Reducing the Giants

One last major military action must be completed before Canaan can have “rest from war.” It is a mission of great symbolic importance—the defeat of the Anakim. These were the descendants of Anak, a line of men of great stature. Numbers 13:33 links them to the “giants” mentioned in Genesis 6:4. The sight of the descendants of Anak living in Canaan was one of the primary reasons 10 of the 12 spies sent by Moses to scout the land came back with a negative report. “ ‘We saw the descendants of Anak there,’ ” they said. “ ‘We were like grasshoppers … in their sight’ ” (Num. 13:28, 33). This report caused the Israelites to lose faith and refuse to enter the land, for which they were condemned to 40 years of desert wandering. Now Joshua comes and drives them out of the land to the Philistine cities of Gaza, Ashdod, and Gath (from which Goliath will come). Though we cannot be sure just when during the conquest Joshua encounters the Anakim (he earlier took Hebron and Debir, two areas from which he is now said to drive them), the story as presented contains an ironic twist. The entire conquest has been completed without the interference of the Anakim, who were so dreaded that the previous generation refused to even begin the invasion. If only the unfaithful spies had listened to Joshua and Caleb. They knew the truth—the Anakim were nothing compared to their God. They knew, as Matthew Henry expresses it, “Giants are dwarfs to Omnipotence.”

Joshua 11:23 looks forward and backward. This verse clearly states that the conquest is complete. The land has been conquered by Israel and now rests from war. That sets the stage for the next process in the settlement of Canaan, the apportionment of the land to the tribes of Israel. We will look at this process, the Israelites’ actual inheriting of the land, in our studies next month. But the author of Joshua cannot resist noting here that the conquest came about “according to all that the LORD had said to Moses.” He is telling his readers that God has been faithful to keep all His promises to give to Israel the land He pledged to their forefather Abraham. Therefore, following up on our study of God’s covenants last month, we will spend the next two weeks looking at God’s redemptive promises to His people with the help of Dr. R.C. Sproul’s audio teaching series Promises.