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Book of Job 40-41

Calvary Chapel Bible College

February 2, 2022

Homework

Memorize Job 42:10 (in NKJV)

(Job 42:10 NKJV) And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Having chewed on this, is there something you’ve learned?

Mars Hill Discussion

Any highlights from this week’s listening?

What does the term “deconstruction” mean? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

Is the basis for relationships “covenant” (like Mark taught, and what is “covenant”?) or “love”

Our “covenant” with God is based on His everlasting love, not vice-versa

“Lindsey”

The gal who grew up with abuse. Became a “project” for some at Mars Hill.

Issue: Are the leadership in a church “trained” for handling everything? Is there a point where you recognize your limitations?

Mark McAllister - a dad of one of the musicians, mental issues, depression

The church responded with a “demon trial”

He would eventually commit suicide.

Warned that Driscoll was a harsh man who didn’t understand mercy

Said Mark hadn’t suffered enough to understand mercy

Does this sound like the book of Job? Does this sound like Job’s friends (not having mercy)?

Introduction

Job is going through the worst time anyone could imagine.

He’s lost all his possessions.

His children have died.

His health has failed.

What has made all this even more confusing is that Job is a good guy.

God has decided to allow Job to go through this difficulty because He is proud of Job, not mad at him.

God wants to show the world what a godly man will do when he is going through a difficult time.

Keep a couple of things in mind as we study Job:

Sometimes Job is wrong in his conclusions.

Sometimes Job’s friends are also wrong.

They can even say things that are true, but they are just not true about Job.

Be careful about building doctrine upon some of the things said in the book of Job.

Neither Job’s words nor those of his friends are meant to build doctrinal truths on.

They simply show us how people respond to difficulty.

Job and his friends had a series of debates to try to figure out why Job was going through such difficulty.

His friends said there must have been some secret sin that God was judging Job for.

Job could only conclude that God was just not fair since he didn’t do anything to deserve such pain.

After the various rounds of debates, God finally speaks up.

(Job 38:2 NKJV) “Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?

God was telling Job that with all his complaining, Job really didn’t know what he was talking about.

God challenged Job by testing him a little bit about how much he knew about running the world.

God talked about oceans, stars, animals, and birds.

40:1-5 Job can’t answer

:1 Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said:

:2 “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”

:2 contends – riyb – to strive, contend; to make complaint; to quarrel

(Job 40:2 NLT) “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

:3 Then Job answered the Lord and said:

:4 “Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth.

:5 Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”

:4 I am vile

vile – qalal – to be slight; be of little account

:4 I lay my hand over my mouth

Job had asked his friends to put their hands on their mouths to shut up:

(Job 21:5 NKJV) Look at me and be astonished; Put your hand over your mouth.

Now Job finds that he also needs to shut up.

Warren Wiersbe writes,

Until we are silenced before God, He can’t do for us what needs to be done.

:5 I will proceed no further

(Job 40:4–5 The Message) —4 “I’m speechless, in awe—words fail me. I should never have opened my mouth! 5 I’ve talked too much, way too much. I’m ready to shut up and listen.”

Illustration

“I had a million questions to ask God; but when I met Him, they all fled my mind; and it didn’t seem to matter.”

- Christopher Morley (American author, poet, journalist)

Lesson

Shut up and listen

(first keyword)

I think that sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking we need to complain about every little thing.

And we often will end up complaining about God and what He has or hasn’t done in our eyes.

The Bible says we ought to “pour out our hearts” to God.

I believe that God can handle our complaints.

Yet I wonder if we shouldn’t spend more time with our mouths shut and just listen to Him, to gaze on who He is and what He’s done.

Isaiah 40 is filled with some of the same imagery of God’s great hand in creation, and then towards the end of the chapter, God says…

(Isaiah 40:27–31 NKJV) —27 Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Keep in mind that just because Job says he won’t say anything else, God still has some things to school Job in. So listen up.

40:6-14 Challenging God’s judgment

:6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

:7 “Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me:

:8 “Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?

Job has been criticizing what he perceives God as doing, only to make sure everyone knows that he (Job) is the good guy here.

:9 Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?

:10 Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, And array yourself with glory and beauty.

:10 majesty and splendor

Remember that there is a storm going on in the background.

