GIANTS
IN THE LAND
(Being full text of message delivered as
part of course work to Spiritual Life class at JOS ECWA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, November 2004, by James G.
Pam, PGDT student, ID No. 50542)
In our Christian walk we all go through
trials, temptations and vicissitudes of life without exception. This has led
Selwyn Hughes, the author of the popular daily devotional, Everyday With Jesus, to declare that, “Life is more tragic that orderly”. The word of God says that the
trials of our faith are meant to be persevered in order to produce in us
patience, character and hope. Jesus never said we shall not suffer as His
followers, but assured us that He will be with us in all situations.
I would like to liken the Christian walk
on this earth to the experience of the children of Israel from the time of
their slavery in Egypt up to the time of their entry into Canaan, the Promised
Land. Their slavery would then represent the unregenerate man under the Law of
Sin and Death, while Pharoah would represent Satan. Their exodus via the Passover
and the crossing of the Red Sea would represent our salvation through faith in
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Their wilderness experience would
represent our growth into spiritual maturity, while their crossing the Jordan
and entry into the Promised Land would represent the life of a mature Christian
who is living a victorious Christian life, flooring the devil most, if not all,
of the time. I believe that the entire Jewish experience during that mentioned
period is captured in biblical typology.
That being the case, what the word of
God tells us is that entry into Christian maturity is not an easy life at all.
This is the time we face Satan’s fiercest attacks. This is when his entire evil
arsenal is unleashed on us. We have to fight the strongest of Satan’s agents
when we are mature Christians. By “Giants in the Land” I am referring to those
powerful satanic agents whom we encounter in our day to day Christian walk as
mature or maturing Christians. Identifying these “satanic giants” and advising
how to deal with them is the main thrust of my message.
The scriptures in Ephesians 6:12 read, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Who or what are these principalities,
powers and rulers of darkness and wicked spirits? The passage clearly tells us
that they are not flesh and blood like us. They are therefore spiritual beings.
Let us learn from the experience of the
Israelites as they entered the Promised Land.
Joshua
24:11 And ye went over Jordan,
and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them
into your hand. (Emphasis mine.)
The Israelites had to fight physical
battles against these tribes. These represent the spiritual battles we have to
fight as Christians. These tribes were not small tribes but the fiercest the
Israelites ever had to deal with. Let me prove this through two scriptures:
Numbers 13:33 “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we
were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Emphasis
mine)
Deut. 7:1 “When the Lord
thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and
hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and
the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the
Jebusites, seven nations greater and
mightier than thou.” (Emphasis mine)
Seven giant nations?
Rev.
1:4 says, “John to the
seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which
is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne.” (Emphasis mine)
Permit me to dig a little deeper into
these seven Spirits of God. You will
then understand better why Satan has sent seven giants as well.
Joshua
24:26-27 reads, “And Joshua wrote
these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by
the sanctuary of the Lord. 27And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness
unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your
God.” (Emphasis mine)
Immediately after Joshua had led the
children of Israel across the Jordan and into the Promised Land, and just
before he died, he made their elders to declare on oath that they would serve
only God. He then set up a huge stone as a witness to their words. A stone as a
witness? Yes. The stone may be strong enough to survive a few hundred years,
but it cannot last forever. It therefore is not a very faithful witness. But it
sufficed until the real “Faithful Witness”
would come who can be relied upon forever. Jesus is that “Rock” or “Faith
Witness”.
Rev.
1:5 reads, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,
and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.
Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”
(Emphasis mine)
As I said earlier, Jesus Christ is the
faithful witness whom Joshua represented with a great stone after crossing the
Jordan.
Isaiah
28:16 reads, “Therefore thus
saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay
in Zion for a foundation a stone,
a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that
believeth shall not make haste.” (Emphasis mine)
God set up a “better stone” for our
salvation in Zion (heaven); a tried stone (lived on earth without
sin); a precious corner stone (God’s only begotten Son); a sure
foundation (who was, and is and is to come).
