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Dinosaurs, Dragons, and The Devil by Dr. Abidan Shah

Abidan Paul Shah

DINOSAURS, DRAGONS, AND THE DEVIL by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC

Introduction: As I mentioned in the video, I was at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis, in the Big Horn Basin of Northwest Wyoming. This part of the country is replete with dinosaur fossils in sedimentary rock, all the way from Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Secular geologists call the section from northeastern Colorado to east central New Mexico the “Dinosaur Freeway.” They claim that this was probably a very ancient migratory route going back to millions of years along the coast of a seaway that split North America. If you’ve been there, it looks like you are standing on a sea or ocean bed with vast layers of sedimentary rocks everywhere (Dakota group). To the contrary, geologists, paleontologists, and scientists that come from a biblical perspective look at things differently. As to the vast layers of sedimentary rock, they argue that this came through the rapid deposition of sediment through water. So also, the preservation of tracks of the dinosaurs is also due to a quick burial in sedimentation by water that was very high in minerals. Finally, these animals, especially these dinosaurs, were not migrating, they were escaping the worldwide flood that happened at the time of Noah. I’ve preached on this before, and the messages are available on many different platforms. In today’s message in our series on the book of Job, were going to see how God talked about dinosaurs to help Job get through his trauma. Turn in your pew Bibles to page #829. In today’s message titled “Dinosaurs, Dragons, and the Devil,” we’re going to see that God not only helped Job rebuild the shattered schema of his life, but he also set him free from the prison walls of fear that had gone up because of the traumas. When people go through trauma, they barricade themselves from ever having to hurt again. To truly heal, you also have to learn to overcome your fears and move forward.

Job 41 (page #829-831) 1 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? 2 Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook? 9 Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him? 24 His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone. 25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they are beside themselves…31 He makes the deep boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. 32 He leaves a shining wake behind him; One would think the deep had white hair. 33 On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear. 34 He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.”

Context: As you know, we are looking at the final dialogue cycle between God and Job. Last weekend, we learned that when God finally spoke, he had a series of rapid-fire questions for Job. The reason for this was to re-create in Job’s mind what he had tried to de-create in Job 3 (page #779). Job had wished that he had not been born – Job 3:3 “May the day perish on which I was born…” Then, he said in verse4 “May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it.” Where God had said in Genesis 1:3 “Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light,” Job was saying, “Let there be darkness.” Michelle Keener referred to this as Job’s “de-creation plea.” Then, in verse 8, Job said, “May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan.” This appears very odd unless you read it along with Genesis 1. On the fifth day of creation in Genesis 1:21“So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” In Job’s time, there were hunters who hunted for big dinosaurs in the sea. They probably did that, not so much for food or thrill, but to protect the sea vessels that were being destroyed by these dinosaurs. He is calling on these men to wake up Leviathan. Where God made the sea creatures (Leviathan) good, Job wants them to be bad and destroy the creation. Again, all this was part of his “de-creation plea.” 

Question: Why would Job say things like this? Don’t forget that Job’s word has fallen apart. He is hurting badly. He is not thinking straight. He wants this world to self-destruct so that he would cease to exist and stop hurting. It’s wrong, but that’s how he’s feeling.

Application: What do you do when you feel bad because of some trauma? Do you take it to God? Do you ask your friends to pray for you?

There is something else that Job says in this “de-creation plea” that people often miss – Job 3:23 (page #780) “Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in?” The Hebrew word for “hedged” is “sakhack.” It has the idea of “to block” or “to fence in.” Job is being sarcastic here. Earlier in Job 1, when God bragged on Job, what did Satan say? Job 1 (page #777) 9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? The Hebrew word for “hedge” is “suk,” which is a by-form of “sakhach” (See Seow). What the writer of the Book of Job is saying is very powerful – Before the coming of the traumas in Job’s life, he had God’s hedge of protection around him. Since the coming of the trauma, that hedge has become a prison. It is no longer blocking the bad from getting to Job. It is keeping Job locked in his pain. He repeats this – Job 12:14 “If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.” The word for imprison is “sagar” = shut or imprison. Again, Job 19:8 “He has fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass; And He has set darkness in my paths.” The word for fence is “gadar” = walled up.

Listen carefully: Traumas have a way of making us feel imprisoned. We feel trapped by our fears. We become bound by hesitation and trepidation. We don’t want the same feeling of pain, shock, and loss of control to return. We do everything possible to stay behind the hedge that has now become a stone fence:

Application: What stone fence are you standing behind right now? God not only wants to fix your broken window, but he also wants to take you out of the fence.

