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Job 41:24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
Job 41:25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
Job 41:26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
Job 41:27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
Job 41:28 The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
Job 41:29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
Job 41:30 Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
Job 41:31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
Job 41:32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
Job 41:33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
Job 41:34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

Introduction

Through Job the Lord is showing us that He never intended for the first Adam to be physically saved. He is showing us that His plan all along was to use “the first man Adam” as nothing more than the catalyst for the salvation of “the last Adam” who will be the immortal spirit He had in mind when He initially ‘called us in Christ before the world began’.

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

Now if there is any truth in those verses of scripture, and they are true, then the question of whether God knew in advance whether Adam and Eve would eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is settled, because God could not have called us “in Christ Jesus before the world began” if there were the slightest chance that “the first Adam” would not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Rev 13:8 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.

Since we have determined that God knew in advance that Adam and Eve would eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we have also discovered that fact that God intended for that to happen, that He knew in advance exactly what Adam would do, and had already provided the sacrifice for that sin “from the foundation of the world”. So much for the false doctrine of mankind having been given a “free will”. We are told in no uncertain terms that such a doctrine is a lie.

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

God’s will is all that is being done. Nothing occurs outside of His direction. He either shows us mercy, making our hearts pliable and intent upon obeying His every word, or He hardens our hearts making us to err (Isa 63:17). Both are the work of His hands. Causing Job to condemn his Lord, was a type of causing Judas to do so. Christ tells us clearly that He knew what Judas would do “before the world began”.

Joh 13:18 I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.
Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

What God is showing us through Job, is that He not only knows in advance exactly what and when we will both do good and when we will do evil, because the Lord Himself is, through the spirit realm, orchestrating and “working all things after the counsel of His own will”. Our Lord knew before he even called Judas to be his disciple, that Judas would betray Him to be crucified. That was the purpose for which Judas was chosen to be one of the twelve.
That is exactly what the scriptures proclaim, of course:

Act 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

What this tells us from Genesis to Revelation is that there is no great unresolved battle between God and Satan. The only battle being fought is a predestinated battle in the heavens of our hearts and minds as we struggle to come to see and accept the sovereign work of God in our lives.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, The word ‘places’ in verse three is not in the Greek. Paul is informing us that we, in Christ, even now in down payment form, are “seated… in the heavens” with Christ.
Eph 2:6 And raised us up together, and seated us together in the heavenlies, in Christ: (EB)
Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

This is not just an end- time event. This was being done when these words were first penned, and they have been being fulfilled in every generation since, and they will continue to be fulfilled in the lives of every person who ever has or ever will live until the consummation of the ages. Christ Himself made that very clear, and He wants us to know that His Word is not transitory or temporary, but is alive and powerful in every generation of mankind:

Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

“This generation” is every generation reading and being given to understand these words of our Lord, including “this generation”.
In this chapter of Job, the Lord is emphasizing to us, for our own benefit, just how mighty the powers are which He Himself has ordained to bring about the death of our old man, and through that death to bring forth the birth of our new man.
This is leviathan, against whom we of ourselves have no power at all:

Job 41:24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.

That is the very purpose for which leviathan was created. A hard heart is the most common figure in scripture for rebellion and unbelief. Who God loves he shows mercy by giving us a soft pliable heart, but when we are in rebellion we are being given a heart as hard and rebellious as stone:

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of [ soft] flesh.

That is the positive application in scripture for the word ‘flesh’, which is far more generally the figure of a hard, carnal rebellious heart.

Job 41:25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.

