Behemoth's What?

The book of Job is as wonderfully simple as it is complex.

Simple because it is so straight up.  Because it tells us things point blank.  Because it doesn't require an advanced degree to grasp its point.  That Job is a perfect man for instance.  That there is no one in the world like Job.  That Job is the apple of God's eye.  That something is bothering Job after everything he has is taken away.

Complex because it is so unclear.  Because it tells us things so mysteriously.  Because its point, though simple, is far from easy to grasp.  The meaning of Job's final words for instance.  The intention of God's speeches.  The advice of Job's wife.  ("Curse God and die" or "Bless God and die"?  You just can't say from the words she uses alone!)

Within single passages of the book's sweeping verses there are singular instances of complexity that do not deny the simplicity of the book but that enrich it and challenge us to discern it more deeply.

The book of Job is wisdom literature.  It is simple, as wisdom should be.  For every man and woman to grasp.  But also complex, as wisdom is also.  Something that every man and woman needs to prove worthy of.  The book of Job calls for our discernment and the receiving of wisdom in us.

For instance, within God's majestic speech* in praise of Behemoth we find a single verse and word that raises eyebrows and begs us to discern.  The point is simple but the deeper meaning is unclear:

"His tail sways like a cedar," God says.  Or at least, this is how the common translations go.

God's point in this verse is quite simply to describe Behemoth in all of its glory to Job.  "Look at its tail!" God says. "What a tail!"  But closer inspection reveals more to God's words than that.  Although it is impossible to say for certain the original reader of this passage wouldn't see God pointing out Behemoth's tail but penis.

God is praising Behemoth by pointing out its cedar-like erection.

"Look at Behemoth," God says.  "Look at how potent it is!  Look at how its stiffened manhood sways in the wind!"

God is celebrating Behemoth's sex organ.  For its potency.  For its firmness.  For its erection.    That is quite simply what God is doing.  But why would God do such a thing?  Why would God point to this appendage over others?

The key to opening up the entire book is in this word alone.  If we go back to the beginning of Job's story the deeper meaning becomes clear: Job is a perfect man God says.  Job is perfect and upright God says. 

In the beginning Job is akin to a massive erection swaying in the wind.  Job is potent.  Job is firm.  Job is standing tall.

But this is only in the beginning!  By chapter 3 Job is down in the dirt lamenting his human condition.  By chapter 3 Job has lost all sense of potency as a human being.  By chapter 3 Job is no longer upright.

Thus God tries to cure Job of his impotence by reminding him that he was made along with Behemoth.  That Behemoth, and Behemoth's mighty erection, are a reminder to Job of his own potential glory as a human being.

Thanks be to Job.

*"Job 40:15 Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. 16 What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly! 17 His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit. 18 His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron. 19 He ranks first among the works of God, yet his Maker can approach him with his sword. 20 The hills bring him their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby. 21 Under the lotus plants he lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh. 22 The lotuses conceal him in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround him. 23 When the river rages, he is not alarmed; he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth. 24 Can anyone capture him by the eyes, or trap him and pierce his nose?"

Learning from Leviathan

I was watching a Nature special the other night on ocean mammals. Grey whales in their ancestral breeding grounds once did ferocious battle with the whalers who would come there. They even earned the name "devil fish" because they fought so hard against their human hunters. (Anyone who has read Moby Dick or chapter 41 of the book of Job should be well aware of this history.)

But here is the remarkable thing: Some time after whaling was prohibited, although still within the same generation of whales that were hunted, the creatures became extremely gentle and open toward their human visitors. They would come up by the boats, look people in the eye, and invite contact with them and their babies. It was quite a moving display in the show, watching people hug and kiss these great beasts. Watching these great beasts revel in the bonds of kinship that no amount of violence could ever destroy.

It led me (and the investigators) to wonder: Was it because the whales are stupid and forgot that they re-emerged from the depths so gently? Was it time that eventually healed their wounds and changed their hearts? Was it an act of perfect forgiveness on the part of the whales?

Whatever the case may be, I believe that we see the healing process at work in this example.  What we learn from these Leviathans whether they realize it or not is that the first step to healing is to stop the violence, just as the whaling operations ceased.  The second step is to then put ourselves out there, no matter how ashamed we may be, no matter how vulnerable we may be by doing so.  The third and final step is to then patiently abide, until those that we have hurt are willing to surface once again, and to do so in a new beginning and fresh start.

What we above all learn from these Leviathans is that there will never be a relationship of trust and mutual prosperity until we are naked together.  It is only in and through this embrace where we clothe each other that there is life and healing.  A relationship no longer wounded by the past.

Thanks be to Job.