal love: “in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me” (Psalm 56:4). Job's complaint: “They came upon me as a wide breaking-in of waters” (30:14). While Job struggles, Behemoth is calm.
Behemoth is not surrendered to the world, but to God. “He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares” (40:24). A note that might prevent confusion: In verse 24, the term translated in King James as ‘snares’ is ‘môqêsh’ meaning a noose or “by implication a hook (for the nose)” (Strong, H4170). This tells us that Behemoth's eyes are opened and the world cannot put its nose ring in him. The word used for a hook in verse 1 of the next chapter is entirely different. ‘Hook’ in chapter 41 verse 2 is still another word in Hebrew. Since many commentators equate Behemoth and Leviathan, confusion is generated when these two lines are juxtaposed. Most translations cause verse 24 to resemble the next line, chapter 41, verses 1 and 2. The actual shift in meaning is clear when observing the radical shift in context between the description of “the chief of the ways of God” (40:19) and “a king over all the children of pride” (41:34).
Behemoth is always on watch, so the enemies barbs cannot hook him. “My God: in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler” (Psalm 91:2-3). Behemoth faces Satan's darts without succumbing. He is strengthened in adversity. When Jacob blesses Joseph, he points to the fact that the enemies darts have been leveled against Joseph without mercy, but he is made strong by God. “Joseph”, Jacob declares, “is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under” (Genesis 49:22-25).
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