The sky is dark, the wind howls, and Job stands in the ruins of his confidence. He has spent chapters demanding an audience with God, pleading for answers…
And then, suddenly, God answers.
From the whirlwind, the voice of the Almighty thunders: “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” (Job 38:3)
What follows is not the explanation Job expected. God doesn’t unpack the problem of suffering or the hidden reasons for Job’s trials. Instead, He takes Job on a tour of creation. He forces him into a procession of power and wonder designed to humble human pride.
And at the climax of that tour, two colossal creatures take center stage: Leviathan, ruler of the sea, and Behemoth, lord of the land.
God’s description of Behemoth in Job 40:15–24 is breathtaking.
“Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly! Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit. Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.” (Job 40:15-18)
Whatever Behemoth was, it wasn’t small. It was a creature of enormous strength and impossible to subdue.
God calls it “the first of the works of God,” meaning it stands at the top of the natural order, a symbol of raw, unchallengeable power.
In other words: Behemoth fears nothing and belongs to no one but God.
Some say Behemoth was a hippopotamus because of its affinity for water and its plant-based diet.
Others claim it was an elephant or rhinoceros. But the description of its tail “swaying like a cedar” doesn’t quite fit those animals… hippo tails aren’t exactly majestic.
A more intriguing theory is that Behemoth may have been a now-extinct creature. Perhaps a massive sauropod, like a diplodocus or apatosaurus.
These dinosaurs were marsh-dwelling herbivores, colossal in size, gentle in nature, yet unstoppable in movement. If Behemoth truly resembled such a creature, Job would have understood instantly that this was not an animal to trifle with.
But whether Behemoth was a hippo, a dinosaur, or something beyond our understanding, the message remains: “Job, look at this creature you could never hope to control and realize how small you are before its Maker.”
Sometimes, you just need to remind yourself of how passionate Jesus is about you.
We made a video on the crucifixion, and it brought us to tears while making it 👇🏽
