Morning Light – April 28th, 2016: Are You Moving in a Spirit of Leviathan?

Morning Light – April 28th, 2016: Are You Moving in a Spirit of Leviathan?
Today: [Job Forty-One] Are You Moving in a Spirit of Leviathan? In this chapter God exposes the demon Leviathan. Leviathan is the king of the children of pride and is minutely described in this chapter. As it is written it is one of the most effect tools for discerning the spirit of pride moving in us or in those around us. Leviathan is spoken of as “a twisting serpent” as the crocodile who does a death roll to kill its prey. Likewise Leviathan or pride is not just a human failing but a demon operating in unsanctified flesh to bring us down and destroy us.
[Job 41:1-34 KJV] 1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord [which] thou lettest down? 2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn? 3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft [words] unto thee? 4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever? 5 Wilt thou play with him as [with] a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? 6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants? 7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears? 8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. 9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not [one] be cast down even at the sight of him? 10 None [is so] fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?
After speaking of the “behemoth” (or Hippopotamus) in the previous chapter God speaks to Job about the enigmatic Leviathan. Some believe that Leviathan was actually a mythical sea monster. Others believe that he was a now extinct remnant of the dinosaur. The name Leviathan means “twisting one” which is descriptive of the death roll crocodiles and alligators use when taking their prey. The most logical conclusion would be that God is not speaking of a mythical creature but of the crocodile and using it as a metaphor according to v. 34 for pride.
Isa. 27:1 speaks eschatologically of the Leviathan as a twisted serpent living in the sea that will one day be defeated by God’s hand. What does the sea represent? Isaiah goes on in ch. 27 to reveal the following typology:
[Isa 57:20 KJV] 20 But the wicked [are] like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
The sea represents unredeemed humanity. The Leviathan is the spirit of the world, the spiritual driving force behind lost humanities opposition to God.
[Eph 2:2 KJV] 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
We can and do call various things spirits that we have covered in previous lessons. We can presume that certain things may be spirits (or not) but the scriptures define many things that are spirits that we deal with everyday in ourselves and in those around us. Leviathan is a spirit that works in the world and in individuals otherwise identified as the spirit of pride. Pride is a demon. It affects whole cultures and works in individuals as well. When you are dealing with pride or the proud you are dealing directly with a demon. This may answer for us “can a Christian have a demon?” Ask yourself can a Christian move in pride? The answer is regrettably all too clear.
If we allow pride to find it’s place in our life we are not just giving in t oa personality defect. Pride is a disembodied spirit that navigates through the waters of unsanctified flesh to find it’s mark in the hearts of men. How do you determine whether you are moving in pride?
[Pro 13:10 KJV] 10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised [is] wisdom.
When you are tempted to get into strife or contention with others whether in personal relationships or religious matters or otherwise – you are in reality commiserating and acting in concert with and yielding to a spirit or demon of pride. This is the reasoning behind many of the statements by Jesus about resisting not evil, doing good to those who harm you – not because they deserve it but to do otherwise is to dance with the devil – and if you dance with the devil he gets to bring you home to his house!
11 Who hath prevented me, that I should repay [him? whatsoever is] under the whole heaven is mine. 12 I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion. 13 Who can discover the face of his garment? [or] who can come [to him] with his double bridle? 14 Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth [are] terrible round about. 15 [His] scales [are his] pride, shut up together [as with] a close seal. 16 One is so near to another, that no air can come between them. 17 They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered. 18 By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes [are] like the eyelids of the morning. 19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, [and] sparks of fire leap out. 20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as [out] of a seething pot or caldron. 21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. 22 In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
In the chapter the Father goes on to describe Leviathan and by extrapolation identify the attributes of those who move in pride. Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook? No. Neither can you lead a proud person. You may ponder what the problem is with a stubborn person you are put in a position of leadership over. It’s very simple. They are infected with and under the dominion of the spirit of Leviathan (or, pride). V. 3-4 warns us not to expect soft words from Leviathan, that it is vain to attempt to come into any cooperative agreement with a person moving in a spirit of pride. You may see in that person a potential for leadership but know this that those moving in pride may move in a servant’s heart for a time but sooner or later (will you make him a servant forever) they will break faith with you and in their departure do more harm than all the good while they were faining humility in your midst.
