John Pople - Class 5: God Speaks

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   Who is this that darkens counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man. I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know. Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set? Or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together, and all the angels shouted for joy?

2. 0:32

   Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb? When I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness? When I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place? When I said, This far you may come, and no farther. Here is where your proud waves halt.

3. 0:53

   Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? The earth takes shape like clay under a seal. Its features stand out like those of a garment. The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.

4. 1:14

   Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea? Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me if you know all this. What is the way to the abode of light, and where does darkness reside?

5. 1:37

   Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? Surely you know, for you were already born. You have lived so many years. Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?

6. 1:57

   What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, to water a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it, to satisfy a desolate wasteland, and make it sprout with grass?

7. 2:19

   Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens, when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen? Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion?

8. 2:40

   Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons, or lead out the bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God's dominion over the earth? Can you raise your voice to the clouds, and cover yourself with a flood of water? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, here we are?

9. 3:02

   Who endowed the heart with wisdom, or gave understanding to the mind? Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens, when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together? Do you hunt the prey for the lioness, and satisfy the hunger of the lions when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in a thicket?

10. 3:25

    Who provides food for the raven, when its young cry out to God, and wander about for lack of food? Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? They crouch down and bring forth their young.

11. 3:47

    Their labor pains are ended. Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds. They leave and do not return. Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied his ropes? I gave him the wasteland as his home, the salt flats as his habitat. He laughs at the commotion in the town. He does not hear a driver's shout.

12. 4:08

    He ranges the hills for pasture, and searches for any green thing. Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night? Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he till the valleys behind you? Will you rely on him for his great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to him?

13. 4:28

    Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor? The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stalk. She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.

14. 4:47

    She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers. She cares not that her labor was in vain, for God did not endow her with wisdom, or give her a share of good sense. Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider. Do you give the horse his strength, or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?

15. 5:09

    Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? He pauses fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing. He does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground.

16. 5:32

    He cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, aha! He catches the scent of battle from afar. The shout of commanders in the battle cry. Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom, and spread his wings toward the south? Does the eagle soar at your command, and build his nest on high?

17. 5:54

    He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night. A rocky crag is his stronghold. From there he seeks out his food. His eyes detect it from afar. His young ones feast on blood. And where the slain are, there is he.

18. 6:12

    So what has God told Job? I suggest to you, that speech is actually very difficult to understand. It seems almost too simple. It doesn't seem like God has said anything particularly helpful at all. We might agree with all of it. Job might agree with all of it. But it must be difficult for Job, and I think it was difficult for Job, for him to understand how in any way God's answer, such as it was in that first speech, could be helpful.

19. 6:47

    There are two implied messages that we can see, at least from that speech. Firstly, Job, the world that is wild and uncontrolled to you is tame to me. And that seems the most central message of that speech. But again, even though it's a clear message, it does not seem relevant as an answer to Job's circumstance.

20. 7:12

    Job has come before the Lord saying, Why, Lord? Why this? Why me? Why all this affliction? What is this for? You have denied me justice. Where is my justice? Where is my culpability to suffer all these things? And so the answer, that the world that is wild to Job is tame to God, does not seem relevant.

21. 7:38

    The other message we can see right away seems more relevant. There's a sense in that speech that God is saying, Job, when have I ever failed to do what is needed? If I bothered to bring out the sun at the start of the day, if I remembered to almost place the stars in the sky each night, if I remembered to draw the lines where the sea should stop, if I chased over here with my watering can to tend the flower in the desert that no one else could see, if I played midwife to the goats and the deer who were giving birth to make sure that each baby was delivered as it should be, if I have been tending all of these things for all of these years, why are you filled with indignation or fear that I am actually not in process of tending your every need?

22. 8:42

    That seems more relevant. And that's a start for Job, perhaps, to begin to understand. But basically, at the end of this first speech, we have to say, apparently, God is ignoring Job's complaint. So it seems. There can be no doubt that God has always planned to speak twice. And this first speech sets the foundation for the way Job will react to trigger the second speech, which will deliver the base message that God has to answer Job's complaint.

23. 9:20

    But at the moment, the situation is still obscure. And so Job replies. A very simple reply. I am unworthy. How can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, twice, but not anymore. We don't have the tone in which Job spoke those words. We only have the words recorded.