God has spoken from the “whirlwind” (maybe a tornado).

Weather events can be a strong reminder of God’s power and glory.

This is who God is. Job is nothing like this.

:11 Disperse the rage of your wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.

:12 Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; Tread down the wicked in their place.

:11 humble him

God is talking about Job and mankind’s inability to “humble” those who are wrong. But what’s really in the spotlight is God’s own ability to “humble” those who need humbling.

Lesson

Road to humility

I think we have some hints at the things that God cares about in our lives.

God wants us to learn the great value of humility.

Job had a lot of great things going for him, but in God’s eyes, it seems as if Job lacked the humility to simply yield to God.

(James 5:10–11 NKJV) —10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

God could have destroyed Job for his complaints, but He didn’t.

Why didn’t God speak up at the beginning of the book of Job? Why did God wait for all debates and arguments to be spoken before He spoke up?

There are some qualities about God that will lead to Job learning humility…

He is patient.

(2 Peter 3:9 NKJV) The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

God hasn’t brought His wrath on the world yet because He is giving people a chance to repent.

God is willing to wait. Just like He waited for Job.

Once He returns and sets up His judgment, there are no more chances.

He is gracious.

(Romans 2:4 NKJV) Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

I wonder if sometimes God is simply waiting for us to come to a correct realization of who He is on our own.

God’s goodness, His “grace” is intended to nudge us into turning around.

Peter writes about the importance of humility

(1 Peter 5:5–7 NKJV) —5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

God resists the proud, but He gives “grace” to the humble.

This little “talk” with Job is aimed at cultivating humility in Job.

:13 Hide them in the dust together, Bind their faces in hidden darkness.

:14 Then I will also confess to you That your own right hand can save you.

:14 your own right hand can save you

God is challenging Job to show what he’s made of.

He’s challenging Job to show his power and might to those who are proud.

He’s challenging Job to show his ability to judge and execute justice.

But before God turns all judgment in the world over to Job, first God challenges Job to tame just two of His creatures…

40:15-24 Behemoth

:15 “Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox.

:15 Look now at the behemoth

The word comes from the word for “cattle”, “animal”, or “beast” (behemah)

Some of your Bibles may translate this as an elephant or hippopotamus.

Video: I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas

Just because you want this to be a hippo won’t make it so. Watch how God describes this creature.

I’d like to suggest it’s a dinosaur, perhaps a sauropod like a brachiosaurus or diplodocus.

But if it’s a dinosaur, we have a problem, don’t we?

How could God be describing a dinosaur to Job when we know that dinosaurs only existed 65 million years ago, and they didn’t exist at the same time as man? Or did they?

Video: What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs?

In the account of creation we read,

(Genesis 1:25 NKJV) And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

The word translated “cattle” is behemah. The word speaks of all kinds of “animals” or “beasts”, not just “cows” and not just “dinosaurs”, but certainly including those kinds of animals.

Why isn’t the word “dinosaur” in the Bible?

The earliest popular English Bible was the King James Version, translated in 1611. The word “dinosaur” (“terrible lizard”) wasn’t invented until the year 1841

Are there dinosaurs in the Bible?

In the record of creation, you see God creating different categories of living creatures on the fifth and sixth days. On the fifth day…

(Genesis 1:21 NKJV) So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

The Hebrew word translated “great sea creatures” is tannim, which is sometimes translated “jackal”, but 21 times the Old King James translates it “dragon”.

Henry M. Morris (The Biblical Basis for Modern Science, 1984, pg. 352.) wrote,

“If one will simply translate tannim by “dinosaur” every one of the more than twenty-five uses of the word becomes perfectly clear and appropriate.”

(this is in addition to the word behemah)

In 400 BC, Micah wrote (Old King James, the “Authorized Version”),

(Malachi 1:3 AV) And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

If tannim is best translated “dragons” or even “dinosaurs”, then Malachi is saying that in his day (400 BC) they roamed the “wilderness”.

It is around this time that you see an art motif growing in China, the “dragon”.

We’ll talk more about “dragons” in a bit.

Do dinosaurs appear in human history?

Those with an evolutionary mindset will ascribe the following to “myths” and “legends”.

