Quick Note – Deuteronomy 2:20-22 – God the Giant Killer

Deuteronomy 2:20-22 – “It is also counted as a land of Rephaim.  Rephaim formerly lived there – but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim – a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before the Ammonites, and they disposed them and settled in their place, as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day.”

When we face trials and difficulties in our lives, it is very easy to feel overwhelmed – to feel like we are drowning under the weight of the troubles with no rescue in sight.  The obstacles seem insurmountable, and the burdens too great to bear.  And it is during those times that our faith falters – that we begin to question whether our God is as powerful, as loving, and as gracious as the Bible describes.  The hardships just seem too tall, and we feel dwarfed by these giants. 

These are the thoughts that went through the Israelites’ minds when they first approached the land of Canaan.  After escaping from Egypt, traversing through the wilderness for two years, and finally arriving at the boundaries of the Promised Land, they sent spies out to scout the land.  These twelve spies returned with ten of them giving a bad report by telling the people of Israel that the people who dwelt in the land were giants, the cities were fortified, and that they had no chance of beating them, especially since the Anakim dwelt there (Read Numbers 13-14 and Deuteronomy 1).  The Anakim were people that were tall and strong.  This report sent waves of doubt into the hearts of the Israelites.  Rather than trusting God to defeat the Anakim, they let their fear direct their actions and rebelled against Moses and God.  They were then punished by God and had to wander in the wilderness for thirty-eight years with none of that generation being able to enter the land other than Joshua and Caleb, the two good spies.  Eventually, the children of the past generation were able to conquer the land, but they were delayed for almost forty years, because they refused to trust in God.

You may be wondering why I am reviewing this story about the Israelites when our verses for today focus on the Ammonites and the people of Esau and make no mention of the Israelites.  The reason I bring this up is because like the Israelites, the Ammonites and the people of Esau had to deal with their own giants when they were settling the land promised to them.  The Ammonites fought the Rephaim who were great and many, and as tall as the Anakim.  The people of Esau fought the Horites, who may have been giants as well.  The Moabites fought the Rephaim, who were also giants (Deuteronomy 2:10).  Each of these groups of people who were related to the Israelites (Moab and Ammon came from Lot, the nephew of Abraham, who is the father of the people of Israel.  Esau was the brother of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham.) dispossessed a group of giants to inherit the land God had promised to give them.  This was precedence of God’s faithfulness.  These were previous examples of His power.  Yet, even though, the people of Israel knew that God had done this previously for other nations, they doubted that God would defeat the Anakim, the giants in front of them.  They faltered in their faith even though God had shown Himself to be faithful.  

When we face adversities and troubles which seem like undefeatable giants, we need to look to the past and recall God’s faithfulness to others and to ourselves.  We should speak to other Christians who have faced similar giants and hear their testimonies of God’s deliverance.  We should read the Word of God and see the many examples in the Bible of God’s provision, God’s mercy, and God’s love.  We should recall the times that God has conquered the giants in our lives previously.  If God will work in the lives of others, He will and surely can work in your life as well.  So when you are faced with your giant, remember that God conquered Goliath for David (1 Samuel 16), your giant will fall as well.