By reason of breaking

they purify themselves.

Job 41:25

In Job 41 we have the vivid description of a monster

of a beast.

As MacDonald notes this is Leviathan.

His build is massive

His mighty power is enormous.

His hide is a tough,

His protective covering is

Impenetrable.

He can’t be bridled.

His mouth and teeth are viselike.

His skin and scales

resemble armor

He has overlapping plates

that are armor like.

In poetic terms,

the Lord describes

the Lord describes his sneezes,

the Lord describes eyes,

the Lord describes mouth,

the Lord describes nostrils

Every feature is terrifying

when he is aroused.

Leviathan’s strength

is tremendous

Leviathan’s flesh is compacted.

While he himself is fearless,

he fills the stoutest hearts

with fear as he thrashes around,

Normal weapons bounce

off of his hide.

When he crawls through

the mud, he leaves a trail

of pointed marks,

as if his underside

was broken glass.

He whips the water into

a boiling pot,

He leaves a white

phosphorescent wake

behind him.

Even making ample allowance

for the Oriental use of great

poetic exaggeration

(hyperbole),

it is hard to see how even

the largest crocodile could

be called

“king over all

the children of pride.”

This description of this wild

animal and this display

is possibly the dinosaurs

These chapters reflect

the glory,

the power, and

the majesty of God Himself.

They are His creation,

and He purposely uses

them to illustrate His own

splendor and strength.

Therefore, it is not surprising

that He begins with harmless creatures such as the deer

and the raven and gradually increases in size to the greatest

of all creatures, the behemoth

on land, and the king of all

beasts—

Leviathan of the sea, was unbelievably awesome in its reputation.

God uses various things to

bring us to brokenness that

we might display His glory.

I was amused when one of

my grandchildren said sleep

is for the weak.

She didn’t want to go to bed.

I told her that God is for

the weak.

That’s why I pray.

The weaker I feel the

more I need the Lord.

The sacrifices He accepts are broken and contrite hearts.

It was the breaking down of

Jacob’s natural strength at

Peniel that got him where

God could clothe him with

spiritual power.

It was breaking the surface

of the rock at Horeb, to be

the stroke of Moses’ rod,

that let out the cool waters

to thirsty people.

It was when the 300 elect

soldiers under Gideon who

broke their pitchers, a type

of breaking themselves,

that the hidden lights shone

forth to the consternation

of their adversaries.

It was when the poor widow who

broke the seal of the little pot

of oil, and poured it forth,

that God multiplied it to

pay her debts and supply

means of support.

It was when Esther risked her

life and broke through the rigid etiquette of a heathen court,

that she obtained favor to

rescue her people from death.

It was when Jesus took the five loaves and broke them,

that the bread was multiplied

in the very act of breaking,

sufficient to feed five

thousand.

It was when Mary broke her beautiful alabaster box,

rendering it useless as a

container, that the pent-up

perfume filled the house.

It was when Jesus allowed His precious body to be broken to pieces by thorns and nails and spear, that His inner life was

poured out, like a crystal

ocean, for thirsty sinners

to drink and live.

It is when a beautiful grain

of corn is broken up in the

earth by DEATH, that its inner

heart sprouts forth and bears hundreds of other grains.

And, on and on, through all

history, and all biography,

and all vegetation, and all

spiritual life, God must have BROKEN THINGS.

Those who are broken in wealth,

Those broken in self-will,

Those broken in their ambitions,

Those broken in their

beautiful ideals,

Those broken in worldly

reputation,

Those broken in their

affections,

Those broken in health;

Those who are despised

and seem utterly dejected, miserable and helpless,

Those are who Christ’s

Spirit is seizing on,

and using for God’s glory.

Selected

For the LORD is our judge,

the LORD is our lawgiver,

the LORD is our king;

He will save us.

Thy tackling are loosed;

they could not well strengthen

their mast,

they could not spread the sail:

then is the prey of a great

spoil divided;

the lame take the prey.

Isaiah 33:22-23

THE LAME TAKE THE PREY