An Irish writer recorded in 900 AD an encounter with a large beast with “iron nails” on its tail that pointed backwards. Its head was shaped a little bit like a horse’s. It had thick legs with strong claws.

Sounds like a stegosaurus.

There is a Buddhist Temple in Cambodia, the Ta Prohm Temple, built around 1200 AD with a strange carving.

In the wall is carved all kinds of animals, including this stegosaurus.

In England at the tomb of Bishop Bell (who died 1496), there is a brass plate in the floor of the Carlisle Cathedral.

It looks like drawings of a sauropods.

I’ve got more, but I don’t want to run out of time.

In July 1845, Australian Aborigines in the Barwon Lakes area described an animal (called a “Bunyip”) to a visitor, who drew this.

Kind of looks like the edmontosaurus.

This was 13 years before a duck-billed dinosaur was described in any scientific literature.

Tribal people in the far north of Australia drew this picture of an animal they called a “Yarru” after it had taken one of their children. The animal had been trapped in a lagoon in a bay of water. They killed the animal and retrieved the child.

It’s a pretty good rendition of a plesiosaur, except they’re supposed to be extinct for 65 million years.

What about the millions and billions of years?

We are taught in school that the earth is 4.5 billion years old. Or maybe it’s 6 billion now.

We are taught that the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago.

Dinosaur bones are often dated by the layer they are found in the earth.

Evolutionists will say that these layers were laid down over millions of years.

The problem is that when we observe an animal die today, it decays, bones and all. It isn’t buried and then fossilized over millions of years.

A better way of explaining these layers of earth with embedded fossils would be a worldwide catastrophe.

When Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, there were huge magma and mudslides that slid down the mountain, burying things in its wake in multiple layers.

Streams cut through the mudslides forming a smaller version of the Grand Canyon with its many layers.

The forest that was on one side of the mountain was blown into Spirit Lake, and the trees petrified.

All within a relatively short period of time.

A better way of looking at the earth’s geology might be to consider the flood of Noah.

This was a great world-wide catastrophe that buried and fossilized countless creatures in layers of mud. (try researching the Mount St. Helens eruption of 1980 – it was a Noah’s flood in miniature – it created multiple layers of sediment and even fossilized trees)

In 1994, Dr. Mary Schweitzer found a T. Rex bone, and when they sliced into it and were surprised to find blood cells inside.

“It was exactly like looking at a slice of modern bone. But, of course, I couldn’t believe it. I said to the lab technician: ‘The bones, after all, are 65 million years old. How could blood cells survive that long?’”

Mary Schweitzer, Montana State University Museum of the Rockies, Science 261:160, July 9, 1994.

Maybe the bones weren’t really 65 million years old.

In another dig, they were transporting a bone back to the lab and had to break it in two to get it into the helicopter.

It stank when they broke it in two.

Inside the bone they found blood vessels and blood cells that were still flexible and when stretched returned to their original shape.

Dr. Schweitzer tested the tissue 17 times because they couldn’t believe what they had found. (Science 24 March 2005, p. 1852)

If Job is describing dinosaurs, how did they survive the flood of Noah?

Noah’s ark was HUGE.

437 ft. long, 73 ft wide, 43 feet tall.

The size of 522 train stock cars.

The largest dinosaur eggs were still only the size of a bowling ball. God may have brought to Noah young, immature dinosaurs before they grew too large.

Let’s get back to our text in Job … (Behemoth)

:16 See now, his strength is in his hips, And his power is in his stomach muscles.

:16 His strength is in his hips

The hips are the upper part of the hind legs.

In describing a Diplodocus … Scientists say…

“Studies of weight and stress distribution in the skeletons suggest that the animals raise their forelimbs and pivot their bodies around the hind limbs with little effort.” (Diplodocus, a sauropod)

Dinosaurs of North America, Dale A. Russell, NorthWord Press Inc., 1989, pg. 72

Compare the difference between the upper legs and the lower legs. The “strength is in his hips”.

:17 He moves his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.

:17 his tail like a cedar

A sauropod dinosaur’s tail …

“…probably weighed several tons…”

“The length of the tail, around 30 feet to the tip helped distribute the dinosaur’s weight.”

The Age of Dinosaurs, Peter Dodson PhD, Publications International, 1993, pg. 52.

