Job 26:12-13 (NRSV)
Read Job 26:12-13 on biblegateway.com
Verse 12By his power he stilled the Sea; by his understanding he struck down Rahab. Verse 13By his wind the heavens were made fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
Devotion
Children are not the only ones who fear monsters. There is an ancient Near East belief that the sea is a monster that must be killed by God to ensure that the world is a good and ordered place. In the Old Testament this monster is named Leviathan, Rahab, Lotan or simply the Deep. We also know this monster as Satan or the devil.
We recognize this monster in floods and terrorism, starvation and adultery, hatred and abuse. We name the monster as evil. And we see it in ourselves and name it as sin. The monster so often appears to be stronger than God and we wonder if even God can defeat such an insidious beast.
But God speaks to our fears. God has contained the mighty waters since the beginning of time. God meets the devil and will not be deceived. And God in Christ has taken up our monstrous sins and tamed them through forgiveness. We join Job, the psalmists and the writer of Revelation in thanking God for the monster's defeat.
Prayer
We give you thanks, O God of might, that you have met the monsters around and within us and have defeated them once and for all.
Amen.