Dinosaurs & Dragons

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AStudying God’s Word

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Studying God’s Word

Introduction

In our last lesson, we focused on the creation of Adam and Eve and how the big overview of Genesis 1 is followed by more details in Genesis 2. Contrary to the evolutionary view of man that would teach mankind is simply a highly evolved animal, Scripture teaches that God made man with intimate care and in his own image. The two views stand in stark contrast to one another.

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  How did we define a biblical view of marriage, and what was that definition based on? Biblical marriage is one man married to one woman for life. This comes from the pattern set by God’s creation of Eve from Adam’s side (Genesis 2) and the words of Christ regarding the allowance for divorce because of the hardness of the people’s hearts (Mark 10).

  There is much abuse of the gift of sex and marriage in our culture today, but we have the opportunity to use those sinful issues to preach the gospel to those who are living their lives without regard for God’s commands. God’s grace and mercy have been demonstrated in Christ’s sacrifice for those who are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1–10). We have the privilege of communicating that message of forgiveness and hope of change to those around us. Knowing what God has forgiven us for, how can we not respond by telling others of his love and grace?

  The value of human life comes from the image of God in every person, not from their benefit to society or their usefulness to others. From the evolutionary perspective, man has no more worth than any other animal. Most evolutionists would reject this idea practically, but from a naturalistic worldview, actions like slavery, abortion, eugenics, and racism are completely justifiable. Looking at these issues through biblical glasses, we can reject slavery, abortion, racism, and other dehumanizing ideas knowing that God has created each person in his image.

  • Don’t forget! Review the Optional Supplements and determine where you can use them.
  As you transition to the lesson, try to make it a seamless transition. You are going to be leading the students into a trap in order to make a point about God’s description of the behemoth and leviathan.

Behemoth

In the book of Job, God describes the secrets of his creation to Job using many natural elements like rain, snow, and various animals. Included in the list of animals are the behemoth and leviathan—two creatures that many believe are mythical creatures. Present the following script with some passion, and as you get to the end, you will be presenting a fictional animal, the kophir, as if it were real. This will lead into the study of the creatures described in Job 40 and 41.

When I consider how creative God is, I think about hummingbirds with their shimmering iridescent feathers.

I think of majestic birds like the peacock or the vibrant color of the Amazon parrots or the brilliant patterns on tiny poison dart frogs or the amazing tongue of the chameleon.

He has made creatures that can fly using all kinds of wings—bats, birds, butterflies, and . . . people!

The multitudes of graceful antelope roam the plains of Africa alongside the gallant lion and the imposing elephants.

In the oceans we find miniature creatures that produce their own glass houses, fish with striking patterns of color and texture, lobsters with probing claws, the great whales that travel the globe in search of food, and many other amazing creations.

Oh, and don’t forget the amazing strength and beauty of the kophir with its long horn and flowing mane. The kophir alone demonstrates God’s power and creativity, don’t you agree? Expect responses of confusion as this is not a real animal. This will hopefully make the point that Job knew what behemoth and leviathan were, or the illustrations would be meaningless. Tell the students that the confusion will be cleared up shortly.

Today, we are going to look at dinosaurs from a biblical perspective. In the book of Job, God presents his power over his creation in a series of questions to Job. God asks questions about mountain goats, eagles, the ocean, the clouds, the constellations, and many other parts of his creation.

Near the end of the questioning, God describes two creatures that sound quite fantastic to many people. Some have suggested that these creatures are mythical. But if God has been describing things that Job was familiar with, it makes no sense that he would suddenly interject a piece of fantasy into the questioning.

We are going to look at these two creatures described by God and try to determine what they are by carefully examining the text.

Open your Bibles to Job 40. We are going to read from verses 15–24, but I want you to scan through chapter 39 to get an idea of what God has been saying to Job before this point. Give them a moment to scan the chapter.

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  What animals do you see in chapter 39? Mountain goats (v. 1), wild donkey (v. 5), wild ox (v. 9), ostrich (v. 13), horse (v. 19), locust (v.20), hawk (v. 26).

