Everything Under Heaven Is Mine, Says Jehovah

BIBLE STUDY #816- CHURCH IN THE HOUSES TUESDAY JUNE 10 -16, 2014

Topic: “Everything Under Heaven Is Mine, Says Jehovah” Job 41:1-11 Job 40:1-2 says, “The Lord said to Job: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” Here God makes a humiliating challenge to Job and obligates him to respond. God begins with a convincing question: “Will the arguer contend with the Almighty?” Those who argue with God work as if they wanted to teach their creator to amend or correct “errors” of what He does. For that reason God wanted Job to respond soon: “Let him who accuses God answer him?” These are very serious phrases on God’s behalf capable of humiliating and silencing any human being He has created. Job was confronted when God speaks to him and asks him questions about the powerful leviathan, an ancient animal example of perfection and greatness of God’s creation. The Lord’s objective was to convince Job even more of his impotence and God’s Omnipotence by describing the strong animal and asking confronting questions about it. First, to convince Job of his weakness, the Lord challenged him to fetch the leviathan and subjugate it (Vs.1, 2). This confrontation was like saying to him: “Job, let’s see how you subdue or dominate completely the leviathan since you dare tell God to correct His deeds.” God wanted Job to see and convince him of His great power and His terrible majesty letting him see the extraordinary characteristics of the leviathan. (Job 41:13, 14 “Who can strip off his outer coat? Who would approach him with a bridle? Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his fearsome teeth?) God showed him with all the details how powerful this animal He created is. He used one of the animals He created so that Job could get to know a little of the greatness of his Creator. God shows Job how incapable he was of subjugating this powerful animal. He could not catch it with a fishhook the way men subdue the animals of the ocean. There was nothing he could attract it with; there was no rope he could get to bring the Leviathan towards him. (Job 41:1, 2 “Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?”) We can see how great, untamable and strong this animal was as for any human being able to defeat it. It so happened that Job in the midst of his problems wanted to subdue God to what he was living. And before this claim, God confronted him utilizing the leviathan as an example of His power as Creator and Lord of all that exists. God let Job know how far he was from being able to begin any friendly relationship with the leviathan (Vs. 3-5). There was no way he could put it in a cage like a bird “for his children to play with” not even with precaution or wisdom. Neither could he dispose of the leviathan as to kill it and serve it at the tables as a banquet to enjoy it in company of his friends (Vs. 6). He wouldn’t enrich himself by hunting it and selling it to the merchants after cutting it up into pieces giving to some the bones and others the oil (Vs. 7). The art to hunt whales and other corpulent animals had not yet been invented! Therefore, there was no way to trap, subject, dominate or tame such powerful and fearful animal! God was letting Job know how fragile his human nature was like to defy Him to correct His deeds. He continued to use the leviathan as a point and tells him in Vs. 8 “If you lay a hand on him, (the leviathan) you will remember the struggle and never do it again (because you will remain marked forever). Whoever is bold enough to do such thing will not feel like fighting with the leviathan! This is, if he comes out alive from the battle! God’s point and objective was for Job to fall in time and know with Whom he was speaking. With all this what God wanted was to warn him to not proceed with his controversy with God but rather to make peace with Him. All that is defiance, boldness, to ask questions with annoyance against God is to face (those who do such things) to acknowledge Jehovah’s strong arm. In all this it is shown how incapable Job was as to contend with the Omnipotent. God continued with his confrontation in Vs.10a. No one is so bold as to awake the leviathan! Whoever does is someone who is disturbed with great boldness and defiance. God tells Job: (Vs.10b) “Who then is able to stand against me?” If everything is so dangerous, difficult and impossible just considering the leviathan that was a created being. THEN WHO IS THE ONE CAPABLE OF RESISTING THE GOD CREATOR HIMSELF? It’s something that only comes from those who have great rebellion and defiance.

Perhaps Job thought he was very close to God and that is why he dared to speak with an excess of confidence. In all this that Job lived it is declared or we can see: THE SOVEREIGN DOMINION AND GOD’S INDEPENDENCE LETTING US KNOW THAT HE IS NOT A DEBTOR TO ANY OF HIS CREATURES. (VS. 11“Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.”) In the letter to the Romans 11:35 Paul also says “…Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” Men’s boldness is really great if they think they’ve given God something first as for to receive from Him a reward! It is as if God would say: “To whom am I indebted for services rendered to me before hand?” Who is the sovereign owner of all that exists? “EVERYTHING UNDER HEAVEN IS MINE.” God has no obligation with any of His creatures. We, His creatures, are indeed indebted to Him. Let us learn with this hard lesson that God gave to His servant Job and because of this let us always live fearful and very careful with the Lord who created us. May each one of us know with whom we are dealing and the correct manner in which we approach Him! Amen.