“Enemy at the Gates”

We have been doing a series of messages about Job, the patriarch from the Old Testament. The title of the series is “Job: Patient Endurance and Faithfulness.” So last week we talked about the fact that God is beginning to speak now to Job and to possibly his comforters who are with him. He's heard enough of their conjecture and their opinion about why things have happened in Jobs' life and now God’s beginning to reveal Himself …this week God has more things to say to Job.

Job 40:8 “Will you discredit my justice and condemn me just to prove you are right? 9 Are you as strong as God? Can you thunder with a voice like his? 10 All right, put on your glory and splendor, your honor and majesty. 11 Give vent to your anger. Let it overflow against the proud.

So God is putting his finger on a few things here in Job’s life-

1. A self-righteous attitude (the need to be right) The Lord says to Job, "Are you calling me a sinner so that you can be a saint? Be careful Job.

2. Pride Verse 10 says: Put on your glory and splendor Job -Strut your stuff around and show your greatness.

3. Anger verse 11 Give vent to your anger Job - let it all out !!

And so you see this stronghold of the enemy that is brewing in Job's life - it's fueled by a self-righteous attitude, it's anchored in pride and it's displayed in anger.

God in His graciousness begins to talk in a way that hopefully Job can understand about these issues. He begins to talk about two animals in ch.40&41; the behemoth and Leviathan. What is it all about?

I believe that both of these were real creations of God that are now extinct but I believe that God is saying something significant to Job about his attitude: his self-righteous behavior, his pride and anger. The one creature, the behemoth, represents a great and powerful creation living in obedience to God - but the Leviathan represents a sea serpent, a demonic creature and even the devil himself.

Isaiah 27:1 In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

So God's message to Job is Ch. 41 about Leviathan is that there is an enemy at the gate Job, and you have the potential to open the door to him through pride and anger and a self-righteous attitude.

Job 41:1“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?

You're not going to tame him, you're not going to make an agreement with the devil; he's not going to serve you. If you get personal with him; you will serve him. An enemy is at the gates but God is greater – He (Jesus) that is in us, is greater than he that is in the world.

Join us in person on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. or via livestream by going to https://www.firstbaptistsudbury.com and clicking on livestream for “Enemy at the Gates.”

Blessings,

Kevin