The Behemoth

As God answers Job a second time in Job 40 we are introduced to a strange discussion of the "Behemoth." 

Job 40:15–18 (ESV) “Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. 16 Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. 17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. 18 His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron.

Now you may ask, what does this have to do with God speaking to Job? What is the point? That was my first question.

Of course, passages like this make me realize how often the Bible proves itself to be the inspiration of God and not the ideas of man. Who would respond to Job's suffering by talking about a huge animal? It's hard to believe mankind would come up with that idea on their own. No. God did it. And He does it for a reason. 

First, the Lord tells Job, "I made (the Behemoth) as I made you." A fierce and strong and dangerous animal was simply made by God just as He made Job. Now some say this animal is a hippopotamus. Perhaps. It may even be an extinct dinosaur. We aren't given that answer. What we are given is an animal whose operation is the plan of God and not simply our own imagination. 

One thing to consider as well is how powerless we are naturally compared to this animal. He is both unintimidated and uncontrollable. 

Job 40:23–24 (ESV) Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth. 24 Can one take him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a snare?

And the Lord knows how he operates. Job is getting a biology lesson about facets of the world he didn't think up and he has no way to control. And therein lies a great secret to suffering well. 

We want control and we cannot have it. Even the natural order teaches us this. While modern man may be able to cage a hippopotamus and even an elephant and lion, he cannot control the weather, the volcanos, the rain, the wind or any other number of natural elements that upend our lives. 

The point? LOOK at the one who creates it and do not seek to simply control it. God is drawing us to Himself as the originator so that we will see suffering as a tool in His plan and not simply an inconvenience to our desires. 

Maybe this is not the answer we want, but it's also not the answer mankind gives. It's an answer that suggests very well: The world is wild and complicated. Our search for simple answers expects God to operate according to our imaginations and not His. So in the complexity, we actually find the stamp of God's authority. There are many things, even MOST things that happen without our knowing or controlling them. This is okay. And this leads to wisdom. 

Proverbs 12:15 (ESV) The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.