Giants in the Land
In Old Testament times there were actually giants in the land. Giants are portrayed in children's stories as mythological creatures that didn't really exist. But giants were very real in old times.
In the days of Noah, before the great flood that destroyed the world, there were giants in the land…
Genesis 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
And then hundreds of years later, after the great flood, when the spies returned from spying out the land of Canaan to report what they had seen in the promised land, they had this to say about giants…
Numbers 13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
And we remember the story of David and Goliath and how David slew Goliath with a sling and a stone. Goliath was a giant man about 9 ½ feet tall with strength and a mouth to match!
And then finally in 1 Chronicles 20, David's mighty men slew four more giants who were the brothers of Goliath! And those were the last of the giants recorded in the Scriptures.
In this message we want to
consider five thoughts on the subject… "Giants in the Land".
1. First, what are giants?
Obviously as their name implies, giants were huge men of enormous size and strength… as were the Anakims of Canaan, and Goliath of Gath of the Philistines. But size itself didn't make them bad people. After all, there is nothing wrong with just being big! But giants in the Bible were also notoriously wicked, cruel, and violent. They were fierce and brutish, and perhaps most significantly, giants were defiant and blasphemous enemies of God, and the ferocious enemies of God’s people.
Giants were also said to be men of renown…that is, men with a great name and reputation for being the cruel and violent, and the tyrannical oppressors of their fellow man. It is interesting that giants were not only physically huge men, but they were also giant sinners, and extremely wicked and treacherous, and the notorious haters of God and His people.
2. Secondly, where did the giants come from?
It seems that giants emerged as a result of sinful relationships? Notice Genesis 6:4 again…
Genesis 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
This is a mysterious passage of Scripture, but most Bible scholars interpret the "sons of God" in this passage as the children of Seth, who were the godly line of Adam's fallen race (Genesis 4:26); and the "daughters of men" are understood as being the descendants of Cain, who were cursed because of Cain's sin of slaying his brother Abel.
Giants, it would seem, were the product of sin and sinful relationships… relationships that were condemned by God, and were the acts of deliberate rebellion against God and His Holy Word. The Giants that resulted from these sinful relationships became mighty sinners before the Lord!
Later, in the post-diluvian world, giants are found again. After God brought Israel out of the land of Egypt, giants showed up again in the land of Canaan before Israel's conquest of Canaan. These would prove to be a giant problem for God's people as we will see momentarily.
And even later during Israel's early kingdom years, giants were found again, this time in the land of the Philistines with Goliath and his brothers.
3. Thirdly, what problems did giants cause for God's people?
The children of Israel were terrified of the giants in the land of Canaan…
Numbers 13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Later, while in war with the Philistines, the children of Israel were terrified of Goliath…
(Read 1 Samuel 17:4-11)
This was an amazing example of what fear can do to a people. The entire army of Israel, including the king, were terrified of Goliath! The entire army was afraid to fight against this one giant. They were literally paralyzed with fear!
Again, we see the children of Israel in the wilderness after the spies returned from spying out the land…
Numbers 13:30-33 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Giants weren't their only enemies in the land of Canaan, but it seems they were the greatest hindrance to their entering into the Promised Land! How many blessings do God's people miss out on because of the giants in our way? How are we hindered from serving the Lord and obtaining great blessings and victories because of the giants in the earth?
Thirdly, giants caused God's people to disobey God and to refuse to do His will.
Once again, the children of Israel in the wilderness would not obey God and Moses their leader, and enter the promised land for fear of the giants. Now, they couldn't really blame the giants for their disobedience! That was not an acceptable excuse to God for not obeying His Word. But certainly the giants were at least part of the reason they refused to enter the Promised Land.
What giants in the land today are keeping us from obeying God and doing His plain revealed will?
Because of their fear of the giants and refusing to enter the promised land, the children of Israel spent the next 40 years wandering around in the hot, dry, barren wilderness. When we disobey God and refuse to do His will, we too can expect God's hand of chastisement to come on our lives…giants not-with-standing!
4. Fourthly, we want to consider some giants in the land today.
There are some good sized men out there who are plenty strong and tough, but they are not what you would call giants.
But this morning I want to consider the spiritual giants that war against the soul. These are not actual, literal giants, but nevertheless they have the same effect on us that the giants had on the
Israelites in days of old. Let's notice some of these…
First, there is the king of the giants, who is none other than the devil himself, who is the prince of destruction and violence, and every imaginable evil and wicked work, and the arch enemy of God and His people. The devil orchestrates all the havoc in the world, especially against the children of God.
And then there are the giant demons who work relentlessly to hinder God’s people, and prevent us in any way that they can from doing the work of the Lord, and bringing glory and honor to God with our lives. Sad to say, these giants have been far too successful, as many professed Christians have all but quit serving Jesus Christ the blessed Savior!
But the giants that I want to focus on for a few minutes, are not flesh and blood giants, or even demonic or Satanic giants, but rather they are the giants that dwell in our old sinful nature!
First, there is Giant unbelief… Giant unbelief is at the top of the list of giants! He is the prince of the old Adamic, sinful nature. All the other giants of our flesh answer to him! Unbelief in our God is at the root of all our doubts and fears, and all our sin and disobedience to God! Giant unbelief was at the root of all Israel's giant problems, as they thought the giants were bigger and mightier than their God!
Secondly, there is Giant fear… How many good works, and blessings of God never materialize because of fear? Fear of men! Fear of failure! Fear of embarrassment! Fear of falling on our faces! Fear of rejection! Fear of getting hurt, physically or emotionally. And fear of death! How much has Giant fear robbed the children of God of the joy and blessings of the Lord?