So, how does God come to help Job? He points him to the dinosaurs. Secular history and geology, influenced by evolution, tries to separate dinosaurs from human beings. To the contrary, they existed side by side in the pre-flood world.I believe the fossils we find of the dinosaurs are evidence that they perished in the flood. I also believe that since the book of Job talks about them – the book of Job is post-flood as it mentions the Great Flood (Job 22:15-16) – then, there were dinosaurs on the ark. Don’t immediately think of full-size dinosaurs. In fact, the animals that were on the ark were probably young, so they could live a while in the post-flood world. Also, dinosaur eggs have been no bigger than a football. Furthermore, there were not hundreds of these species. According to some estimates, as few as 50 kinds of dinosaurs have been confidently identified. By the way, the evidence in recent years has really challenged the view that dinosaurs are millions of years old – blood cells, soft and pliable tissues have been found in fossils. According to Mary Schweitzer, a paleontologist from NC State who came across finds that shocked everyone, “Finding these tissues in dinosaurs changes the way we think about fossilization, because our theories of how fossils are preserved don’t allow for this.” All that to say, Job lived in a time when dinosaurs were still roaming the planet, maybe not in big numbers as before the Great Flood.

1. Behemoth – Job 40        15 “Look now at the behemoth (behema – beast), which I made along with you; he eats grass like an ox. 16 See now, his strength is in his hips, and his power is in his stomach muscles. 17 He moves (chapets – to place emphasis on size, cedar tree is about 30-40 meters tall) his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. 18 His bones are like beams of bronze, His ribs like bars of iron. 19 He is the first (reshit – first or beginning) of the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword. 20 Surely the mountains yield food for him, and all the beasts of the field play there. 21 He lies under the lotus trees, in a covert of reeds and marsh. 22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade; The willows by the brook surround him. 23 Indeed the river may rage, yet he is not disturbed; he is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth, 24 Though he takes it in his eyes, or one pierces his nose with a snare. This was probably a sauropod dinosaur.

I know that some of you are wondering, like George Bernard Shaw, how does telling Job about dinosaurs is going to help him come out of the stone fence? Again, Michelle Keener helps us here – “The overwhelm caused by Job’s trauma eventually finds it resolution in the overwhelm caused by the sublime.” What is a sublime? Tod Linafelt defines sublime as “the feeling evoked by that which exceeds the imagination.” Sublime is the big indescribable and incomprehensible. It is kind of like the trauma. It’s only by facing the sublime can we overcome our fears. By stepping out and seeing greater chaos and even greater control can one step out of the boundaries that have been created during trauma. Behemoth and Leviathan represent the sublime, the powerful chaos causing dinosaurs. Then seeing that God is infinitely more powerful than those dinosaurs that he created can one take God’s hand and step out.

Illustration: Growing up, I was always self-motivated. That’s how God had designed me. But, I had fears – fear of not having my family, fear of physical pain, fear of losing security. 3 things happened in my life that were quite traumatic for me: 

When you go through such traumatic events and realize that God is incredibly more powerful, it keeps you from staying behind stone walls of trauma.

2. Leviathan – Job 41      1 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? 2 Can you put a reed through his nose, or pierce his jaw with a hook? 3 Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you? 4 Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever? 5 Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you leash him for your maidens? 7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons, or his head with fishing spears? 8 Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle—Never do it again! 9 Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him? 10 No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me? 11 Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine. 12“I will not conceal his limbs, His mighty power, or his graceful proportions. 13 Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle? 14 Who can open the doors of his face, With his terrible teeth all around? 15 His rows of scales are his pride, shut up tightly as with a seal; 16 One is so near another That no air can come between them; 17 They are joined one to another, they stick together and cannot be parted. 18 His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. 19 Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out. 20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. 21 His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth. By the way, dragons are none other than Dinosaurs. There are legends in almost all ancient cultures and civilizations – China, Egypt, Africa, Native Americans, Europe (Beowulf, St. George and the Dragon), etc.

22 Strength dwells in his neck, And sorrow dances before him. 23 The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved. 24 His heart is as hard as stone, even as hard as the lower millstone. 25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they are beside themselves. 26 Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin. 27 He regards iron as straw, And bronze as rotten wood. 28 The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones become like stubble to him. 29 Darts are regarded as straw; He laughs at the threat of javelins. 30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds; He spreads pointed marks in the mire. 31 He makes the deep boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. 32 He leaves a shining wake behind him; Onewould think the deep had white hair. 33 On earth there is nothing like him, which is made without fear. 34 He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.” This is probably a Plesiosaurus. 

Later in Isaiah (8th century BC), Leviathan is mentioned as symbolic of Satan. Isaiah 14       13 For you have said in your heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’” Isaiah 27:1 “In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.” In some ways, God is assuring Job that he is infinitely more powerful than Satan. He doesn’t have to fear him. “Step out from behind the wall of trauma.”

Illustration: Back in the days of Henry IV (14th century), the navigators would make maps and when they came across unexplored waters, they would write – “Here be dragons, here be demons, here be sirens.” Sailors were afraid to go into those waters. There was another set of maps upon which Sir John Franklin, a man of God and of the Bible , who knew that God had made the seas and Jesus had walked on the waves, wrote the words “Here be God.”

Even though Job had a new window on life, he was still barricaded behind the wall of fear and hesitation. You have a choice today to write “Here be God” outside the fence/hedge of your life. Do you know Christ? Are you saved? 

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