March 24- There Be Giants In The Land

March 24, 2011

Scripture Readings:
Deuteronomy 2:1-3:29; Luke 6:12-38;
Psalm 67:1-7; Proverbs 11:27

I recognize my limits, but when I look around, I realize I am not living exactly in a world of giants.

~Giulio Andreotti

Deuteronomy 2:1-3:29

Do you know who the world's tallest man is?  His name is Turk Sultan Kosen. Turk is from Mardin, Turkey and is a farmer.  Turk is 8 ft. 1 inch tall.  Turk is 28 years old.  It might not surprise you to learn that Turk also holds the record for the largest hands and feet in the world!  Today as I read through Moses' retelling of the wilderness story I was struck by his descriptions of the giants in the land.  I am going to go over what I noticed.

One thing that I see as I read through the Bible is that God repeats things a lot so that we eventually "get it."  As I reread this story, Moses has a wonderful perspective on the whole experience.  He definitely sees God's hand in every experience.  He has humility about his mistakes and some regret about Israel's behavior.  He mentions that when the Israelites were first going through the land, they were to leave the Moabites alone per God's instructions.  Moses says that there was a powerful race of giants called the Emites that lived there.  He says that they were as tall as the Anakites, who were another race of giants.  The Anakites are mentioned in Genesis 6:4.  Moses tells us that the Emites and Anakites were also called Raphaites. They are also called the Nephilim and Zamzummites. We discussed in Genesis 6 that the Nephilim were the offspring of fallen angels and human women who were on the earth before the flood and had overtaken the human population. The Bible indicates that the evil race born after them was the reason for the Great Flood. In Genesis 6:4 we learn that these Nephilim were on the earth before the Flood, but were also on the earth for some time after the Flood, also. Please read Arnold Fruchtenbaum's study, Messianic Christology, for more information on this.

We learn by reading the Bible that the Jewish nation was tasked by God to annihilate the Nephilim who remained on the earth in the land of Canaan. The Jews are literally fighting evil as they come to take the Promised Land. This is a picture of the righteous on earth standing up against spiritual evil on earth. This can only be accomplished by the Spirit of God working through humans.

Until I realized what the Bible taught about the Nephilim, I was under the impression when the 12 spies who went into the land were exaggerating a bit about the size of the inhabitants in the land.  Their lack of faith might have clouded their outlook or so I thought.  Moses confirms in this telling of the story that there really were giants.  In verse 11 of chapter 3, Moses recounts that King Og of Bashan, which is one of the groups that Israel successfully defeated, had a bed that was thirteen feet long and six feet wide.  He even noted that as of his writing, you could still see the bed in a local town. Wow.  With God's help, the Israelites defeated this giant.

What is the lesson?  God wanted the Israelites  to go into the Promised Land, even though they would have to face giants to do it.  What giants do you face in your life?  Do you know that God wants you and I not to turn back from our march to the Promised Land because of the giants in our lives?  He wants us to trust Him to fight for us so that we can move forward.  Are you willing to trust God with the giants in your life? How have you fought evil with the help of God?

Moses gives Joshua credit for having incredible faith.  Joshua believed that Israel could defeat these people with God's help.  Moses explains, with regret, that the Lord was angry with Moses about sending in the spies and agreeing to not entering the land when first told to. As a result, God would only allow him to view the Promised Land from a mountain top.  He would never enter the land in this lifetime. A man of such great faith, who had such a good relationship with God, still had to bear the consequences of his sins.

Luke 6:12-38

Today Jesus teaches me something very important.  Before you make a important decision in your life, PRAY ABOUT IT, FIRST.  As we begin our reading in Luke today, Jesus goes to the mountain and prays to God all night prior to selecting his twelve apostles.  The future of Christ's Church on earth will be in the hands of these men.  Even the betrayal which brings about Jesus' death is tied up in making the correct choice for this group.  Does it shock you that Jesus prays all night and then selects someone who will betray him?  We are learning how God works.

What do you need to spend time in prayer about?  Do you realize that your prayers will not prevent hardships?  They may even bring them to you!  Christ teaches us with this story that hardships can be part of God's larger plan for our lives.  This truth takes humility and wisdom to understand.

Psalm 67:1-7

I like that this psalm requests that God be merciful to us and bless us.  It describes God's face as shining with favor upon us.  Do you remember the kid in your elementary school class who was the pet of the teacher?  Did you notice that the teacher's face was always shining on that kid? 

I picture us as being God's class pet in this psalm.  I hope his face shines upon you and me today!

Proverbs 11:27

This is a reminder to search for good, don't just wait for it to find you.  The only thing that will seek you out is evil.  Good thoughts here!

What did you notice today?

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton
© 2011