Isaiah 27 - Leviathan

Kayak Trip with Cassie on Huron Bay

"In that day, the Lord will punish with his sword—his fierce, great and powerful sword—Leviathan  the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea." (Isa 27:1 NIV)

 

Leviathan, the great sea monster, is mentioned a few times in Scripture. In addition to Isaiah 27, you can find mention of Leviathan in Job 3:8, Job 41:1, Job 41:12, Psalm 74:14, and Psalm 104:26.

 

On the rare occasions that I've found myself out on the lake in the midst of a storm I think of God overpowering Leviathan. OK - so they are not rare occasions. It seems like the wind picks up almost every time I am out on a boat (big or small) on a large mass of water. I actually warn people that they should not take me fishing unless they want a storm or their motor to conk out... Others should not take me out with them if they don't want to play with Leviathan, or maybe it's God, out in the middle of the water. I don't mind the storms. I know that the LORD is with me, even in the storms. The rushing wind reminds me of the power of the Holy Spirit. God is big enough to destroy Leviathan. He is big enough to protect me, if that is His will. But, if I'm not up to another storm, I stay as close to home as I can with my kayak...

 

Symbolically, the sea refers to a large number of people. So, for those of you who are big into the Revelation of John, the dragon that comes out of the sea in the book of Revelation most probably refers to the fact that the evil one will come from among the people. "The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name." (Rev 13:1) We are not looking for a literal dragon to come out of a literal sea, but an evil that comes from the midst of the people. Revelation is filled with symbolism. Please, do not take it literally.

 

The picture of the evil one may be a bit alarming, but remember the promise found in Isaiah today: The LORD will slay the evil one in the midst of the people. There may be times when things seem just awful. There may be times when your leviathan decides it's time to play with you. But, know this: the LORD will surely rescue His people. He is our very help in the time of trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 104 - Playing With Leviathan

Wolf Point, Keweenaw - a calmer day

Well there is that Leviathan...  I have never been able to include Leviathan in a sermon.  Eighteen years of preaching and somehow I've never managed it. During Worship as we have sung this Psalm, I have thought: "Missed another opportunity!" 

The awesomeness of God's creating activities and His playing with Leviathan according to this psalm, reminds me of my first kayak trip on Lake Superior.  So this morning, I'm going to take the opportunity to share a story with you. 

It was a 4-day journey from Big Bay to Marquette with a group of clergy. Big Bay is only about 25 to 30 miles from Marquette, so it wasn't going to be a hard paddle. Except... 3 out of the 4 days we were paddling in small craft warnings.  Now, them were some waves! Leviathan was mentioned more than once!  We had to actually paddle quite a ways from the shoreline where the waves were more rolling and we could ride them.  The closer to shore, the more threatening the water.  It was actually pretty awesome!  I remember Pr. Peter Vorhes riding the waves in front of me, singing hymns!  Now that was really awesome!  Especially, since he has such a fantastic voice.  "O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the works thy hands hath made..."

Was it scary!  I hate to admit it, but it was not.  The wind and rain and waves were so great that it took all of my concentration to ride the waves much like a surfer would do.  There was no time to be afraid.  At one point, there was a long narrow peninsula we had to go around.  Not far from the end of this peninsula was a small rock island.  To get around this peninsula and the island, where the wave action was pretty fierce, we would have had to paddle a long ways out... So, we chose to go between the little rocky island and the peninsula point, where the waves were bouncing off the island and crashing into the waves as they had bounced back from the little island.  It was wild in there. We went through two by two.  It only took about 5 minutes to get through - a ride of a life-time.  Pr. Peter was only a couple yards away from me, but there were moments when he and his kayak disappeared from my sight completely as huge waves came up between us.  I still cannot help but smile.  When we made it through to slightly calmer seas; Pr. Peter, smiling, yelled at me through the storm, "let's do it, again!"

Playing with Leviathan...

There's my story. That was a long time ago, when I was much younger. My young paddling partner of today is not really into getting wet for no good reason and she would probably insist on staying home if I suggested that we should go and play with Leviathan. The sturgeon make her nervous enough.

That reminds me of another story... when my own children were young, I tried to get them to go canoeing with me on the New River in NC. I told them I was going to try to photograph some alligators.  I realized then that is not the way to try to get someone to go paddling with you... Alligators and Leviathan should usually be left out of the big picture...

Please, read all of Psalm 104! Meditate on His Glory and the awesome work of creation that He has done.  And, I'm really not recommending playing with Leviathan.  That really is something that should be left for God alone.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, You are very great:

You are clothed with honor and majesty,
This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.
There the ships sail about;
There is that Leviathan
Which You have made to play there.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!  (Psalm 104:1, 25-26 NIV)

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 104:18 Or rock hyrax (compare Leviticus 11:5)

 

Job 40 - 41 - God Is Our Defense

At long last, Job has figured out that he has nothing to say in his defense.  He is not God.

In this discourse between the LORD and Job, the LORD continues to remind Job who He is.  In humility, Job is getting it. 

One of the mosts intriguing figures, for me, in scripture is Leviathan, that great sea monster.  At least, that's what I think Leviathan is. It appears to be a creature so amazing that no man can conquer it. And, God reminds Job of this.  There are many things in this world that man cannot conquer without the help of God.  I remind you, again, this morning that God is God.  There is only one God and it is not us.  We have no defense for acting like gods.  The only defense when we stand before the judge of all the earth is God, Himself.  It is only His love and His mercy given to us through Jesus Christ that finds us righteous. God is our defense.

God's peace - Pr. J