Keep that in mind as we read Job 40:15–24 together. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• Who is speaking and being spoken to? God is speaking to Job as described in verse 1.
• What type of literature is this passage? It is a poetic passage written in a series of couplets where each verse presents two ideas in parallel form. There are also many similes in the description.
• What creature is being described? Behemoth.
• What does the behemoth eat? Grass like an ox.
• How is the size of the behemoth described? He is the first/chief of the works of God; his food comes from the mountains (a vast area); it takes many trees to give him shade; a turbulent river doesn’t disturb him. These are poetic ways to describe a gigantic creature.
• How is the strength of the behemoth described? His strength is in his loins with powerful muscles and sinews; his bones are like bronze or iron; he can face a turbulent river; he cannot be snared.
• How is his tail described? Stiff like a cedar tree.
• Where does the behemoth live? The description sounds like swampy land with rivers, willows, and lotus trees.
• Who is able to subdue behemoth with a sword? Only God.
• What is the main point of the passage? Job is to understand the limit of his own power in light of God’s absolute power over his creation and the power and size of behemoth.
• What does the passage tell us about God? He has made both Job and behemoth and has power over both of them.
• What creature might God be describing to Job? Some commentators have suggested that the behemoth is a hippo or an elephant since those are the largest creatures living today. If any students have Bibles with study notes, have them share what the commentators say about the identity in the notes for verse 15. For example, the Bible Knowledge Commentary identifies the hippo as the best explanation, though it says it may have been a dinosaur.

Discover the Truth

There is no doubt that God is describing a massive creature to Job and a creature that Job is familiar with. Just like you were confused when I threw in the kophir with the list of real animals, if behemoth was not a real animal, God’s explanation to Job wouldn’t make sense.

One of the key characteristics in the passage is the tail of the behemoth. It is described as moving like a cedar tree. Because we konw that God is not describing a mythical creature like the kophir, this must be a real creature.

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  The Bible describes the majestic cedars of Lebanon that were used as beams for the construction of the temple Solomon built. Does an elephant or a hippo have a tail like a cedar tree? No. Show the images of the elephant and hippo to illustrate that this does not make sense (Animal Tails images).
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  What kind of animal do you know of that has a tail that could be compared to a cedar tree? A sauropod dinosaur is the only reasonable conclusion. Show the image of the sauropod with its “cedar-tree” tail.
• Sauropod: dinosaur with a long tail and neck like Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus
  Do the rest of the descriptions of the behemoth fit a sauropod dinosaur?

This interpretation is rejected by most modern scholars because they reject the idea that dinosaurs ever lived alongside mankind. To accommodate the evolutionary view, they suggest the behemoth is a hippo, an elephant, or a water buffalo—none of which has a tail like a cedar or could ford a raging river with no concern.

D. A. Carson suggests in the New Bible Commentary that the behemoth is a hippo and explains the tail conflict by saying, “Even his tail, though short and small, has the strength of a cedar.” The tail of a hippo is very small, and it is quite a stretch of the imagination to compare it to a cedar tree. The next time you are at the zoo, take a look at the hippo’s tail and how it moves. I doubt you would describe it as a majestic tree.

• From a biblical perspective, is there any reason that a dinosaur could not have been alive at the same time as Job? Use the Seven C’s Timeline to point out the life of Job shortly after the flood. Since the behemoth is a land animal, it would have been created on day six and would have been alive alongside man. Some might suggest that the dinosaurs all died in the flood, but Noah took representatives of every land animal kind on the ark, so the sauropod dinosaurs would have been alive after the flood. There is no reason, from a biblical perspective, that this could not be a description of a dinosaur—a creature Job was familiar with.

Leviathan

Job 41 continues the display of God’s power evident in his creation with a look at a creature called leviathan. We aren’t going to take time to read the entire passage, but I want to point out a few of this creature’s characteristics to you, so we will skip our way through the passage.

