Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Job+041

CHAPTER 41 (ESV)

1 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook
or press down his tongue with a cord?
2 Can you put a rope in his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3 Will he make many pleas to you?
Will he speak to you soft words?
4 Will he make a covenant with you
to take him for your servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird,
or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hands on him;
remember the battle—you will not do it again!
9 Behold, the hope of a man is false;
he is laid low even at the sight of him.
10 No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
Who then is he who can stand before me?
11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

REFLECTION:

“Leviathan” may refer to the crocodile we are seeing now, or it may refer to an extinct ancient sea monster. God again reminded Job of His power through the “crocodile” and at the same time erected a mirror for us: we can all see the stubbornness of our life through the shadow of the crocodile. Our life is like a crocodile, with airtight sturdy scale armor on the outside, protecting ourselves rigorously, and the heart inside is as hard as a millstone. If our life is not broken by God, listening to the sermon is for others. The Spirit of God and the Word of God cannot enter it, and it has no effect on our life. We thought we could resist God, but in fact we were even scared of crocodiles. Is the power of God comparable to a crocodile? It is better to obey God’s loving authority than to face His anger. Give your life completely to God, and let His hand break you and carve you.

PRAYER:

God, my life is similar to that of a crocodile. I often protect myself with a tough, impenetrable armor, unwilling to open up to others and instead showing a fierce demeanor that scares people away. My inner heart is even harder than a grinding stone, stubborn and self-willed, to the point where Your Spirit and Your words cannot penetrate it. But Your power is incomparable to that of a crocodile! I am willing to submit to Your loving authority and completely surrender my life to You. Please use Your gracious hand to break and refine me.

HYMN:

All to Jesus I Surrender – m.youtube.com/watch?v=7x2IpLSfqp8