A fav
orite Disney movie that kids and adults have enjoyed in recent years is Shrek. This lovable green ogre is a friend to all, and one can’t help but become attached to his amiable character. Giants have always intrigued people. From the giant at the end of the beanstalk to Paul Bunyan, these fascinating beings give us special enjoyment.
The Old Testament is filled with references to tribes of very tall men. When God promised Abraham the land of Canaan after his rescue of Lot, it is mentioned that the land included a race of giants called the Rephaites. Another group of giants were the Anakites, or descendants of the Nephilim. This is the group that frightened the 12 spies who were sent to search out the Promised Land. The report they gave when they returned was that “all the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:32,33).
After the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, they still fought with giants. Of course, the most famous giant was the 9-foot Goliath whom David slew with a stone. Goliath had four brothers who were also killed. Of one brother it is mentioned, “[He had] six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all” (1 Chronicles 20:6).
Just prior to entering the Promised Land, many years after they left Egypt, the children of Israel once again came upon the giants of the land. These are listed in the Bible by several names including the Anakites, the Emites, and the Zamzummites. It seems the Rephaites were also there.
One encounter with the Rephaites was just prior to the Israelites crossing the Jordan to enter Canaan. Here they met Og, the last of the Rephaites and ruler of 60 cities. Their encounter was a success as “there was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them. . . . All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars” (Deuteronomy 3:4,5). One detail Scripture mentions about Og is that “his bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide.” Eventually it became a tourist attraction: “It is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites” (3:11).
The Israelites struggled with giants in their day. These people instilled great fear and anxiety among God’s people. Yet the Lord always stood with his children until their giants were destroyed.
Are there giants in your life? Perhaps the days of Goliath and Og are behind us, but we face giants just the same. Might your giants be in dealing with those around you—your spouse, your children, or your friends. Or might your giants be within you such as a habit that you can’t seem to break, financial problems that never go away, a diet that never seems to work, or an illness that is destroying you. Like Goliath, who “for forty days . . . came forward every morning and evening and took his stand” (1 Samuel 17:16), these giants taunt us daily. They sap us of our strength and rob us of our hope and joy. Sometimes we can become totally overwhelmed by these giants.
What a beautiful promise the Lord gives us regarding our giants: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). We can take confidence in the words of David the giant killer who said to Goliath, “I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel. . . . The battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:45,47).
Prayer thought: Ask God to fill your sling with stones that can destroy your giants.
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