“He who is not content with what he has, would not be content with what he would like to have.” —Socrates
There are three lessons in God’s science class about behemoth. The first is an internal lesson. You see how the creature is described: “his strength is in his hips, and his power is in his stomach muscles…the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. His bones are like beams of bronze, his ribs like bars of iron” (Job 40:16-18). You can’t be strong without unless you’re strong within. It’s strength of character, not reputation, that counts. That’s why Paul prayed that the saints might “be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” (Eph 3:16). Secondly, there is an external lesson. “Surely the mountains yield food for him, and all the beasts of the field play there. He lies under the lotus trees, in a covert of reeds and marsh…the willows by the brook surround him” (Job 40:20-22). What an idyllic pastoral scene! And in the middle of it all—behemoth! Here’s a lesson: those with inner strength should never use it to intimidate or manipulate others. Meekness is not weakness, but strength in control. Again it’s Paul who pleads with the believers “by the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor 10:1). Oh, to be like the Lord in this—with inner strength but outer calm. The third lesson is practical. “Indeed the river may rage, yet he is not disturbed; he is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth” (v 23). Is this telling us that behemoth was amphibious? Perhaps, but I think there’s something more. We know “the Jordan overflows all its banks during…harvest” (Jsh 3:15) from Mount Hermon’s spring snow melt. Is the point here that we should be content, whatever the season or situation in life—even when a catastrophe strikes us? Here’s Paul again: “Now godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim 6:6). Strong. Still. Satisfied.