24. 9:44

    But we can see from God's reaction to Job that God is dissatisfied. This is not an appropriate response. So I think we can, therefore, look back at these words and see Job's reply as something of an embittered reaction to the fact that God seems to have given him an entirely useless answer. That Job has heard.

25. 10:10

    Can I control the lion? No, I can't control the lion. But that's not what I asked. Can I lead out the stars in their seasons? Are the constellations tied together? No, I can't do that. But why is that relevant to my complaint? And so what Job is hearing, not what God is saying, but what Job is hearing, is God saying, I am almighty God.

26. 10:34

    You're nothing before me. And so Job says, okay then. I'm nothing before you. So if I'm nothing before you, what's the point in this dialogue? Why bother? Why bother? I'll just be quiet, shall I? I'll just shut up then. Fine. And that's not what God has said. And so God again chastens Job, provokes him, prods him to a better response.

27. 11:02

    Then the Lord replies to him again, brace yourself like a man. I will question you, and you shall answer me. Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? Do you have an arm like God's? And can your voice thunder like his? Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor. Clothe yourself in honor and majesty.

28. 11:26

    Unleash the fury of your wrath. Look at every proud man and bring him low. Look at every proud man and humble him. Crush the wicked where they stand. Bury them all in the dust together. Shroud their faces in the grave. Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.

29. 11:48

    And that's the indication we have to know that Job's first response is unsatisfactory. Job has missed the point. And in fairness to Job, I think the point is still completely obscured. And Job could not have seen within the bounds of human intellect the point that God is making at this stage. This is what allows God to deliver the second speech that he's always planned to deliver because he still has the message hidden at this stage.

30. 12:20

    And so we move into God's second speech, which isn't so much about controlling the natural creation in all its forms as controlling the beast. God's second speech. And what I want to do right at the outset is put a hypothesis in front of you, unproven, and then present the evidence that I have by which I come to that conclusion.

31. 12:43

    I'd like to propose to you right here and now that God's second speech is based entirely around the spiritual creation and not the natural creation. I haven't presented any evidence for that yet, but I will. But for the moment, let me just put it out there as a hypothesis. And this will be relevant to answering Job's question.

32. 13:02

    And straight away, even without presenting any evidence, that should seem slightly resonant with the way Scripture works. That is the way God works. There's always these two planes that we have to be sensitive to. The natural plane in which we live and also the spiritual plane in which we live and move and have our being.

33. 13:23

    And a general paraphrase of well-known verses would say, Always, first comes the natural creation, then afterwards can grow the spiritual creation. First, there is the old covenant, the covenant of death, the covenant in which one could not ever be atoned to God because it had no life in it. Then the second covenant.

34. 13:42

    We see the two testaments of Scripture in comparable way. Ultimately, there's always that first man, Adam. But then there's that first man, Christ. First the natural, then the spiritual. So this is a very harmonious interpretation, albeit in hand-waving scenes, that the second speech should be based upon the spiritual creation. And as I say, it is my contention that the beasts we're about to see, and I'll read a little of the second speech, Behemoth and Leviathan are not a continuation of the discussion of natural creation.

35. 14:19

    It's not as if God has presented nine beasts to Job, and Job has said, I don't get it, that's not relevant. And then God said, well, okay, how about two more? And then Job says, oh, yeah, absolutely, it makes total sense, why didn't I see that? That's not going to be how this works.

36. 14:39

    God is stepping up to an entirely new dimension as he delivers this second speech. And in the second speech, just some of it, God says this. Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you, and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly.

37. 15:02

    And as I read this speech, I'd like you to be mentally playing, at least, with this hypothesis. Ask yourself, am I able to hear these words very much as a consideration of spiritual things rather than natural things? Just see how well or how poorly that suggestion sits in your mind as I go through these verses.

38. 15:25

    Behemoth's tail sways like a cedar. The sinews of his thighs are close-knit. His bones are tubes of bronze. His limbs like rods of iron. He ranks first among the works of God. Yet his maker can approach him with his sword. The hills bring him their produce. And all the wild animals play nearby.

39. 15:46

    Under the lotus plant he lies. Hidden among the reeds in the march. When the river rages, he is not alarmed. He is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth. Can anyone capture him by the eyes? Or trap him and pierce his nose? Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook? Or tie down his tongue with a rope?

