Behold Now Behemoth

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of dinosaurs? Children? Jurassic Park? Barney? What about the possibility of letting your mind be drawn to the fact that dinosaurs were creatures that were marvelously designed, and that design demands a Designer? What's more--perhaps the subject of dinosaurs can bring us to consider the words of God to Job:

"Behold now, behemoth which I made with thee..." (Job 40:15)

The word, behemoth, simply means a "large creature." This could mean an elephant, a whale, or a hippo. But are there any other descriptions in the passage that could help us further qualify what type of large creature that is being described?

"...he eateth grass as an ox." (Job 40:15)

Since this creature eats grass and God told Job to look at it, we can safely assume that we're looking at some type of land creature. Many large land animals eat grass like an ox. In fact, if you say "green things" or "things that grow," an elephant or hippo would certainly fit. However, there is a another key description that makes a HUGE difference:

"He moveth his tail like a cedar." (Job 40:17)

This description is very interesting, in that a cedar is a type of tree. This brings the question: What type of large creature has a tail so big that it moves it like a tree? This certainly doesn't apply to an elephant or a hippo! However, it would apply to the sauropod-type of dinosaur such as a brachiosaur or diplodocus. One might wonder why the word "dinosaur" isn't in the Bible. The simple answer to this is the word wasn't yet coined at the time of the 1611 King James Version of the Bible. A simple reading of the Job 40 passage about "behemoth" is that this is describing a dinosaur! What are the implications to this? Well, for one, it means that man and dinosaur lived at the same time. Secondly, God used these massive creatures to communicate an extremely important message to Job, his friends, and to us today. If we fast forward to Job 42 and see Job's response to God's creation message (Job 38-41), we see that he repented of his sin!

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:5-6)

The desired response to the message of creation (which includes dinosaurs) is a recognition of Who is ultimately in charge and that we all have gone against His perfect design. In addition, God used His handiwork to reveal Himself to Job and his friends. Should we not therefore follow His example and do the same? I think we too must use the subject of dinosaurs to present to the world the proper view of the Designer, with the ultimate result being repentance. Let's behold God's behemoth...NOW!