A Job Experience # 11

Job and His Friends

Since it is always God's purpose to bring forth a greater reality of Christ in the lives of His people, then it must be that satan will use any means to stop this from happening. In the Book of Job, it is important to note that from chapter three and on we will not find the name of satan mentioned again; nevertheless, his evil assault continues against Job as he tries to devour God's Purpose in Job's life. But from this point on, satan's assault is not so easily discerned, for he takes on his most subtile and dangerous form, satan becomes "the leviathan," he becomes that old "serpent", he becomes religious! And he subtilely uses the religious nature of the old man in his assault against Job: - satan, "the leviathan," uses the religious nature of Job's friends, and he even uses the religious nature of Job himself. Notice we say "religious," not spiritual! So what is this religious nature of man that satan uses so subtilely?

First of all we need to realize that satan can use the religious nature in both the saved and the unsaved:

In the world, in those who are not saved by God's grace, the religious nature is the part of man that desires to worship and to pay homage and to have communion with and to serve a being (a god) or an object of worship (which becomes idolatry) whom he considers to be higher than himself.

But in God's people, in those of us who are redeemed by the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the religious nature of the old man, the adamic nature, is that in us which takes hold of the Holy things of God when there is not enough of the reality of Christ in our lives. The religious nature of the old man can pray, can worship, can teach the cross-life, can even claim to be purged, broken, and humble, and still have very little of the true reality of Christ expressed in and through the innermost being.

Brethren, the name of satan may not be mentioned in the Book of Job after chapter two, but his venomous influence is certainly present as he takes on his most deceptive form: - he becomes religious - he becomes "the leviathan!" In Job 3:8, we find Job lamenting and travailing over his circumstances as he despairs of life and wonders why he was ever born; and it is in this first discourse of Job that we find the first mention of this poisonous influence, the first mention of "the leviathan."

"Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan" (Job 3:8).

Many say that Job is referring to some mythical serpent or dragon, or to the signs in the stars, or perhaps to some superstitions of the day, but we do not believe that this is so. "The Leviathan," that old serpent, has never been mythical or just a sign in the stars or just a superstitious belief. No! he has been a deadly force against the purpose of God since the day Adam and Eve partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - remember, religion is always a mixture of good and evil. And so, the Holy Spirit calls our attention to "the leviathan," as Job travails, in order that we may be aware that satan's poisonous influence is at work against Job.

In chapters 38-41 of Job, where God is revealing Himself to Job as the Lord of All, as The Eternal One, as The Only One upon Whom Job can depend, we find that the words in the last part of chapter 41 have much more than a surface meaning behind them, as God speaks of "the leviathan." We do not doubt that God is speaking of an earthly creature at the beginning, but in verses 13-34 there is much more than an earthly creature being described. The symbolic language in the following phrases can only be speaking of that old serpent, called the devil and satan: "Who can strip off his outer armor? ... his scales (literally, his rows of shields) are his pride ... his breath kindles coals, and a flame goes forth from his mouth. In his neck lodges strength, and dismay goes before him. His heart is as hard as a stone ... he regards iron as straw, bronze as rotten wood ... he looks on everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride" (Job 41:13-34).

Hence, we find God revealing "the leviathan," the evil one who is "king over all the sons of pride"; and by interpreting scripture with scripture, we shall see that God is speaking of that old serpent, called the devil and satan. In Psalm 74, one of the greatest conflicts of the ages was fought at the Red Sea as God's people were being delivered out of the hands of the Egyptians and into the hand of God. But we have to understand the symbolic language of Psalm 74 in order to realize the full implication of the battle at the Red Sea: for this battle was between God and "the leviathan," between God and that old serpent, called the devil and satan.

"Thou didst divide the sea (the Red Sea) by Thy strength: Thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Thou breakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gave him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness" (Psalm 74:13, 14).

And in Isaiah 27:1, we are told more about this "leviathan."

"In that day the Lord will punish leviathan the fleeing serpent, with His fierce and great and mighty sword, even leviathan the twisted serpent; and He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea".

Then In Revelation 12:9 and 10, we are told exactly who "the leviathan," the twisted serpent, the dragon is:

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,  called the devil and satan, which deceiveth the whole world ... the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night."

Now, we have said that one of the primary deceptions of "the leviathan" is that he becomes religious, and he uses the religious nature of the old, adamic man. One of the very first  deceptive things that he said to Eve was, "Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" - gods want worship, gods want the preeminence. Also, in Revelation 13, as this ancient serpent's evil power of deception comes to full expression, we find him giving his power, his throne, and his authority to all that is antichrist, and those who are deceived worship the dragon, "that old serpent, called the devil and satan." Yes! "the leviathan" is very religious, and we shall see that one of his greatest strategies is to use the religious nature in the old man.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 12)