I’ve been distracted twice by “leviathan.” First, when I was reading in Job 26:

By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand? (Job 26.13, 14, NKJV)

“His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.” NKJV in Logos Bible software links to Isaiah 27.1, equally obscure:

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. (Isaiah 27.1, NKJV)

There are four verses containing “Leviathan:” (Job 41.1, Psalm 74.14, 104.26, and Isaiah 27.1) NKJV note says “A large sea creature of unknown identity.” “Unknown identity” doesn’t stop people from trying to figure it out, especially when an entire chapter of Job is given to it. Hence my second day of distraction when I got to Job 41 in my reading. It opens:

Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook? (Job 41.1, 2, NKJV)

God is making the point that Job can’t control Leviathan, but God made Leviathan. Leviathan seems to be a fire-breathing dragon!

His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth. (Job 41.18 – 21, NKJV)

You can look up Dragon in Wikipedia which opens:

A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, and capable of breathing fire.

The article calls up the Job 41 description:

In the Hebrew Bible, in the Book of Psalms, Psalm 74, Psalm 74:13–14, the sea-dragon Leviathan, is slain by Yahweh, god of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, as part of the creation of the world.^[35][36] Isaiah describes Leviathan as a tanin (תנין), which is translated as “sea monster”, “serpent”, or “dragon”.^[37] In Isaiah 27:1, Yahweh’s destruction of Leviathan is foretold as part of his impending overhaul of the universal order:^[38][39]

Original Hebrew text	English
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִפְקֹד יְהוָה בְּחַרְבּוֹ הַקָּשָׁה וְהַגְּדוֹלָה וְהַחֲזָקָה, עַל לִוְיָתָן נָחָשׁ בָּרִחַ, וְעַל לִוְיָתָן, נָחָשׁ עֲקַלָּתוֹן; וְהָרַג אֶת-הַתַּנִּין, אֲשֶׁר בַּיָּם	In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent — Leviathan the coiling serpent — and He will slay the dragon of the sea.[40]
—Isaiah 27:1

Job 41:1–34 contains a detailed description of Leviathan, who is described as being so powerful that only Yahweh can overcome it.^[41] Job 41:19–21 states that Leviathan exhales fire and smoke, making its identification as a mythical dragon clearly apparent.^[41] In some parts of the Old Testament, Leviathan is historicized as a symbol for the nations that stand against Yahweh.

See how easy it is to be distracted? Here’s what’s clear:

Satan is referred to as a dragon:

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it…Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him…Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea. (portions of Revelation 12.1 – 17)

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. (Revelation 20.1 – 3, NKJV)

Here’s something else that’s clear:

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.  (Deuteronomy 29.29, ESV)

Jesus was clear also on what commandments we should focus on:

Jesus answered,

• “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
• The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12.29 – 31, ESV)

Have fun thinking about dragons, but don’t forget to love God, love your neighbor, and be on guard against our enemy, the real dragon.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6.10, 11, ESV)