40. 16:08

    Can you put a cord through his nose? Or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he keep begging you for mercy? Will he speak to you with gentle words? Will he make an agreement with you? For you to take him as your slave for life? Can you make a pet of him, like a bird?

41. 16:26

    Or put him on a leash for your girls? Will traders barter for him? Will they divide him up among the merchants? Can you fill his hide with harpoons? Or his head with fishing spears? If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the struggle and never do it again. Any hope of subduing him is false.

42. 16:46

    The mere sight of him is overpowering. No one is fierce enough to rouse him. Who then is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me. I will not fail to speak of his limbs, his strength and his graceful form. His snorting throws out flashes of light.

43. 17:10

    His eyes are like the rays of dawn. Firebrands stream from his mouth. Sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke pours from his nostrils, as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds. His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth. Strength resides in his neck. Dismay goes before him. The folds of his flesh are tightly joined.

44. 17:36

    They are firm and immovable. His chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone. When he rises up, the mighty are terrified. They retreat before his thrashing. The sword that reaches him has no effect. Nor does the spear, or the dart, or the javelin. Iron he treats like straw, and bronze like rotten wood.

45. 17:58

    Arrows do not make him flee. Slingstones are like chaff to him. A club seems to him but a piece of straw. He laughs at the rattling of the lance. His undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge. He makes the depths churn like a boiling cauldron, and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.

46. 18:20

    Behind him he leaves a glistening wake. One would think the deep had white hair. Nothing on earth is his equal. A creature without fear. He looks down on all that are haughty. He is king over all that are proud.

47. 18:38

    What now do we see? To be honest, quite possibly little more. The second speech is almost as obscure as the first. But by understanding it as a commentary on the spiritual creation, I think with a little hard work, we will be able to unlock, starting with the second speech, the basis of God's answer to Job, and then look backwards to see why the first speech on the natural creation laid the perfect foundation for the second speech containing the answer to Job's complaint.

48. 19:13

    Now, I don't like to be negative, so I usually like to present things as they are or what I believe, but I think it's valuable to spend just a minute in considering knocking over an existing theory that Behemoth and Leviathan, as considered by many, are a continuation of the natural creation, which I say they are not.

49. 19:35

    If you look throughout the literature, scholars are most confused about the nature of Behemoth and Leviathan, which is reasonable, because it is kind of tough to understand, but what is also particularly interesting is that, and particularly within our community, the most common explanation you'll see is that Behemoth is a hippopotamus and Leviathan is a crocodile.

50. 19:58

    So God has presented nine natural beasts in the first speech, and then the hippo and the crocodile in the second. Now, I want to look at evidence for why that's not the case. First, in a broad context, this makes no sense. We've already addressed that. If the discussion of nine natural beasts in the first speech don't allow Job to be convinced of anything, throwing in two more in the second speech isn't going to change anything.

51. 20:24

    Furthermore, it's completely against the character of God. Did God forget these two, the first speech? Did he say, oh, I looked at my notes and I realized I had 11 and I forgot to. Job, just a couple more things. That's not the manner in which God works. This explanation makes no sense, nor is that by any means the only evidence.

52. 20:44

    Secondly, and very convincingly, the animals proposed do not match the descriptions. And it's not like they're a little bit off. They're way off. That is not the animals that are proposed. Look, for Behemoth, we are told his tail sways like a cedar tree. Now, I don't know who proposed that the hippopotamus was the interpretation of that, but obviously, they hadn't ever seen a hippopotamus, and probably nor even a picture of one.

53. 21:13

    If you've ever seen a hippopotamus's tail, it is a little apology of a thing. It does not sway like a cedar tree. This is not what we're talking about. And for Leviathan, why, there's even more trouble. We're told in a series of about four verses back to back that basically fire streams from his mouth.

54. 21:37

    And I do believe that the biblical story of Leviathan has itself given rise to a lot of legends about dragons. And I think that's one of the sources where a lot of dragon legends actually come from, this description in the Bible. But is it a crocodile? Do we see fire streaming from his mouth?

55. 21:54

    It's not enough, sufficient, we are told, to set coals ablaze. So this is not a description of natural beasts. At least, not these two. And if we really are looking around for natural beasts, even if we want to go back to hypothetical dinosaurs, you're going to have an impossible task to satisfy this condition.

