Face the Giants Without Fear

Numbers 13:25-14:4

The Israelites who have seen Yahweh work mightily on their behalf have succumbed to their own fears.

God has dismantled the economy, religion, and military of one of the world’s superpowers, one that had bound them in slavery for many generations.

He split the Red Sea in two and had given 2 million people and their animals not just a passage through the sea, but dry land to walk on!

They had witnessed Moses ascending Mt. Sinai and observed the cloud that concealed the glory of Yahweh descending on Moses as God gave him the Law. They saw Moses’ face shining so brightly because of his being on Yahweh’s presence that he had to put a veil over his head so the people could look on him and live.

Manna had been provided for them to eat in a desolate place that was largely devoid of food for even a small group of people, let alone one of such magnitude.

Yet when these 10 spies return from scouting out the land that Yahweh has promised to GIVE to them, their objection to taking it is, “It’s too hard.”

The grapes were big. The pomegranates were big. The figs were big. And the people were big. Giants. These were not your ordinary, everyday NBA player big. They were the sons of Anak, descendants of the Nephilim.

Who were the Nephilim?

Genesis 6:1–4 “When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.”

This is before the Great Flood of Noah, which wiped out all of humanity except for the 8 who were on the ark. In fact, it is in this context of God telling us about the Nephilim that He reveals His plan to Noah to flood the earth. There is great debate over who the “sons of God” were in this passage, but a number of scholars including the late Dr. Michael Heiser believe these were fallen angels, perhaps some of the 1/3 of heaven who rebelled along with Lucifer. The arguments both for and against that position are compelling, but whoever or whatever they were, one thing is clear: it is evident their marriage with the daughters of men produced the Nephilim, who were giants.

But if they were wiped out in the Great Flood along with every other creature that breathed air, how did they come to be in Canaan some 800 years later? Well, I do not know, unless their DNA was preserved in mankind through the wives of Noah’s sons, and thus passed down through their children, or demonic influence returned through the fleshly manifestation of fallen angels. Nevertheless, they DID exist in Canaan before and during the conquest by Israel.

The Nephilim and their cousins, the Rephaim, were brutal oppressors of men. They were wicked pagans, often associated with fierce dispositions, human sacrifice, and even cannibalism, all actions and characteristics of demonic influence. And as stated, they were giants. The spies who reported back to Moses and all of Israel said they made them look like grasshoppers. While this is almost certainly hyperbole, there is one detail that cannot be overlooked. Deuteronomy 3:11 describes Og, king of Bashan as a giant, and it gives the dimensions of his bed: nine cubits long and 4 cubits wide (approximately 14 feet x 6 feet). This was a massive man, and it is noted that he was the last of the Rephaim because Moses and the Israelites later killed him and his sons. But of course, there were still some giants from Gath later on, and they were killed by David and the Israelites.

Back to Jordan

So we see the 10 spies who reported back to Moses were being truthful. There were indeed giants, and they were fierce. There were no lies in the words that they spoke.

And the men of Israel, when they heard these words, they lamented. They knew they would be utterly slaughtered, leaving their wives and children vulnerable and falling prey to such human (or half-human) monsters. They acknowledged that in Egypt, while slaves to oppressive masters, they were at least allowed to live and enjoy their families. They cried out, “Why did the Lord bring us out of the frying pan into the fire?”

Let’s face it, the danger was real. Their fear was real, and from a human perspective, it was justified. The Israelites looked around at each other and saw shepherds, bricklayers, farmers, and house servants. They were not warriors. There may not have been one sword for every 100 men. None of them were trained for combat. No one owned a shield, let alone a suit of armor. From a practical and logical standpoint, only one thing made sense: turn back.

They could not sit on their side of Jordan and set up camp, or even build a city. To do so would invite the Nephilim to cross the river and wipe them out in short time. They were in a situation that seemed impossible, and they began to form a plan that seemed right to man.

The Faithful Minority

But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh were God-fearing men. They said, “No! The Lord is with us, and the protection is removed from them! Do not fear them, but trust God! We can take them!” And did the people rally around Joshua and Caleb and respond in faith to their courage? No, they wanted to stone them!

Have you noticed that when you tell the truth, that is when you are most hated and opposed? When people tell lies, when they say the naked emperor is wearing beautiful clothes, when they say that abortion is healthcare, and boys can become girls and girls can become boys, and they want to throw God out of our bedrooms, courtrooms, boardrooms, and classrooms, they are celebrated for their courage and resilience. But when you stand for the truth, when you say NO! The emperor is naked, and on full display, you are shouted down. When you say NO! abortion is murder, you are hated. When you say NO! all flavors of promiscuity and fornication is sin, whether its a man and woman shacking up, or two men or two women or whatever else you can dream up, you will be reviled! They will take up stones to stone you.

