Giants

Temple Baptist Church - 10-2-2011

Genesis 6:1-4; Numbers 13:1-3, 31-33

Introduction:

A. I want to preach on the subject of “Giants.” It did not take many generations after the fall for man to totally corrupt the earth through the wickedness of his heart.

1. The first mention of giants is found in Genesis chapter 6. They were not the offspring of the union between the Messianic Line of Seth and the Ungodly Line of Cain! The Bible simply says that “there were giants in the earth in those days!” It is interesting that giants were mentioned with no explanation or elaboration made concerning them. It was a simple statement of fact and had nothing to do with the sons of God and the daughters of men. They were not born of a union between “angels” and women! That is one of the most foolish assumptions that could be made. Angels do not reproduce! Period! The “sons of God” were the messianic line of Seth. Chapter 4:16-26 is the genealogy of Cain. Chapter 5 is the messianic genealogy of Seth. Chapter six is ungodly mixing of the two genealogies (Noah was upright in his generations.) No “angels” are or have been mentioned in any of the context. Verse 4 says that the giants were before the intermarrying. “And also after that!” Their children were after the giants and are described as “mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” Genesis 6:6-7 declare that God repented that He had made man and was grieved at heart over their wickedness. Nothing said about “angels” in these verses. God said that he would destroy man for his sinfulness, not destroy “angels.” Once again, in verse 13, God said that “flesh” was the problem. Genesis 7:21 said that “all flesh died.”

2. The second mention of giants came in the Book of Numbers as the children of Israel approached the Land of Promise: Canaan’s Land. Og slept in a bed which was 9 cubits (app. 13 ½ feet) long and 4 cubits (app. 6 feet) wide. Goliath was 6 cubits (app. 9 feet) and a span (app. .75 feet or 9 inches). Thus, Goliath was 9 feet 9 inches tall.

Moses sent out 12 spies to spy out the land and 10 gave an evil report while only 2 gave an encouraging report.

a) 10 placed difficulty between them and God

b) 2 placed God between difficulty and them

c) 10 saw through the eyes of the flesh

d) 2 saw through the eyes of their faith

The effect of the giants upon the spies.

a) 10 discouraged the hearts of the people to turn back.

1) Their Faith was flawed: they trusted in self, not in the Lord.

2) Their Sight was impaired: they saw themselves in light of the giants instead of the giants in light of their God.

b) 2 encouraged the hearts of the people to go forth.

1) Their faith was in the Person of the Lord: the God who made the giants.

2) Their faith was in the Promise of the Lord: Canaan or the Promised Land.

3. The third and last mention of actual giants was in First and Second Samuel with Goliath, one of the 5 sons of “the giant in Gath (1 Samuel 17), being the most notable. The army of Israel cowered in fear until David, the son of Jesse—a keeper of sheep, killed him in the name of the God of Israel.

B. We do not know who these giants were or how they came to be but there are some things that we do know about them. Giants are found only in the Old Testament. They are an Old Testament concept, not one found in the New Testament. God does all things with purpose and this is no exception. There is a reason for not mentioning giants in our economy. The Old Testament saint had portions of God’s Word but learned to trust the Lord through experience. We have the completed canon of Scripture and, therefore, learn to trust the Lord through their example.

C. Today, though we do not face physical giants, we often are confronted with “spiritual giants” that are just as real. As God’s people overcame the giants in the Old Testament, we can overcome the “giants” that we face spiritually. I want to look at just a few of the “spiritual giants” that God’s children often face and can have victory over.

1. The Giant of a Sinful Past. I have known some men and women who were saved from a very sinful past who have faced this “giant.” Though some who have had such a past are on fire for God, many are not. They are saved but not serving as they should be. They seemingly have a sense of unworthiness. Old “Slew Foot” is always around to accuse these individuals and remind them of their sinful past. Though a sinful past should not be glorified in our testimonies, it can certainly be used greatly to lead others to Christ. They know where we came from and the great change of 2 Corinthians 5:17 is evident. The Lord has placed our sinful past under His precious blood, not to be remembered again and so should we! The Giant of a Sinful Past will sit you on the sidelines if you allow it.

2. The Giant of a Present Failure. All of us fail the Lord, a fact of which we are not proud but, sometimes, a child of God will fail the Lord in a great way and it will become open knowledge. I am so glad that the Lord will allow us to get right with Him; the church; and the brethren. Some of the greatest Christians in the Bible failed God miserably: Moses, Saul, David, Peter, Demas, John Mark, and as well as others. Some got right with the Lord and some never recovered. Just remember that 1 John 1:9 is still in the Book! The Giant of a Present Failure will sit you on the sidelines if you allow it.

3. The Giant of a Difficult Circumstance. I have often said and will say again, “God’s children are not exempt from sorrow and heartbreak, sickness and death, poverty and want, or satanic attack.” We have many problems but some of these “valleys” are much longer and deeper than others. It will often cause the believer to question God’s care, God’s love, or God’s holiness and justice. There are too many verses in the Bible that tells this preacher otherwise for me to quit on Him! Many go through adversity and never recover. They may come to church but they go through the motions and never let the Lord show them the help that only He can give. The Giant of Difficult Circumstance will sit you on the sidelines if you allow it.

4. The Giant of a Discouraged Heart. Discouragement is one of the greatest tools of the devil. It can come from many sources including the brethren: “our brethren have discouraged our heart!” Discouraged through loneliness; discouraged through fatigue; discouraged through destroyed dreams! Sometimes, things do not go as we think that they should go and we question God. The Bible is full of the questions and even complaints of God’s people so we are not in our boat alone. I am so glad that, though we may not see Him, He is always in the hinder part of the ship! “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thought than your thoughts.” The Giant of a Discouraged Heart will sit you on the sidelines if you allow it.

5. The Giant of a Bitter Spirit. Bitterness has a progression: hurt turns into anger and anger into bitterness if not handled right. I know that this sounds easy but it is not: you can come through your difficulties of life either better or bitter. The end result is up to you and me. Remember the end result of that bitterness though: bitterness will trouble you and defile those around you.

Conclusion: We may not face physical giants in our lifetime but we but we do face “Goliaths” in the spiritual realm. The God who taught the Old Testament believer to trust is the same God that we can also trust in our hard times.