56. 22:14

    Although, we're going to modify that statement in just a minute. But for now, we can say there is no beast whatsoever that satisfies that condition. And a third piece of evidence is, now let's finish with the negative and start swinging around to the positive. And last, let's start saying, okay, well then if it's not the hippo and the croc and it's not two dinosaurs, and basically it's not any natural beasts, what are they?

57. 22:40

    And so, what we notice from the speech is that there is a fundamentally different content in their descriptions. Don't trust me on that. I'm going to put the evidence in front of you on the next slide. The first speech, I would contend, the beasts in there have natural characteristics. But in the second speech, I suggest to you, and I'll show you on the next slide, the beasts in the second speech have spiritual characteristics.

58. 23:04

    In fact, everything about them is always presented in terms of the effect they have on the human heart or the effect they have on man. They don't even seem to exist by themselves. They only exist in the context of affecting us, affecting who we are and how we think. Let me just show you the evidence for that.

59. 23:26

    Here, on the left hand side, are some of the characteristics that were given in that first speech. Doesn't matter which beast it is. Here's what these type of beasts do. And they're wild beasts, all of them. This is relevant, right? The lion is wild. The raven is wild. And even when God picks seemingly domesticated animals, the ox and the donkey, he actually specifies, I don't want to talk about the ox.

60. 23:50

    I want to talk about the wild ox. I don't want to talk about the donkey. I want to talk about the wild donkey. So in the first speech, natural characteristics. They hunt prey. They satisfy their hunger. Their young cry out for food. They crouch down to give birth. They range the hills for pasture.

61. 24:09

    They lay eggs carelessly. Or they spread their wings to the south. Very indicative of natural beasts. Contrast that with what you see of the beasts in the second speech. No man can capture him. Something which is out of control to human control. He won't beg for mercy. Well, you know, this is not a natural, this is not a characteristic of any natural beast.

62. 24:35

    The concept of begging or the concept of mercy. That's entirely within the human realm. You can't make a pet of him. Any hope of subduing him is false. Mighty men retreat before his thrashing. Always connected to how it affects man. Nothing on earth is his equal. And a good clue here to finish off.

63. 24:55

    He is king of the proud. And I think now we're going to begin to unlock. Let me start with another assertion that I'll back up and give evidence for in a second. And I'll give you my assertion right here. Behemoth equals Leviathan. It is one and the same beast. I haven't justified that yet and I will.

64. 25:15

    I'll try to. In fact, behemoth already is a plural word. So there's more than one beast even in this word. But whatever. The behemoths, if you will, and Leviathan, one and the same beast. And it is the beast we've been looking at this whole time. It's Satan. It's human pride. It is the king of the proud.

65. 25:34

    It is the human spirit which is out of control like a wild beast and unable to be subdued except by the word of God. I haven't justified that. Let's try and provide some evidence to see whether or not that is true. Here's the first piece of evidence that that is the right interpretation.

66. 25:54

    Notice that the second speech itself seems triggered, although God set it up all along of course, seems triggered by the fact that Job needs salvation from pride. How do we know that? Because of that little interlude when Job responded to the first speech, right? God says, look at every proud man and bring him low.

67. 26:15

    And then he repeats it because it's so important and just in case you missed it, he repeats it again. Look at every proud man and humble him. Bring down that beast if you can, Job. You bring down that beast and then I myself, I Almighty God, will admit, I'm not needed. Clearly, you can affect your own salvation because you can overcome human pride.

68. 26:40

    Okay? Let's just spend one more slide going back through the description of Behemoth and Leviathan and seeing why this is definitively a description of human pride. And before we do that, I realize, of course, we've opened up a second question. You're like, okay, so if it's one beast, why is it given in two different forms?

69. 27:02

    We will not ignore that question. Don't worry. Evidence piece number five, the description of the beast. For example, first of all, it is Behemoth, who I made along with you. Now, that's not definitive in any sense because you might say, well, look, all the beasts, the land beasts, were made on day six of creation, however you understand day six to mean, and that's when man was made.

70. 27:24

    So maybe that's all he means. And I concede, maybe that's all God means. But notice what an extra dimension that phrase has if you realize it's talking about human pride. Behemoth, that ability to resist and rebel against me, I made that right along with you. In fact, right along inside you. These pieces of evidence are more definitive.

