Yesterday Moses retold the story of Israel defeating King Sihon of the Amorites, but he told the story with more detail than we had previously been provided with. He reminded the Israelites that none of the towns which had belonged to Sihon had been too difficult for them to capture. In our passage today and tomorrow he reminds them of their defeat of another Amorite king, King Og of Bashan, who was a giant. This man who was so big that his bed was 13.5 feet long was no match for Israel. That's because he was no match for Israel's God.
Moses is proving to the Israelites that the things said by ten of the spies who looked over Canaan nearly forty years earlier were uncalled for. Those ten men said the cities were too difficult to capture and that the giants in the land were too big to fight. Yet before they ever crossed the Jordan the Israelites fought the tallest giant described in the Bible. Great victories are already behind them, and as they stand poised on the brink of their great destiny in the promised land, Moses encourages them for the battles ahead by reminding them of battles already won.
I want to stop a minute and point out, as we discussed earlier in our study of the Old Testament, that there have been many well-documented cases of gigantism in more recent history. Most of the male giants in these cases stood somewhere between seven feet and nine feet tall. This is not out of line with the presumed height of the most famous Biblical giant, Goliath, who is believed to have been around nine feet tall. King Og of Bashan could potentially have been as much as twelve feet tall, considering the length of his bed, which Moses will mention in the portion of Deuteronomy 3 which regards the defeat of King Og.
There is no need for us to doubt that there were literal giants in the Bible days, considering there are so many well known and scientifically verified cases over the last several hundred years. What we do not need to believe are stories of giants from pseudo Scriptures/false gospels which are included in some writings such as the Book of Enoch where you'll find claims that there were giants who stood as tall as a mile high, which is one of many good reasons why this book and others like it have been rejected as being the holy word of God. Nothing in the Holy Bible supports the belief that any giant was ever this tall. In addition, we can look around us and easily see that everything the Lord created on this earth was created on a size scale to serve humans of average height. How would a man a mile high navigate a world designed to fit adults who generally range in height from 5ft to 7ft tall? How would an entire race of people that tall not use up so many resources that they'd render themselves extinct? I can believe King Og stood 12ft tall, based on what Moses will say about him in Deuteronomy 3 and based on an invitation he will issue to any doubters to go and view a piece of evidence of Og's height, but there is simply no Biblical evidence or archaeological evidence that a race of people with absolutely fantastic heights ever existed.
Og is the tallest man whose height has been recorded in the Bible and in tomorrow's passage we'll find Moses saying something like, "If you don't believe me about how tall he was, his bed is still on display in Rabbah. We fought the tallest man on earth and won, with the Lord's help. Don't just take my word for it that he needed a bed 13.5ft long. Go see it for yourself." I think this information about Og's bed was recorded in the Bible because he actually was the tallest giant Israel ever fought. Perhaps he was the tallest giant who ever existed. His stature was so remarkable that his bed ended up becoming a tourist attraction. This was like being listed in an ancient Guinness Book Of World Records because apparently it was the largest bed anyone had ever seen or heard of, likely because its owner was the largest man anyone had ever seen or heard of.
This is what happened after the Israelites defeated King Sihon of the Amorites. "Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei. The Lord said to me, 'Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.'" (Deuteronomy 3:1-2)
I am of the opinion that when we find the Lord telling someone not to be afraid it's because they are afraid. Israel has already faced down the army of Sihon and won, but Sihon didn't stand a dozen feet tall. Imagine how intimidating it was to see a man of such great stature with a whole army coming behind him! Kings in those days were the generals of their armies and they typically rode out in front or marched out in front. When these men began coming into view, the first thing Moses and the Israelites would have seen was King Og, and I imagine their knees started knocking together. They couldn't help experiencing a stab of panic in their hearts. When the leader of this Amorite army first came into view, the Israelites didn't know whether every man coming behind him was going to be as tall as he was. Even if his army was made up of averaged sized men, the sight of the king was a fearsome thing to behold. It was intended to be fearsome. It was intended to send Israel running for the hills or running back to Egypt. Instead the Lord---the general of Israel's army--issued this order: "Stand your ground and don't be afraid. This battle has already been won. The giant is already defeated; he just doesn't know it yet."
The Lord says these words to our hearts so many times as we walk through this world. He says, "Stand your ground and don't be afraid. It may not look like it right now, but this battle has already been won. I've won it for you. With Me on your side, you'll trample giants in your path as easily as you'd step on a bug. With Me on your side, mountains are going to move and seas are going to part. With Me on your side, no weapon forged against you will prosper. I'm fighting for you and I've never lost a battle. It's not possible for Me to lose a battle."
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