This entire verse is a mystery to all the commentators. The word ‘mighty’ is the Hebrew word ‘el’, which means ‘god’, and the word ‘afraid’ is the Hebrew word ‘gur’ which is most often translated as ‘sojourn’, though it is defined as ‘turn’ or ‘turn aside’. “By reason of breakings” is from the two Hebrew words ‘minney’, and ‘sheber’. ‘Minney’ means “a part of [ or] from”, and ‘sheber’ means “fracture [ or] ruin”. The entire phrase, “they purify themselves” is all translated from the one Hebrew word ‘chatah’, which is the Hebrew word translated as ‘sin’ throughout the entire Old Testament.
So now that we know what the Hebrew actually says, and we already understand that the point the Lord is making in telling us about behemoth and leviathan is that we are all helpless of ourselves to withstand them, we can now much better understand what the Lord is telling us through Job. He is telling us that when leviathan raises himself up to do the work the Lord sends him to do within the sea of humanity, even men like the prince of Tyrus and the King of Babylon, who are types of us and who think they are gods, will ‘turn aside’ or flee in fear because they are ‘fractured’ and ‘ruined’ and “marred in the Potter’s hand, and are made ‘chatah’, “made sin”.
In other words, we are helpless to resist what the Lord has made for Himself, in the day when He has predestined our own “day of evil”.

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Such is the power of leviathan over the flesh of mankind.

Job 41:26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
Job 41:27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
Job 41:28 The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
Job 41:29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.

The adversary, that old serpent the devil and Satan, literally laughs at our attempts to fight against him, apart from “Christ in [ us]”. Here is what happens when we are fighting against sin in our lives without having Christ living His life within us. That is right; I am quoting Rom 7 again:

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

That is who we are against leviathan, the death angel, who has been given the power of death over our old man.

Exo 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

How did the Lord “put forth His hand…[ and] smite the firstborn of Egypt”? He did it in the same way that He “put forth His hand… and smote Job with boils…”

Job 2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
Job 2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

It is the Lord Himself who sends Satan to smite Job, but the Lord tells us that Satan was used to “move [ Him] against [ Job]”. Only God is so great that He has to create and use His own adversary.

Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

That is a good example of our next verse:

Job 41:30 Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.

I will quote Albert Barne’s Commentary on this verse because he gives us the meaning of the word in Hebrew, and then demonstrates how we all, without Christ, cannot apply the spiritual meaning of words to scripture.
Here is Barne’s Commentary on this thirtieth verse of Job 41:

“Job 41:30
“Sharp stones are under him – Margin, as in Hebrew, “pieces of pot sherd.†The Hebrew word (חדוד chadduÌ‚d), means “sharp, pointedâ€; and the phrase used here means “the sharp points of a potsherdâ€, or broken pieces of earthenware. The reference is, undoubtedly, to the scales of the animal, which were rough and pointed, like the broken pieces of earthenware. This description would not agree with the whale, and indeed will accord with no other animal so well as with the crocodile. The meaning is that the under parts of his body, with which he rests upon the mire, are made up of sharp, pointed things, like broken pottery.”

Nothing is further from the Truth as another commentator whose name is Gill reveals:

“Job 41:30
Sharp stones are under him,…. And yet give him no pain nor uneasiness;
“he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire; and makes his bed of them and lies upon them; as sharp stones, as before, shells of fishes, broken pieces of darts, arrows, and javelins thrown at him, which fall around him: this does not so well agree with the crocodile, the skin of whose belly is soft and thin; wherefore dolphins plunge under it and cut it with a thorn, as Pliny (h) relates, or with spiny fins (i); but with the whale, which lies among hard rocks and sharp stones, and large cutting pieces of ice, as in the northern seas.”

Carnal- minded commentators are very educated men. Nevertheless, the mind which compares spiritual things with spiritual types and shadows knows that “vessel[ s] of clay” are one of the primary the Biblical types of mankind.

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

All the New Testament writers were very much aware of this Biblical type and shadow. So Paul writes:

2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure [ Christ within us] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Again, the very point being made to us through Job is that God has given the kingdoms of this world over to Satan, and we are all, at first, under the power and influence of the great red dragon who empowers and enthrones the beast within us all.
The fact that we are pictured as being broken in pieces under Him is just the exact opposite of what is to become of leviathan himself during the thousand year reign of Christ and His elect over this earth.