In v. 14 God says that it is impossible to man to open the doors of Leviathan’s face. The face represents the spirit. In other words the person moving in pride will never reveal to you their true motive unless it is in the act of an assault upon your person. You may wonder about someone and realize that you don’t know what they are thinking – v. 14 says you don’t need to wait till they manifest. The teeth (representing thoughts) are terrible. A person moving in the spirit of Leviathan will use the manipulation of concealing their true thoughts. They will come to you and say “the Lord gave me something for you but you aren’t ready for it yet…” and other strategies. This is very debilitating to a person who is insecure and desiring the approval of others. God is saying you don’t need to wait till they spring the trap. What are they thinking? Terrible things – like the teeth of Leviathan. Learn not to wait till you are in the jaws of a prideful person’s attack on you before you realize you should have gone the other way.
23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved. 24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether [millstone]. 25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves. 26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. 27 He esteemeth iron as straw, [and] brass as rotten wood. 28 The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble. 29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear. 30 Sharp stones [are] under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire. 31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment. 32 He maketh a path to shine after him; [one] would think the deep [to be] hoary. 33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. 34 He beholdeth all high [things]: he [is] a king over all the children of pride.
When dealing with prideful persons we must remember that like the crocodile with his prey they want to latch on to us with their teeth (opinions) and then do a death roll (a twist, a flip in their sentiments) to take us out and devour us for a prey. Have you ever had someone close to you that was sweet, loving and supportive, then all of a sudden did a complete reversal? We call this “doing the flip”. This is more than just the fickle sentiments of immature humanity. This is the spirit of Leviathan – the twisting serpent trying to pull you down into rage (Isa. 57:20) to destroy your spirit and extinguish your anointing.
How do you defend yourself from the spirit of Leviathan? The first thing is to refuse to move in that spirit yourself. Jesus said in John 14:30 that the prince of this world had nothing in him… He constantly came under attack by people moving in the spirit of Leviathan but it was useless of the enemy because He didn’t have any corresponding pride within Himself that would make Him vulnerable. Learn to make humility your most potent and most oft resorted to spiritual weapon. Refuse to answer again. Refuse to get offended. Refuse to listen to your critics. You will NEVER convince them and to attempt to do so is to put yourself in striking distance of the spirit of Leviathan operates in.
V. 15 says that Leviathan’s scales are his pride and that “no air” can come between them. The Old Testament word for air is “spirit” or in the New Testament “pnuema”. One of the deceptions of Leviathan is to convince you they are open to your spirit and want to know what you have to so. When Nehemiah was building the wall – Sanballat the mocker wanted him to “come down” and negotiate with him for peace. Nehemiah said “no I am doing a great work and cannot come down …” Those moving in the spirit of Leviathan have many very successful strategies to force you to engage with them. You simply have to make a bed rock determination no matter what that you will not submit to this tactic for it will end every time in defeat. The scales of Leviathan are his judgments and opinions and if God’s spirit cannot penetrate them neither will your words or efforts be successful.
This chapter is one of the most helpful chapters in the bible to help you learn how to discern yourself and to discern those around you. When you see contention in a public figure, or in someone quite close to you – it is important to realize that person is moving in the spirit of Leviathan and to come into agreement with them or commiserate with them in any way is to commune with devils. The lessons of chapter 41 are God’s attempt to reveal to Job that his objections and strife and contentions are not just human foibles of a person under tremendous pressure – they are manifestations of a demon named Leviathan who had laid hold on Job and made him one of the children of pride. Likewise for ourselves we must careful identify the twisting serpent that wants to assault us and move away from it in humility to God in order that we might hear His voice and be delivered.