“Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. – Job 40:15

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 19, 2012): Job 40

Are elephants really afraid of mice? It is a theory that has been propagated by cartoons, and even examined by the MythBusters (who, by the way, concluded that the idea that an elephant is scared of a mouse plausible.) No one really knows where the myth came from. Maybe it is just an extension of our own phobia in regard to the little creatures. After all, if elephants are afraid of mice, maybe it is normal for us to jump onto chairs whenever the diminutive animals appear.

The truth is that the idea of elephants being afraid of mice is probably unfounded (the evidence from the MythBusters notwithstanding). But the suggestion is still an attractive one. We seem to have an idea that size equals power and violence. It is stressed in every movie I watch. It is the big guy that is going to get violent; he is the one that is chosen to be the body guard. He is the power behind the scene. The elephant and the mouse myth is the counterpoint. Inside this story the elephant, one of the strongest animals we can imagine, becomes the gentle giant that suffers from the same phobias that we do.

The behemoth that God mentions is another gentle giant. Some think that it might be the elephant, but it is more likely to be the river horse – or hippopotamus - a gentle giant of an animal that chews on grasses rather than on other animals. It is the picture of the humility of God. He is the one that created the river horse, a beast that seems to be so indestructible, and yet one that seems to revere all of life.

Job thinks he knows the answers. He believes that somehow all of the good he has done and all of the wisdom and knowledge that he possesses makes a difference. But God points at the river horse and tells Job to consider the humility of the great beast – and the humility and power of the God that created both Job and the behemoth.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Readings: Job 41