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

Leviathan is “the dragon”, who during this thousand year reign, will be “sharp stones… sharp pointed things” under the feet of God’s elect, who will be ruling this earth during that thousand years.
But while our flesh is given over to leviathan, as Job’s flesh was:

Job 41:31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
Job 41:32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.

Satan (leviathan) will have his way in the sea of mankind. God Himself has given Satan to be the king of the nations of this earth.

Luk 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luk 4:6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

We are told that Satan is “the god of this world”.

2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

That state of blindness is called “darkness”, and that state of darkness is administered by principalities, powers and the rulers of that darkness, and those powers are all located in our heavens.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. [ Greek – epouranios, heavens, the word places is not in the Greek.]

So it is given to Satan to keep our eyes blinded. He accomplishes this through all of his false lying doctrines which twist the Word of God.

2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

But we are also given to know that all of this is really being worked by God Himself who sends Satan forth to accomplish his work. So when we are specifically told that all evil spirits are sent to us “from the Lord”, then it is no contradiction to tell us that God has given them this spirit of blindness:

Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
1Ki 22:23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

Satan is no different than you and I. We all wonder how it is possible for God to be sovereign, and yet we appear to make our own decisions whether to obey or disobey, whether we repent or rebel or whether we fear God or condemn Him and His ways. Job, the type of all of us, is a vessel of clay with no really deep fear of God. He certainly did not fear God enough to keep him from contending with, reproving or condemning God. Satan, on the other hand, is not earthbound as men are. He is a heavenly creature with no fear of God:

Job 41:33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.

God is letting us know that there is a spirit realm, against which the most powerful men are totally helpless. Mankind can make all the movies he wants about how mankind is capable of conquering invaders from the heavens, but our Lord is not the least bit impressed or intimidated. We cannot even contend with God’s created adversary, much less God Himself.
Here is what we are told about the power God has given over to Satan:

Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

Now we know what this verse means:

Heb 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

It is this book of Job which so clearly demonstrates how Satan’s every move is nothing more than “the hands of the living God”. Remember, Satan himself admits that all he does is at God’s hand and God’s command:

Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Again in chapter two:

Job 2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Job 2:5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

What a marvelous comforting revelation for those who are given to receive it, and what an infuriating revelation to those who are not given to receive it.
Here is who God has made the king of all who are not given to receive, rejoice, and be comforted in seeing and knowing of the sovereign hand of God in all things.

Job 41:34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

Self- pride is the essence of this world, which is our flesh.

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

It was pride that led Job and leads you and me to accuse and condemn our own Maker in these words:

Job 33:10 Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy,
Job 33:11 He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths.

To which God inspired Elihu to answer:

Job 33:12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.
Job 33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
Job 33:14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
Job 33:15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
Job 33:16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
Job 33:17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
Psa 59:12 For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.
Pro 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Here is what God is doing with “the pride of [ our] li[ ves]”:

Lev 26:19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
Lev 26:38 And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.

It is all meant to tell us that the earth is the doomed enemy of heaven and the earthy is the doomed enemy of the heavenly.

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

This is not plan B for God, this is plan A as it was conceived from “before the world began”.

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

And this is also what will happen to leviathan, “the king over all the children of pride”:

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Satan, like “the first man Adam”, has a carnal mind which is enmity against God:

Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

But the fire which is the word of God (Jer 5:14), will purify even the carnal mind of the children of leviathan, the king over all the children of pride”, and then they will become seraphim around the throne of God:

Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims [ Hebrew – fiery serpents]: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

These verses confirm the truth of this verse of scripture:

Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

“All things… in earth, or in heaven” certainly includes “leviathan… the king of all the children of pride”.
Next week, if the Lord wills, we will discover the purpose for which we must endure the seven vials of the wrath of God upon the kingdom of all the children of pride within us. Here are the verses we will cover:

Job 42:1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 42:2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
Job 42:3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Job 42:4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 42:5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Job 42:7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
Job 42:8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.