71. 27:45

    He has bones of bronze. Well, bronze is a biblical symbol for pride and stubbornness. We've seen that. I don't have time to go through and demonstrate that, but if you doubt that, I'll happily give you lots of verses afterwards that will demonstrate that bronze, because it's a very hard material, there's a quote in Isaiah, isn't it, where God says, you Israelites, you have a forehead of bronze.

72. 28:07

    You are so stiff-necked. I cannot get anything inside you because you resist me at every turn, just like pulling a donkey. This beast, whoever it is, ranks first among God's works. Who ranks first amongst God's works? That's right, the hippo. Oh, no, wait. No, not the hippo. No. We know what the premier element of creation was.

73. 28:31

    It's man. It's you and me. That was the one that was said to rank first among God's works. That's definitive. It's implied in chapter 41, verse 11, as the one who accuses God. Who accuses God? Not just man, but specifically that element of man that is prideful. And that's what's happened to Job, as we'll see.

74. 28:56

    That's why it's addressing Job's complaint. Fire shoots from this beast's mouth. And we've said there is not a beast in natural creation that has fire shooting out of its mouth. Wrong. There's one. The tongue is a fire, says James. There's one animal whose words can be so venomous they can set a huge conflagration alight.

75. 29:20

    The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body that is true only of the creature of man, not of a crocodile or some old plisiosaur or some other dinosaur. It's not true of them at all. It is only true of us. This also is independently definitive.

76. 29:40

    And finally, he is king of the proud. I think this statement is far more obvious than we take it for. He's talking about a proud man. The ultimately uplifted form of the pride of man. Here's an example of this in essence. We have a good example in Daniel chapter 4. Here is Nebuchadnezzar speaking.

77. 30:00

    Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty? And so God looks down from heaven and says, Oh look, Leviathan, the wild beast roaming around in the fields. Oh, well, if there's a wild beast roaming around in the fields, why wouldn't I put him with the other wild beasts?

78. 30:28

    Isn't that logical? This is no longer a human. This is not a son of God. This isn't what I intended to make from Brother Peter's devotion. This isn't made in my image. Not anymore. This is made in the image of a wild beast. And what is his punishment? It's not capricious. It's not God thinking up some strange and crazy thing to do.

79. 30:49

    He's saying, if you're a wild beast, Leviathan, you will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals until you are no longer a wild animal and I can restore you to the ranks of humanity who are supposedly the rank first among the works of God. So there's a lot of evidence that that is what we're talking about.

80. 31:11

    Man's pride is the one and only wild beast. And so here, let's recapitulate what has really happened. Job has been afflicted. We know that. He has reasoned the matter through with his three friends who are a good representation of human pride. They think they know it all. They've got the answers. They can tell Job what the answers are.

81. 31:36

    They can tell him exactly why he's suffering the way he is, exactly what he needs to do about it, and exactly how and possibly even when God will change things as a result of that. Human pride is rampant. Leviathan is trampling around all over the place. And Job goes back and forth with them in that huge series of debates that we looked at yesterday.

82. 31:58

    And by the end, what has happened? What has happened is what always happens. Leviathan is a highly cancerous beast and easily transmitted. And by the end, at least, Job has begun to gain a little bit of Leviathan himself. Now that I have prepared my case, says Job, I know I will be vindicated.

83. 32:19

    In fact, the Almighty has denied me justice. And so I will sign my defense and subpoena God to answer my petition. And he even says, like a prince, I would walk into his presence and approach him. And God looks down. And how sad he must be. And he will say, oh, my beautiful son, Job, whom I love so dearly, is at terrible risk of being devoured by this beast's Leviathan.

84. 32:53

    He's tried to wrestle with Satan in the wilderness. And he's a righteous man. And he's wrestled with Satan in the wilderness. But Satan, at this moment at least, has the upper hand. And Leviathan has even begun to grow in him. And so God interrupts at this point after the subpoena that has been cleared by Elihu.

85. 33:12

    God says, Job, Job, we need to talk. Don't say any more. Don't darken counsel any more with those words. We need to talk. And you know what we need to talk about, Job? We need to talk about wild beasts, don't we? And Job says, no. No, that's not the subject. And God says, yes, it is.

86. 33:34

    Can you control the lion, Job? And Job says, no, I can't control the lion. That's not what I'm asking about. Can we get on to the point? And God says, well, Job, can you control the wild ox? No, I can't control the wild ox. Okay, you're better than me. That's not the point.