What Can I Do For You, Lord?

When you look around at the giants in our culture, you would be correct to realize they are indeed giants. And if you concluded they are influenced by demonic forces, you would also be correct. And if you saw these demonically-fueled giants and said, “I can’t stand up to that,” you would once again be correct.

John F. Kennedy once famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.”

Allow me to take that profound challenge and take it deeper. Say not, ‘I can’t do that for God,’ but say, ‘God, what can I do for you?’

I can’t speak very well. But can you write?

I can’t walk very well. But can you sit in a chair and hand out tracts?

I can’t teach a class. But can you invite others to come?

I can’t go to a mission field. But can you give so others can go?

I can’t. I can’t I can’t. My grandma used to say, “can’t never could.”

But what CAN you do? And I tell you this with full confidence that I know you CAN do SOMETHING! Nobody is too old, too young, too fragile or too agile, too timid, too weak, or too poor to serve the Lord.

Those giants that we face are huge! But the same God who defeated the Nephilim, the Rephaim, the Anakim, and the giants of Gath will defeat the giants of our land.

Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18

Matthew 16:18 ESV

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Just as in Canaan, the forces of evil are walled up inside their strongholds. Oh, the devil may be prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, but that is why we have watchmen in the camp, to identify him and fight him off. But Hell is shut up behind its walls, and we the Church are assaulting the walls with the power and weapons of the Spirit. Jesus promised the gates of hell will collapse. They will not prevail, if we keep battering them and climbing the walls and throwing the full weight of the cross upon them!

The problem we have though, is far too many of you are looking at the giants the enemy has. You are looking at the size of the stronghold, the potency of the enemies weapons, and the enormity of the defenders of the walls and you are running away, or worse, refusing to fight! You are saying, But we might get hurt! What about my family? What will happen to them if I get killed, or lose my job? What if no one likes me?

Be like Esther, who so boldly declared, “If I perish, I perish.” Who knows if you and I were put here on this earth, in this country, in this century, in this decade, in this time for such a time as this?

Christ will be victorious

I’m not saying you will physically be killed for standing up for Christ. I’m not saying that everyone needs to be engaged in an open, bold, public way. I’m not even saying everyone needs to be a fighter. But you cannot run, and you cannot hide.

Aid Others...And Let Them Know You Are

Be like Samwise the Brave, who realized he could not take Master Frodo’s job, but he could aid him by carrying him to the top of Mt. Doom.

Be like Aaron and Hur, who held up Moses’ arms so he could hold up his staff while the Israelites battled the Amalekites and defeated them.

It’s not enough to pray while others are fighting. You need to let them know you are praying. The warriors need to be encouraged, and they need to be reinforced, and they need to be strengthened.

There was once a man who spoke Truth. He told of a Way that leads to Life. He did not back down when He received death threats. He did not shy away from speaking the truth because it was unpopular. When He lost friends and family over His stance on issues of what is right or what is wrong, He did not reverse course. He did not soften His speech when He was told He was too harsh, nor did He lash out in anger when people disagreed, but He did enact a hot, righteous anger when He saw God the Father disrespected. And by the time He was in His early 30s, He was murdered. His name is Jesus.

Days before he was gunned down, Charlie Kirk posted on his X account: “Jesus died so you might live.” And let me tell you this:

He did not stay dead! He spent 3 days in the grave, and during that time He descended to Hell and declared His victory over death. He took the keys of death and hell away from Satan and announced His resurrection will be the first of many millions. He rose from the dead on the third day, and after 40 days encouraging His disciples, He ascended to the Father’s throne room where He advocates for His elect without ceasing. He died a death He did not deserve, to pay a debt that we could not pay, so that we would have eternal life that we do not deserve!

Will you reject that? Will you reject Him? Christian, will you accept what He’s done for you, and then sit on your comfortable seat and do nothing because the giants are too big? May God have mercy on you.

Church, it is time to get serious. Our goal should not be to fill these pews with people who are comfortable with 1 day a week Christianity because they will give good offerings and go about their week living for themselves. We must be about the Father’s business! If it’s just the 15 to 20 of us doing the Father’s business, so be it. But if we get serious about revival, and we get serious about conquering the land for Christ, the Lord will reap His harvest in due season. I pray that the Lord will give each one of you boldness and courage, and that He will fill this building with sheep who have the courage of lions, and that starts with your pastor, for I am a sheep as well.

If we are to have revival, it must come first by obedience and faithfulness. Let it begin here.