Again the same two warnings derived from the special features of this creature apply. First he is to be compared with the Lord, and Job should reason that the God who made such attributes in one of his creatures must possess the same and greater in himself. The Lord is known through by his works, for it is impossible that the Creator should be less than what he has made. How would we know in detail those attributes found in God if hedid not reveal them to us? We cannot see him directly. He who made such qualities as fearlessness and resolute courage, and who concentrates them in this creature, certainly knows the same single-minded determination in carrying out his own purposes and will not let any throw him off course. Job should therefore consider what an adversary he faces in daring to oppose the Lord and criticise his ways.
But Job should also compare himself with Leviathan and reflect that if he is to face the hardships and trials of life, he needs to emulate some of the qualities which he sees in this fearless creature, because in the spiritual realm he lacks the qualities that this brute beast possesses. He needs to develop the equivalent of all that he sees in this example of strength and toughness. For while, in the world, animals continue to possess and exercise the nature they were born with, in the spiritual realm through the Holy Spirit the believer may change and develop qualities that we are not born with, and become what we were not before. We may do this consciously and deliberately, and therefore the meditation on Leviathan which God sets before Job’s mind is capable of doing him great good and transforming him into what he is not. It is humbling to be taught by means of a dumb animal no matter how great it is, for man is far above even the highest of beasts. And yet we rejoice to be taught by God in any way that he chooses, and the wonder is that he stoops to our level at all in order to put lessons before our minds. Why does he trouble with us when we are so intellectually and in every other way his inferiors? It is because he is full of grace and for his own dear children no amount of effort is too much to expend.
These pictures are a challenge and an encouragement. The believer should never be terrified for he has the promises of God, promises which can never be retracted for our God has invested his divine character in them. They are so comprehensive that no situation can arise which they fail to take account of. When God gave us his promises he saw our eternal future, and nothing will ever take him by surprise. They are comprehensive in their scope, so that they speak of our eternal destiny, far beyond even the worst that can take place in this life. They are designed to fill us with assurance, and they are exclusive to those who have been born again. The believer has nothing to fear from the powerful of this world. They cannot take our spiritual blessings.