Some have suggested that behemoth was a hippopotamus or an elephant.

But look at an elephant’s tale and compare it to a sauropod. Which looks like a “cedar”?

:18 His bones are like beams of bronze, His ribs like bars of iron.

:18 beams of bronze

An apatosaurus weighed about 30 tons

“it also had legs built like pillars…”

The Age of Dinosaurs, Peter Dodson PhD, Publications International, 1993

Video: Jurassic Park - Welcome

:19 He is the first of the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword.

:20 Surely the mountains yield food for him, And all the beasts of the field play there.

:21 He lies under the lotus trees, In a covert of reeds and marsh.

:22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade; The willows by the brook surround him.

:23 Indeed the river may rage, Yet he is not disturbed; He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,

Interesting that God mentions the Jordan river.

:24 Though he takes it in his eyes, Or one pierces his nose with a snare.

:19 the first of the ways of God

God pulls out the big guy (behemoth) for Job to examine and realize just how big God is.

Further Dinosaur resources:

www.scienceforcreation.com

DVD: “Dinosaurs and Creation” – Mace Baker Ph.D.

www.creation.com

DVD: “Dinosaurs!” – Dr. Don Batten

www.icr.org

www.answersingenesis.org

41:1-34 Leviathan

:1 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?

:2 Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook?

:1 Leviathan

Leviathan – livyathan – leviathan, sea monster, dragon; large aquatic animal

The exact meaning is unknown; the root word means “twisting”, some sort of “twisting monster”

Some of your translations use “crocodile”, but again, pay attention to God’s description.

Whatever it is, it’s pretty scary.

The word is only used five times in the Old Testament – twice in Job, twice in Psalms, and once in Isaiah.

(Job 3:8 NKJV) —8 May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan.

(Psalm 74:14 NKJV) —14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces, And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

(Psalm 104:26 NKJV) —26 There the ships sail about; There is that Leviathan Which You have made to play there.

(Isaiah 27:1 NKJV) In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.

:2 put a reed through his nose

The language is that used to describe the taking of slaves, putting rings through their nose, being in control.

:3 Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you?

:3 make many supplications to you

Is this creature going to be so afraid of you Job that he’s going to beg for mercy?

:4 Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever?

:5 Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens?

This creature is no pet.

:6 Will your companions make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants?

:7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears?

:7 fill his skin with harpoons

Some have suggested that Leviathan was a type of whale. You’ll hear this language used in the old “sea tales” of whalers, calling whales “Leviathan”. Yet whales can be harpooned. Leviathan apparently can’t.

:8 Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle— Never do it again!

(Job 41:8 The Message) If you so much as lay a hand on him, you won’t live to tell the story.

:9 Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?

:10 No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me?

:10 Who then is able to stand against Me?

“Job, if you can’t capture Leviathan, what makes you think you can challenge Me, the One who created Leviathan.”

Lesson

Fearing God

Jesus said,

(Matthew 10:28 NKJV) And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

There are plenty of things to be afraid of in this life, but the only “fear” that keeps you on course to do the right thing is the fear of God.

:11 Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.

:12 “I will not conceal his limbs, His mighty power, or his graceful proportions.

:13 Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle?

Are you going to be able to skin a Leviathan?

Are you going to tame him to put a bridle on him and ride him?

:14 Who can open the doors of his face, With his terrible teeth all around?

:15 His rows of scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as with a seal;

:16 One is so near another That no air can come between them;

:17 They are joined one to another, They stick together and cannot be parted.

This animal had scales like its own tightly fitted armor.

:18 His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

:19 Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out.

:20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.

:21 His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth.

:21 a flame goes out of his mouth

It’s at this point that all of our guesses about Leviathan being a crocodile go out the window.

Some commentators think this is just poetic or hyperbole, like,

When the crocodile churns up the river and blows out water, the sun reflects from the vapor; and it looks like fire and smoke from a dragon’s mouth (Warren Wiersbe)

I can’t help but think that God is describing a fire-breathing creature. There are four verses to describe the fire just in case you think the first verse was a little vague.

There is a small creature that has fire abilities.

The bombardier beetle that has an explosion producing mechanism. It has the ability to produce and shoot out two chemicals (hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinone), along with special “inhibitor” chemicals (two enzymes called catalase and peroxidase) that allows the beetle to fire boiling hot noxious gases into the face of its enemies with a loud pop.

