◄ Have You Considered Leviathan? (JOB-study 17) ►

A Full Study Of JOB

From the Word of God we read:

God beholdeth all high things: God is a king over all the children of pride… Now the serpent was more subtle.. and the serpent lied…  and the serpent beguiled. Job.41:34 Gen.3:1

God formed the crooked serpent. His scales are his pride, who said in thine heart – I will – I will – I WILL….
Job.41:15 Isa.14:13

God breaks the heads of Leviathan – that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan – which deceiveth the whole world.. I will break the pride of your power – and – Jesus said… It is Finished…
Ps.74:14 Rev.12:9 Lev.26:19 John 19:30

Father’s Will

Jesus said, 'when you pray say, THY will be done. Jesus said,  I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which sent Me. In the life of any believer, spiritual or carnal, God has much refining to do. God takes each evil attack of Satan, against His children, and uses it for good. The enemy knows about the 'religious' nature – buried deep within the 'old man. A religiosity – exposed in the life of our first parents, who sought to be as God. A religiosity, which seeks to dominate the ‘new life‘ – choking it of the reality of Christ in our life.

Twisted Serpent

And so we consider 'Leviathan', who sought to shipwreck Job and his friends. Leviathan – that twisted serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seeks to destroy. Leviathan, we are told, is the ruler of pride. In Job 41 we read that, He is the king over all the sons of pride: self-righteousness. And this snake has coiled its suffocating grip through each generation of the church.

Father of Pride

It was evident in the accusations of Job’s friends against their long-time companion. It was evident in the attitude of Job, himself, as he spoke to justify his own righteousness. Any one of us that thinks that we are past this fault of pride within our own life should soberly consider the words of Paul’s in 1 Corinthians 10:12, Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall. For until a soldier has reached the battle’s end, he remains in danger of defeat. Until a Christian can say as Paul did to Timothy,  I have finished the course, he risks being overcome. And Jesus Himself tells us, through, the pen of the apostle John, he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne. And I will give unto every one of you, according to your works.

Refining Tools

And right to the end – in a 'type' in Job and in the life of Paul, God refined his child... so that his bond-servant would have a deeper knowledge of their Lord and Saviour. In the life of any believer, spiritual or carnal, God has much refining to do, for God’s way is to make the reality of Christ, increasingly real in each one of us. In Job – God worked in one way. In Job’s wife and his friends, He worked another way.  But all, eventually came into a fuller reality of God, so that Christ will be all in all.

Believers’ Needs

Today many faithful servants feel condemned, knowing they need more of Him. Some feel they have lost the closeness they once knew and grieve or just walk away, and many feel that they have failed and become discouraged in their daily walk. Some self-righteously consider that they have no further need of Christ’s reality.. and others honestly do not realise that they need more of Christ in themselves. But whether a believer is blinded to his need or broken in her life’s circumstances… whether a servant exhibits prideful self-righteousness or deep discouragement, the primary agent of leviathan’s grip, is the 'religious' nature of the 'old man', which is exhibited in a multiplicity of ways.

Hidden Religiosity

We are clearly told to put off the 'Old Man' – which includes all hidden religiosity. But How? How do we put off the ‘old’ so that we can walk in the ‘new’? First, we need to understand what IS the 'Old Man’.. as Job eventually understood. The 'Old Man' is everything within a believer – that is not of Christ and not In Christ.

Old Sin Nature

The ‘old sin nature’ is My-Way or Your-Way, rather than God’s Way. The 'old sin nature' is My-Self or Your-Self, rather than God’s 'Christ-Self'. There is nothing in the old ‘us’ that has any merit at all – yet it exhibits a diverse combination of both pride and despair.

Pride and Despair

Pride in how good we are – or pride through an exhibited false 'humility'. Despair in how bad we are – or how we are never good enough for God’s purpose. Each emanates from the 'old nature', which is rooted in Leviathan, the king of pride. Pride and condemnation fragment into a multiplicity of attitudes and actions – a multiplicity of attitudes and actions, used by Leviathan in his deceptive attacks.

Understand the Enemy

As every soldier knows, understand the enemy, then you can defeat his advances. Understand Leviathan, and you can overcome the strategies of Satan. But the only way to be rid of his manipulating the religiosity of the 'Old Man', is to have an increasing reality of the 'New Man in Christ'. deep within. There is no other way.