87. 33:48

    That's not, I'm not challenging that. Can we talk about my problem? Yes, Job. Job, can you control the raven? Oh, no, I can't control the raven. All right, you're better than me. And by the end of that speech, he says, okay, I'll just shut up, shall I? Since you're just rambling on about something completely else which I don't deny.

88. 34:06

    And then God says, okay, no, Job, no, brace yourself. I will question you and you will answer me. We need to talk about the wild beast, don't we, Job? Think about the wild beast that rolls around thrashing, that has, think about human pride, Job. Isn't that the wild beast that can only be tamed by the word of God?

89. 34:33

    And Job sees it. Oh dear. What a tremendous realization that must have been. That God's first speech, wild animals of the natural world that only he can tame. But God's second speech was all about human pride, the one and only wild beast that only his word can tame. And what we're actually looking at is a very genuine act of intercession.

90. 34:58

    And as Brother John Launchbury has been addressing, intercession isn't about someone coming between the afflicted man and the angry God. Intercession is God himself interceding to save the foolish man, which is all of us, from further disaster and damage through sin. And so God sees Job in the jaws of Leviathan. And Leviathan, who will take hold of Job and screw him up to nothing and spit him out and says, I need to act.

91. 35:32

    I must speak. I must save my son, whom I love. And I think Job sees that that's what motivated the speeches all along. God wasn't saying, me big God, you little nothing, shut up, as he first thought when he heard the first speech. He's realizing that he has been snatched from the jaws of Leviathan, from his own pride that would have destroyed him.

92. 35:56

    And he has been saved. And that's why God wanted to give that message, first of all introduced by the general fact that he should have learned, even from the expressions of God in the world all around him, that there's wild beasts everywhere, which are tamed to God, but they're not under our control.

93. 36:14

    And so unless we submit to God, we will be destroyed and devoured by them. And although the lion isn't too much to fear, it could really only rend his flesh, Leviathan is the wild beast that can rend his very soul. And God has saved him from it. This, then, is the work of intercession that God has performed in those two incredible speeches.

94. 36:39

    And after the second speech, we'll see that Job understands. Ironically, way back in chapter 3, now becomes a very ironic quote, and I get tingles in my spine when I read it, when Job is first expressing his complaint. He's saying, may those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.

95. 36:59

    What an irony that Leviathan, as Job later came to understand what it really was, for then it was just a mythical beast they used to refer to, really was roused and was roused precisely by those who would curse days, by those who would say, just because of the average level of their experience, anything on the left-hand side of their experience is not just a below-average affliction, but actually naturally unjust.

96. 37:25

    This is an injustice that I'm treated this way. And Job hasn't realized that the whole concept of justice as we looked at it in the first talk, justice only exists in the presence of a preconceived ideology. And here then is Leviathan. Oh, that I had someone to hear me. I sign now my defense.

97. 37:44

    Let the Almighty answer me. I would wear this defense like a crown, like a prince would I approach him. And so, these are the things that we've seen about God's speeches and that Job understands his answer. Leviathan has been roused and salvation is needed. And so Job speaks, surely I spoke of those things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

98. 38:13

    and he sees that God has been drawing out Leviathan with the intent to judge and destroy him. What I mean is he intends to rebuke both Job and the friends so that their pride is no longer there. And that is essentially the path to salvation and that Job's suffering which has highlighted the wrong doctrine or the wrong theology of his friends will be the mechanism by which they were saved.

99. 38:38

    So Job has suffered all these afflictions not only for his own edification but as a means of salvation to other people. What a wonderful work God has been performing and Job sees it all. Such is the brilliance of Job. I'm sure I read those speeches 40 times before I had the first idea what they were saying.

100. 38:57

     But Job hears that second speech just once and says, I understand. Such is the brilliance of the man Job. My ears had heard of you he says but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. A bit of a curious line on the end there.

101. 39:18

     We'll actually offer a different translation of that line tomorrow. There's no time for it alas today. We need to consider I think in the last few minutes the nature of the beast itself. Leviathan human pride. Here's a prophecy of Isaiah. It's a prophecy of the end. In that day the day of the end the Lord will punish with his sword his fierce great and powerful sword Leviathan the gliding serpent Leviathan the coiling serpent he will slay the monster of the sea.

