Giants In The Land

I

t had been a long, tiresome journey from Egypt.  For centuries, the Hebrew children had awaited this day, the day when they actually learned first-hand what the Promised Land looked like.  All of Israel knew the story of Father Abraham and the promise God made to him so long ago.  They had told their children of Isaac and Rebecca, of Jacob and Esau, and of Joseph and his coat of many colors.  According to his wishes, the people had exhumed Joseph's body and had brought his bones to be buried in the new land. 

Forty days before, a band of twelve men entered the land with instructions to spy on its inhabitants and to seek out and bring back some of its produce.  Excitement and tensions mounted as the people eagerly awaited word of the spies' arrival back in camp.  Everyone's imagination conjured up vivid scenes of vast tracts of fertile land, oases laden with palm and date trees, and all types of exotic produce succulent to the eye and to the taste.  What had they seen?  What would be their assessment of the land and its people?  What advice would they give Moses for entering the land?

Finally, the word came that the twelve had returned.  Everyone pressed in close to hear the report and to learn about their new home.  Not a sound was made as the twelve recounted their findings.  Two men, Joshua and Caleb, displayed a large cluster of grapes that required a large pole and two men to carry.  Surely, they had found the land to be truly flowing with milk and honey, just as God promised. 

But suddenly, the excitement vanished and fear gripped the people.  Several of the spies gave vivid descriptions of the land's current inhabitants.  Everyone listened intently to the report and one word sent fear and despair through the crowd.  That word was GIANT.  Yes, there were giants in the land.  Of the twelve, only Joshua and Caleb felt they should proceed.  The other ten, were not so enthusiastic and their opinion carried the day.  The people refused to move forward.

What a tragedy this was for Israel.  For over 400 years, they served as slaves in Egypt, longing and praying for the day of their deliverance.  God brought them out of their bondage with a mighty hand and led them to the border of the land he promised Abraham.  All they had to do was to enter it and possess it.  However, they stopped short of enjoying God's provision and experiencing his deliverance because they chose fear instead of faith.

Numbers 14:9 records the faithful words of Caleb as he tried to persuade the people to take the land, “Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”  Like the other spies, Caleb had been in the land for forty days.  He had seen the giants and their fortified cities; he had observed their technology and their standard of living.  He knew their strengths and he also knew their ability.  But Caleb also knew God's promise.  He believed God's word to be true, that the land was theirs, that all they need do was take it.  The reports of the other spies focused on the giants in the land.  They compared themselves with the giants and became afraid. Numbers 13:33 records their reaction with the following words, "There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Like the children of Israel, we all face difficulties and challenges.  There are always giants in the land that strike fear in our hearts.  Some of these giants come in the guise of health problems and some giants strike at the very hearts of our families.  The giants of self-doubt and discouragement loom on several horizons as well as the giants of failure and guilt. 

Today's scriptures present us with two different perspectives on God's promise.  We, like the ten spies, can look at our present situations and concentrate on the giants in our paths.  When we do this, we become grasshoppers, small, weak, and incapable.  Or, like Caleb, we can focus on God and his promise to be with us in all circumstances no matter what.  When we do this, our problems become bread for us, because God is with us.  In the first circumstance we yell, "Retreat!"  In the second scenario, we yell "Attack!"

Whatever your circumstances are today, remember that God never intended for the children of Israel to stop short of his provision.  He never intended them to enter the land by themselves nor to conquer it by themselves.  Instead, his plan was for them to possess the land by fighting their battles and routing their enemies before them.  And God intends us to live the same way.  He is waiting for us to decide whether we will attack or retreat.  The choice to attack is ours; the battle is God's!