12 “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
Or his mighty strength, or his [k]orderly frame.
13 “Who can [l]strip off his outer armor?
Who can come within his double [m]mail?
14 “Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth there is terror.
15 “His[n]strong scales are his pride,
Shut up as with a tight seal.
16 “One is so near to another
That no air can come between them.
17 “They are joined one to another;
They clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 “His sneezes flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 “Out of his mouth go burning torches;
Sparks of fire leap forth.
20 “Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 “His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes forth from his mouth.
22 “In his neck lodges strength,
And dismay leaps before him.
23 “The folds of his flesh are joined together,
Firm on him and immovable.
24 “His heart is as hard as a stone,
Even as hard as a lower millstone.
25 “When he raises himself up, the [o]mighty fear;
Because of the crashing they are bewildered.
26 “The sword that reaches him cannot avail,
Nor the spear, the dart or the javelin.
27 “He regards iron as straw,
Bronze as rotten wood.
28 “The [p]arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones are turned into stubble for him.
29 “Clubs are regarded as stubble;
He laughs at the rattling of the javelin.
30 “His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
He [q]spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31 “He makes the depths boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
32 “Behind him he makes a wake to shine;
One would think the deep to be gray-haired.
33 “Nothing on [r]earth is like him,
One made without fear.
34 “[s]He looks on everything that is high;
He is king over all the sons of pride.”
This chapter ends with a fearsome description of a dragon-like creature that is “one made without fear.” It’s a stark contrast to our own stature, and according to this passage he was known to strike fear and dismay into the hearts of men. By comparison, our own bodies are rather frail, the cat has sharper claws, the woodpecker a sharper beak, and the wild hog has most fearsome tusks.
And yet God tells us He “has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.” How can this be? There is certainly plenty to fear in this world, even with the Leviathan gone and extinct. The key is in Romans 8:15 when Paul reminds us that we have received a spirit of adoption. We are children of the most high, and can cry out to him, “Abba! Father!”
Though we be not the most dangerous or fearsome creatures God created, we are chosen, set apart, and ultimately, loved by God himself. The one who created Leviathan is our very advocate, our savior, our friend, and more. We can rest safely in his arms, for there we are secure, and “no one can pluck us out of his hand.”
As Jesus himself would tell his followers, “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” We do not put our trust in any earthly thing, but rather in God himself, the one who created everything that exists in this world. When we put our trust in him, we can know true peace, His peace, a peace that “passes understanding”.