102. 39:52

     It's the same beast that's being described. We can use the words the Hebrew words to tie this together. The great creatures of the sea that were created which were real physical beasts whatever they are doesn't matter. in Genesis chapter 1 on day 5 of creation that is the same word that's used here the Hebrew word is tannin in day 5 of creation that's picked up in Isaiah 27 and it is associated not only with Leviathan but also with this Hebrew word here even more well known the word nahash which is of course Eden's serpent.

103. 40:27

     So all these beasts are tied together as the one and only thing that rebels against God. the essence of the heart of man that says yes I can grasp equality with God it can be mine and so if we put together the story of who the beast is we find that he's there in day 5 of creation he has been there right from the beginning he is there as the serpent in Eden these verses are tied together these green arrows are showing what the scriptures tie together Isaiah 27 for example ties those three together he's there as Egypt in the Red Sea it's the same word used these are put together Rahab and Leviathan Behemoth and Leviathan are connected as the same beast in Job and also the terrifying beast in Daniel's vision we don't have time to go through bears the same characteristics or bears the same words I should say as these beasts and finally he shows up in the in the apocalyptic vision and so what you're starting to build and you can understand why people believe in a supernatural devil that's been around for millennia this is the kind of construct that they use to create that belief and it's understandable how that mistake is made but I think and the truth of the matter is has Satan really lived for thousands of years and the answer of course is yes as long as there's a human heart on the earth it might be a different human but it's that same spirit that same desire to serve self and to make oneself important and say I don't deserve this I deserve better

104. 42:01

     this is happening therefore God is unjust God needs to change that is the essence of Leviathan that God needs to destroy excuse me that we need God to destroy if we are to survive but we haven't addressed this very important matter if Behemoth is the same beast as Leviathan why on earth would God bother to do that confusing thing of presenting the beasts as two different visions to Job I think there's two answers the lesser important answer is that it's instructive of the fact that it's not the same character in history it's not like Satan is a supernatural creature who exists personally it's one characteristic that can show up in many different places in many different people we saw it in Nebuchadnezzar Behemoth was a plural noun it shows up there's unfortunately many Behemoths and Leviathans in the room at the moment that's the point that's the point that God points out by using these plural representations but I think that's the less important reason why God gives two visions of the same thing why then would God give two visions that mean exactly the same thing where are we going to find an answer where we always find answers scripture certainly not from me and so we can say is there a scriptural precedent was there ever a time that God had one message to give and he used two visions back to back to do it Pharaoh absolutely the vision of the seven fat cows and the seven thin cows followed by the vision of the seven fat ears of wheat and the seven thin ears of wheat the message at that time

105. 43:42

     was you're going to have seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine so bad that they will destroy the produce made in the years of plenty and Joseph has to keep saying to Pharaoh the two dreams are the same or whatever it says I forget the phrase the dream is one God gave Pharaoh two dreams but the dream is one and then Joseph tells Pharaoh why God gave him two dreams even though it meant the same thing two reasons help me Linda that's one of the reasons that's absolutely right he says one of the reasons God gave you two dreams for the same thing is because it is absolutely set and it definitely will happen and the other reason was I think that's that's indubitably true because we need repetition but that's not what Joseph said Joseph said to Pharaoh God gave you this vision twice over once because it's dead sure to happen and twice because the other reason being I think I heard it right was that you Terry oh right at the back of James because it's going to happen soon absolutely right and well done there's the verse there from Genesis 41 the reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God and God will do it soon so if we translate that precedent onto why God gave the vision of Satan if you will behemoth and Leviathan in two forms yet the dream was one and the same we must decide that this is the same reason the matter has been firmly what's the matter what's the

106. 45:18

     issue here God has said my word will tame this beast and so as we're reading Job 41 we can say I know what's going to happen next since I've seen that double vision and I know my scriptures from Pharaoh and Joseph's time God is going to judge the beast it is set and sure and it's going to happen real soon possibly even in the next chapter and so we're set to anticipate scripture and understand what it is that is going on judgment on the beast is very soon to follow and it is sure God tells Job that only the word of God can fight this beast and win and this speech therefore becomes a precursor of Christ right because Christ is the word of God and God is saying this particular beast human pride human rebellion only the word of God can overcome this beast and so God's word speaks forth and when God's word speaks what does it bring what is the only thing God's word can bring life salvation absolutely okay