"They Are Giants"

Deuteronomy 1:20-28

Last year, my wife and I went to Lowes. I had to do a return, and I looked down at my phone to find the receipt. When I looked up, I realized I was the short man in line. In case you didn't know this, I am 6' 4". One guy in line was 6' 7" and the other guy was 6' 8". I made the comment to them, "It is not often that I am the short guy anywhere". We had a good laugh, but I also understood how some people feel when they stand next to me. It can be intimidating standing next to someone who is head and shoulders taller than we are. I imagine this is especially true when that person is threatening our safety. That is what the Children of Israel faced in our text today.

"And I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’ And every one of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’ The plan pleased me well; so I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe. And they departed and went up into the mountains, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and spied it out. They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, ‘It is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us.’ Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God; and you complained in your tents, and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, 'The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.'"

Deuteronomy 1:20-28

---

Deuteronomy is a re-giving or repeating of the law. Moses knew that his days were short and the task of claiming the land God had promised the Israelites was still ahead of them. They had already failed once because of their lack of faith. Now, they were on the precipice of yet another attempt, but he would not be going with them. A different man would take command; Joshua. So, Moses gives a dual-purpose speech. He is reminding them of what God has done for them in bringing them out of slavery in Egypt and providing for them in the wilderness. He is also reminding them of God's holy law that they are to keep when they enter that land. He has invested 40 years into this mission, and he wants to do everything he can to ensure they trust God and are successful.

Moses begins by reminding them of their early history. He tells of God delivering them out of slavery and providing for them in their exodus. Every step of the way they had physically seen the presence of God with them. Then, when they got to the border of the land, their faith in God waivered. They asked for spies to be sent into the land so that they had some intelligence before the battle. Moses allowed this, and they sent 12 men into the land to spy it out.

When they returned, they all told the same story, but there were differences of opinion of the possibility of victory. Ten of the spies said that there were giants in the land, and the giants made them feel like grasshoppers. Their advice was to abandon the mission and find a different plan. Obviously, God had brought them here to kill them at the hands of these giants.

Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, saw a very different outcome. They agreed that there were giants in the land, but they said that victory was guaranteed. If God had brought them this far, He would bring them into the land He was promising them. These two men begged the people to trust God. Their pleading was to no avail. The people returned to their tents and continued their mumbling and complaining in their homes.

It was because of this lack of faith, and the groaning and complaining that God directed the people back into the desert. He told them that they would remain their until everyone 20 years old and above died. This process took 40 years, but, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, not a single adult who left Egypt entered the promised land 40 years later. The final death was Moses when he finished his farewell address (this book). God keeps His Word.

As Christians, we have felt the tangible presence of God in our lives. If you have not, then you are not a true Christian, but you can be. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13). If you have felt the presence of God, then you know He is with you. So, if God tells you to do something, He is with you to see it through. In another passage in Deuteronomy, and repeated by the writer of Hebrews, Moses told the Israelites, "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6). Moses's reminder is for the new generation of Jews, and for us as well. If God leads you to do something, You can be sure that He is with you and will see you through it. The victory may not look like what you imagined, but if we are faithful to him, He will give us the victory.

Father, thank You for the stories of the Old Testament that show us how You worked in the lives of people. Things didn't always go the way they thought. Sometimes it was because You were doing something different. Other times it was because they did not trust You. May we learn from them and trust You when You call us to something that seems impossible.