Thirdly, there is Giant Temptation… Giant Temptation allures the children of God into every act of disobedience against their God, and into every imaginable filthy, wicked sin of every kind. He takes full advantage of the natural lusts of the old sinful flesh. And Giant temptation is very powerful, and very subtle. He will provide you with every possible excuse to justify your disobedience against the revealed will of God, as Satan did in the Garden of Eden when He tempted Eve. And he can make sin look so good! How could this possibly be wrong, it looks so good and so pleasant to the eyes?
Fourthly, there is old Giant Pride… Giant pride is the most arrogant of all the giants. He thinks he knows everything! He doesn't think he needs anything, or anyone. He doesn't even think he needs the Lord's help in his life! He leans solely on his own understanding, and he is wise in his own conceits! But beware, Giant Pride will lead us to a great fall!
And then there is Giant Despair… Despair is defined as the complete loss, or absence of any hope! Giant despair is the most fierce of all the giants of the flesh! Once he has you in his clutches you have lost all hope in God. Thank God, and praise God that He is able to provide you with a way of escape from old Giant Despair!
And then there are the brothers of giant despair…
First, there is the brother Giant Discouragement…
Discouragement is defined as the loss of confidence or enthusiasm. Giant Discouragement will keep us from doing everything in life that is good, and the things that are a blessing to both ourselves and to others. Beloved, when Giant Discouragement gets a hold of us, we don't want to do much of anything, especially when it comes to the things of God.
Next is brother Giant despondency… Despondency is defined as a state of low spirits caused by loss of hope or courage. Giant Despondency is much like his brother Giant Discouragement, only worse!
And then there is brother Giant Depression… Depression is feelings of severe despondency and total dejection. Giant Depression is the elder brother of Giant Discouragement and Giant Despondency, and he is even worse and more cruel than them both!
Then there is brother Giant Disillusioned… Disillusion is the loss of faith and a sense of defeat because things are not as we hoped or expected them to be. Many a professing Christian has been taken captive by Giant Disillusion because they thought that the Christian life would be a trouble free life of ease!
And the last brother is Giant dissolution… Dissolution is the excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures. How many professing believers have gotten so discouraged, and so despondent, and so depressed, and so disillusioned that they gave up on God, and faith in God, and turned to the sinful lusts of the flesh for pleasure? But Giant Dissolution will ultimately destroy our lives and leave us back in the clutches of Giant Despair! Giant Despair is the worst of all these giants because he takes away all our hope in God! But thank God that He is still able to deliver us even out of the hand of Giant Despair!
Now, we mustn't fail to mention Giant Slothfulness, who is too lazy to do anything of any use or any value. He just wants us to relax, and play, and waste away all the valuable time that we have. Yes beloved, old Giant slothfulness has a strong grip on many a Christian today!
And Giant Slothfulness has two twin brothers. One is old Giant Procrastination. His philosophy is "Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?" I wonder how many good and important works never get done because of Giant Procrastination!
And the other twin brother of Giant Slothfulness is Giant Diversion. Giant Diversion wants you to do anything but what you really need to do with your life right now! He even gives you a lot of otherwise good things to do to keep you from doing the things that you really need to do right now! How many of us find ourselves in the clutches of Giant Diversion? We do everything else, but the very most important things in our lives just never seem to get done!
Well, no doubt there are many other giants in our old nature that we could think of. But all of these giants hinder us from serving the Lord, and cause us to disobey the Lord, and as a result they bring the chastisement of the Lord upon our lives.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, what is the solution for having victory over these giants of the old flesh?
The answer is simple enough. It's the same as fighting real giants. You have to face um, fight um, and slay um. To do this it's going to take a lot of grace, and a lot of faith! But God will give us both if we just ask Him.
First you have to face the giants… Running and hiding from giants is never a good solution. That only leads to worse and bigger giants to come upon us!
Next, you have to engage the giants in battle… Not in the power of the flesh, but by the power and Spirit of Almighty God, who gives us the victory! And don't forget to take the whole armor of God that you might be able to stand, and withstand against all the onslaughts of the devil and his demons, and all the giants of your old flesh.
Finally, you have to slay the giants… You can't make a truce with giants. They are the mortal enemies of our souls! They will always come back to destroy you! And even after we slay them, it seems that somewhere down the road they pop up their ugly heads again in our lives!
Giants must be destroyed and utterly slain! As Moses slew the giants in the wilderness. As Joshua and Caleb slew the giants in Canaan. As David and his men slew Goliath and his four brothers. We also must face the giants, fight the giants, and slay the giants in our lives!
And if we are going to slay our giants, we're going to need the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. That is how Jesus slew the giants that attacked Him… With the sword of the Word of God that proceeded out of His mouth!
Remember, giants are enormous. We are no match for them. We need the power of God to subdue them. Giants are the product of sin, and they will only lead us to sin and to dishonor our God. Giants are our fierce enemies, and they want more than anything else to destroy our lives and our souls. They will hinder us, and render us useless in the service of the Lord if we let them!
If you are not saved this morning, you too have giants in your life. But you don't have any power to fight against them! First, you need to have Jesus Christ in your life before you can hope to defeat the giants that war against your soul! You must first defeat Giant unbelief by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. You must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on the cross for the salvation of your soul. Then you too will be able by the power, and the armor of God, to defeat all the giants in your life!