One of the many awesome creations God shows to Job is the mighty Leviathan. Exactly what this creature is remains a mystery to modern observers. To our knowledge, no living creature fits Leviathan's description. But whatever it is, God does not leave it to the imagination exactly how powerful it is.
This huge creature is said to be beyond human control. Fishermen dread it. No one dares fight it, and for good reason; no one can! It's immune to just about every weapon that existed at the time. Swords, spears, javelin, harpoon, nothing man threw at it could even faze this creature. Oh yeah, and it happens to be able to breathe fire... God's advice? "Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle - never do it again" (Job 41:8).
Ok, but is this creature even real? Obviously, God thinks so. Who would brag about their ability to defeat a mythical creature? If Leviathan were a myth, Job could just as easily claim to be able to beat it too. But especially as Christianity declines, the existence of such monsters becomes harder and harder to accept. So, let's look at a few known examples of creatures that demonstrate that Leviathan could absolutely exist.
The fact that Leviathan no longer seems to exist (and Isaiah 27:1 seems to suggest God Himself wiped out the last of the species) does make this task rather difficult. It leaves a lot to speculation. There are no photos or drawings. Legends are few and far between, not to mention man's ability to exaggerate, particularly with animals they can't get close enough to to accurately describe. Nevertheless, there are a few contenders.
Specifically, most Bibles include a footnote on Leviathan suggesting he may be a crocodile. This makes sense. A large, aquatic reptile with a ridiculously powerful bite, why couldn't it be a crocodile? Answer: Because 1. it doesn't take too much to kill a crocodile and 2. they don't breathe fire. However...
While normal crocodiles are relatively easy to kill, the bigger a crocodile gets, the harder it becomes. There is one famous crocodile, known as Gustave, who is of legendary status. This Nile crocodile lives in Burundi, and is extremely illusive. It is reported that he is actually bulletproof, which is backed up by reports that he has three scars left by bullets. Although he has never been caught and measured, estimates of his size range from 18ft to 25ft (as opposed to only 13ft as the typical size of a male Nile crocodile).
Yet, even this incredible size pales in comparison to ancient crocodiles, such as deinosuchus (32ft), gryposuchus (33ft) and purussaurus (41ft). If an 18ft crocodile is literally bulletproof, would a bronze age man such as Job be able to wrestle a 41ft crocodile with a harpoon?
But although a crocodile would explain the size, bite power and apparent invincibility of Leviathan, crocodiles still don't breathe fire, so is this a good identity? Let us leave the crocodiles on the side for a moment and look instead to the insect world.
The insect world is no stranger to the art of chemical warfare. Poisons, venoms, stenches, insects have a vast array of unusual attack and defence strategies. But one of the most interesting, and for us the most relevant, is the bombardier beetle. By mixing the right chemicals together in a small chamber, this tiny creature has the ability to spray a burning substance at any attacker. The bombardier beetle does not spray fire, of course, but there are two things to consider.
The first is that the Bible, while it is accurate in every area on which it touches, does not always do so in scientific terms. To get His point across, God is not afraid to use poetic language. For example, just a few chapters earlier, we read "Or who shut in the sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb; When I made the clouds its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band; When I fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors; When I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!’" (Job 38:8-11).
Obviously, the sea is not literally held back by bars and doors, nor did it come forth from a womb. God's point here is that the sea is finite: He made it, He limits it. Thus, we can conclude that maybe, Leviathan did not literally shoot fire. Perhaps, like the bombardier beetle, he was merely capable of producing what could be legitimately described, particularly by a bronze age Hebrew (or in this case, by God speaking to such a man), as fire.
And that's where we come back to the crocodiles. Specifically, to one particular crocodile, discovered in 1966, that fits the bill. Sarcosuchus, a 39ft crocodile species, is especially noted for having a cavity underneath a bulbous snout. Although this is mostly speculative, it is no stretch of the imagination that this cavity could have been used in a similar manner to the bombardier beetle's. Mixing the correct chemicals in this cavity could very well have given Lethiathan the ability to produce, if not actual fire, something that can be poetically described as fire.
Of course, all of this speculation could be way off base. Leviathan could be a sarcosuchus, producing fire with a chemical mixed in the cavity under its snout. Alternatively, Leviathan could have been a completely different, maybe even unique creature. Nevertheless, these facts all show that a virtually invincible, fire breathing creature is very much a possibility.
And so God says this: "I made these creatures. From the tiny beetle to the 40ft crocodile, I made them all, and I can destroy them just as easily. So, what hope do you have against me?" God is actually noted to be so awesome that while Job, having only heard of Him, was brave enough to speak against Him, actually seeing Him forced Job to repent (Job 42:5-6). God's power is incredible!
Thus, an important takeaway here is not to make Job's mistake. Don't try to contend with God, you won't win. But here is another takeaway. The God who is powerful enough to both create and defeat such mighty creatures as the Leviathan actually has a greater power: The power to forgive sins. Even death has no power over Him. You could contend with the Almighty, as Job did, and I guarantee you would lose, but you could also, as Job did, repent. Repent of every idle word. Repent of every evil intent. Repent of every wicked deed. These things, which previously kindled God's wrath against you, can all be nailed to the cross of Christ and prompt the Lord to reveal His power in your favour. Hell itself cannot snatch you from His hands. Therefore, we need not fear even the deadliest of predators. If even Satan comes to your door demanding your blood, you have the power to send him running with the flick of your tongue, because his maker can approach him with His sword. Thus, rather than fearing the mightiest of God's creations, we can marvel at them, and view the glory of our God through them.