• Look at verses 1 and 2. Read these verses. What picture is painted of this creature? It is not possible to capture it.
• Look at verses 8 through 10. Read these verses. What do we learn from these verses? Leviathan is a fierce creature, but God is more powerful.
• Jump to verse 18, and I will read through verse 22. Read these verses. What ability is this describing? The ability to breathe fire.

Discover the Truth

The passage goes on to describe how leviathan has skin that cannot be penetrated by darts and arrows and how it stirs up the sea as it moves about. This is a massive creature that strikes fear in the hearts of men and fears nothing.

Again, some scholars suggest that this is describing a crocodile, but those details don’t fit a crocodile—especially the description of breathing fire.

• Show the image of the leviathan. What reason is there to doubt that God was describing a massive, fire-breathing creature to Job? There is no reason from the context to suggest that this was not a real creature. Some might suggest the poetic language precludes that this is a real description, but poetry can communicate true details.
  • Watch the “Dinosaurs & Dragon Legends” video if you have time left.
  Since man and all other creatures were created within a day of one another, a giant sea creature like leviathan could have lived alongside man. Although this sounds a bit fantastical to many, if we base our thinking on God’s Word, there is no reason to reject this idea. In fact, there is much evidence to support the idea that man and dinosaurs lived together.

Application

Today, we have taken a very brief look at the biblical view of dinosaurs. Starting from the Bible, we know that man and the land dinosaurs, like behemoth, were both created on day six of the creation week. And we also know that sea creatures, like leviathan, were created on day five. Even though the word dinosaur is not used in the Bible (it wasn’t even coined until 1841), there is no reason to reject the idea that they were familiar to mankind through the millennia.

When we read of great sea creatures and other giants and dragons in Scripture, we can trust that they were real creatures. The legends and lore of fire-breathing dragons, embellished over the centuries, are very possibly encounters with real creatures. Rock drawings, legends, and artifacts from around the globe add additional confirmation to the idea that man and dinosaurs truly did live together.

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  What is the importance, in our world today, of having an explanation for the existence of dinosaurs on a young earth? Many people will write off anyone who believes in the Bible, but having an answer can help those who are not openly antagonistic to realize that there are reasonable and alternative explanations to the evolutionary ideas.
• Knowing that the vast majority of books, movies, and television programs teach that dinosaurs lived and died out 65 million years ago, how can you help children and others understand this issue from a biblical perspective? Sitting down with someone with the Bible open to passages that speak of dinosaurs, like Job, and having them read the passages for themselves is a great start. Using the Bible should be an important part of communicating truth. Also, many books, videos, and pamphlets that deal with the topic could be used for follow-up.
• How can dinosaurs be used as an opportunity to share the gospel? Many people are interested in dinosaurs, so it presents many opportunities to begin conversations with a variety of people. Taking people back both to the perfect creation where dinosaurs lived alongside man peacefully (remember that they both had vegetarian diets), and then to the entrance of sin, can lead directly to the hope of the gospel.
• How do we balance the scientific explanation of the fossils of dinosaurs and other extinct creatures with what the Bible tells us about such creatures? We must make sure that if there is ever a conflict in the explanations, we look to the Bible first. As Christians, we should not be afraid of scientific study. In fact, we should embrace it to help us understand God’s amazing creation. However, we have to start with biblical assumptions so that we are not led astray by man-made philosophies as Paul warned in Colossians 2:8–10.
• Christians know that they will face ridicule from those who reject the Bible as the authority concerning issues like dinosaurs. How do we deal with such criticisms? We must remember that Christ suffered on our behalf and serves as an example for us (1 Peter). Seeking to honor Christ and to act like he would act in the face of ridicule is an important part of portraying our faith in front of a skeptical world.

Group Prayer

Be sure to pray with your class and take requests if time allows.

• Praise God for including information about dinosaurs in the Bible, so that we have a reliable record from which to learn about his creation.
• Ask God that each person would have boldness to share the hope of Christ with others.
• Thank God for scientists who trust God’s Word and his creation to help us understand more about him.