Source: https://answersingenesis.org/creepy-crawlies/insects/the-amazing-bombardier-beetle/

A fire-breathing dinosaur sounds a bit like those mythical creatures, dragons.

Are they mythical?

:22 Strength dwells in his neck, And sorrow dances before him.

:23 The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved.

:24 His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone.

:25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they are beside themselves.

The bravest of the brave are afraid of this creature.

:26 Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.

Weapons bounce off this creature.

:27 He regards iron as straw, And bronze as rotten wood.

:28 The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones become like stubble to him.

:29 Darts are regarded as straw; He laughs at the threat of javelins.

:30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds; He spreads pointed marks in the mire.

(Job 41:30 NLT) Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass. It plows up the ground as it drags through the mud.

:31 He makes the deep boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.

:32 He leaves a shining wake behind him; One would think the deep had white hair.

:33 On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear.

:34 He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.”

Dragons

It seems that the concept of a creature known as a “dragon” is just about universal in all cultures around the world.

The Encyclopedia Britannica expresses amazement that “The belief in these creatures apparently arose without the slightest knowledge on the part of the ancients of the gigantic, prehistoric, dragon-like reptiles”

In other words, they are surprised that ancient peoples from all around the world came up with this common idea, even though they supposedly lived millions and millions of years after the dinosaurs supposedly roamed the earth, or thousands of years before dinosaur bones were “discovered”.

Chinese people have been digging up dinosaur bones and used them in various ways for over two millennia. They just called them “dragons”.

“The interpretation of dinosaurs as dragons goes back more than two thousand years in Chinese culture. They were regarded as sacred, as a symbol of power, and their use in medicine, recorded in Chinese medical texts dating back to the sixteenth century BC, still occurs today.”

Dong Zhiming (Chinese evolutionary scholar), Dinosaurs From China, p. 9

Nebuchadnezzar mentions “dragons” in an inscription on the wall of Babylon (see pic)

“Babylon, the exalted city, the city of the god Marduk. At the entrance of its gates, I set massive bulls and fearsome dragons.”

Nebuchadnezzar II 604-562 BC, inscribed on the Wall of Babylon, in the Metropolitan Museum of Natural History, New York City.

Jeremiah prophesied of the fall of Babylon one day…

(Jeremiah 51:37 AV) And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.

Hebrew - tannim

Ancient secular historians mention dragons.

Roman historian Pliny (AD 70) wrote,

“Africa produces elephants, but it is India that produces the largest, as well as the dragon…”

Pliny, Natural History

Claudius Aelianus (AD 220) wrote,

“The Phrygian History also states that dragons are born which reach ten paces in length…”

Aelianus, De Natura Animalium

He also wrote about …

“…a dragon in India, which, when it perceived Alexander’s army near at hand, gave such a prodigious hiss and blast, that it greatly frightened and disturbed the whole army”

John Gill (1809) on Micah 1:8

Jordanus (AD 550) writes,

“These dragons grow exceeding big, and from their mouths cast forth a most pestilent breath…”

Jordanus, The Wonders of the East

St. George and the Dragon

The story about St. George rescuing the king’s daughter from a dragon seems to originate somewhere around the 7^th century.

An old book about natural history and medieval medicine, some of which is true and some of which is superstitious, contains a woodcut picture of a dragon.

The dragon has dermal spines. Just like the dinosaur Acrocanthosaurus.

Hortus Sanitatis by Jacob Medenbach (1491)

Dragons are found in the writings of the

Egypt

Babylon

Greece

Rome

England

Ireland

Denmark

China

Japan

Aztec

Nazca of Peru

American Indians

Francis Schaeffer, philosopher-theologian, has written, “I am not at all convinced it has been proven that the dinosaurs became extinct prior to the advent of man. I believe there is much evidence, ancient and modern, to indicate that dinosaurs and humankind existed on earth contemporaneously, and that human beings, while they probably lived in different regions than dinosaurs for the most part, did on many occasions encounter the sometimes huge and fearsome creatures. The memories of these encounters were so vivid and deep that they were passed down in a multitude of cultures as legends, painted on cave walls, represented in pottery, and written of in literature.”

Video: Real Dragon Captured by Fisherman

What do you think?

Video: Dinosaurs and Dragon Legends

https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/animals/dino-dragon-legends/

Satan

I find it interesting that the two concepts of “dragons” and “Satan” are written off in the world as some sort of myths.

Yet we have learned that Satan is very real. It’s one of his greatest deceptions to fool the world into thinking he doesn’t exist.

A couple of lessons…

Lesson

Don’t play with Satan

(Job 41:5 NKJV) Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens?

I get the feeling from some people that they think they’re smarter than Satan. I remember one fellow telling me years ago that he was going to use Satan’s own tactics against him and what he meant was that he was going to lie and trick someone into being good. It didn’t work. It caused a lot of grief.

Satan is a cruel task master, not someone who is going to be your slave.

Quote from Dilbert: Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

Lesson

Use the right weapons

(Job 41:26 NKJV) Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.

Satan, like leviathan, is FAR too big for us to handle on our own with our own kinds of ideas or weapons.

We need God’s weapons.

There are the only weapons that are effective against Satan.

(Ephesians 6:14–18 NKJV) —14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Lesson

Satan is going to lose

Isaiah prophesied,

(Isaiah 27:1 NKJV) In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.

John recorded,

(Revelation 12:7–11 NKJV) —7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.

This war will take place in the middle of the Tribulation period. Up until that time, Satan has and continues to have access to heaven. He is known as the “accuser of the brethren”.

9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Victory over Satan comes from three things:

The blood of Jesus is what covers our sins. It is what has paid the price for our sins so that when Satan accuses us, he has nothing against us because God has forgiven us.

The word of testimony not only includes telling people what Jesus has done in your life, but it included God’s Word, which is the testimony of God’s people.

Not loving their lives to death, how can Satan defeat you if you’re willing to die for Jesus?

Lesson

Pride and dragons

(keyword)

God described Leviathan …

(Job 41:34 NKJV) He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.”

This too is an apt description of Satan. Pride is the sin that caused Satan to rebel against God:

(Isaiah 14:13–14 NKJV) —13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’

And as we’ve already seen … God is opposed to pride.

(1 Peter 5:5–6 NKJV) —5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

I wonder if all this isn’t somehow a bit of a warning towards Job against pride.

It seems that as the arguments have gone on between Job and his friends, that there has been a bit of pride slip into Job’s remarks.

And when things turn around for Job, part of what happens in his life is a shift towards humility. He will exclaim:

(Job 42:6 NKJV) Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”

Pericope Project

How would you title chapter 40?

How would you title chapter 41?

Homework

Read Job 37-42 in NLT

Memorize … no memory verses for next week!

Go to our class’ “test” section

I’d like you to share a prayer request

There will be a quick quiz for you.

Listen to episode #12 (the second half) of “The Rise And Fall Of Mars Hill”

“Aftermath”

Write a short paragraph summarizing the episode and how it has affected your spiritual walk.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill/

Your Pericope Project #2 (that last half of Job) is due next week.

Keywords

What was the first “keyword” …

a. Shut up and listen

b. Speak your mind

c. Keep complaining

What was the second “keyword” …

a. Pride and Dragons

b. Tacos and Dragons

c. Pride and Prejudice

Was there something from today’s lesson that you can apply to your life TODAY?

Mars Hill Notes

Episode #12 “The Rise And Fall Of Mars Hill”

“The Aftermath”

Episode 12 – first half

Mark starts appearances at pastors conferences. He is applauded. Mark tells stories.

One year later Mark announces a new church in Phoenix area. Trinity.

Unresolved conflicts.

Mark says he’s no longer is reformed

Benjamin Petry

Paul Petry had been fired 2007. Benjamin the son visits Trinity.

Talks with Mark. Wants Mark to call and apologize to his dad. Mark is uncomfortable and makes excuses.

Mars Hill closes. What happened to all the money and property?

Formulas developed to dissolve assets and divide among existing congregations.

They equip 11 church plants.

Mark paid 650k severance

Six weeks to plant the new churches.

Some guys left working for churches.

Some guys had trouble because of their connection with Mars Hill - so they stopped mentioning their connection with Mars Hill.