Zech.
3:9 reds, “For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua;
upon one stone shall be seven eyes:
behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in
one day.” (Emphasis mine)
God asked Joshua to engrave seven eyes
on his “stone witness” to represent the seven spirits (or eyes) of God sent to
watch over the earth.
2
Chron. 16:9 reads, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole
earth, to shew himself strong
in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done
foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.” (Emphasis mine)
Acts
10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with
power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed
of the devil; for God was with him.” (Emphasis mine)
Jesus of Nazareth (Jesus in His
humanity, not as the Christ) was anointed by God while on earth with the entire
seven Spirits of God because he is the “faithful witness”. Nothing was therefore
impossible to Him. These seven Spirits are named in Isaiah 11:2
Isaiah
11:2 “And the spirit of the Lord
shall rest upon him, the spirit of
wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”
(Emphasis mine)
The devil imitates all that God does. He
therefore has his own counterfeit seven demon spirits to attack each of God’s
seven Spirits which watch over the earth.
Since these 7 giant nations were to
oppose the children of Israel after they entered the Promised and, I believe it
is an attempt by the devil to frustrate the totality of God’s 7 Spirits. Acts 10:38 says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power:
who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil;
for God was with him.”
“anointed … with the Holy Ghost” means the 7 Spirits of God were with Jesus.
The 7 giant nations are therefore targeted at each of God’s 7 Spirits to try
and smother their work on earth.
Seven in number to try and counter the
seven Spirits of God at work in us. These are no ordinary opponents but the
principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and the wicked spirits themselves.
What I am doing today is exposing the
identity of these spirit enemies so that we can fight them effectively because
God has empowered us to have victory. Luke
10:19 says, “Behold, I give unto you
power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy:
and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Joshua 24:11 clearly states God’s
declaration that He had given the Israelites victory over these giant nations
already.
Let us examine these giant tribes
closely.
Since the entire Canon is the inspired
word of God, permit me then to read meaning into the names in the Word. I take
my authority from the examples of names like Abram (the father of heights)
changed to Abraham (the father of nations - Israel & the church), Jacob
(usurper of grabber or 419ner) to Israel (he strives with God). Jesus changed
Simon’s name from the Aramaic “Simon” to the Greek equivalent “Peter”, both
meaning “rock”. The new names carried a
message from God.
It is the same in the case of these
seven giant tribes. Their names literally tell us what they stand for. Their
recorded activities also confirm that they lived true to the meaning of their
names. I am aware that biblical hermeneutics warns us not to rely on meanings
of names alone to give a passage meaning but this situation is one of the few
exceptions to the rule. I am not allegorising because this is a proper
application of typology.
Important note:
All these giant tribes that were the
original inhabitants of the Promised Land descended from Ham’s fourth son,
Canaan. Ham saw and laughed at his naked and drunk father, Noah. However, when
Noah was cursing Ham for what he did, he cursed Canaan instead. I wish I could
go into the reason why Noah did this but it is not the subject of our
discussion.
These 7 tribes are jointly referred to
as Canaanites because they all descended from Canaan. However, out of the seven
tribes, one of them retained the name “Canaanites”. It is this curse that made
God to dispossess them (all seven tribes) of their land (called the land of
Cannan) and finally removed them from the face of the earth entirely. Today,
there is not a single Amorite, Perizzite, Canaanite, Hittite, Girgashite,
Hivite or Jebusite on earth.
1. AMORITES: The
name “Amorite” means “to say” or “to speak”. Ham saw his father’s
nakedness and spoke. That was the mistake that earned him and his descendants
(through Canaan only) a curse. The spirit behind evil speech today, whose
purpose is to inflame the tongue of man is the “Amorite spirit” sent by Satan.
God’s word tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue. Also, our
words can ensnare us. The tongue is a very small member of the human anatomy
but it is very difficult to control and can start a big fire. Any man who can
control his tongue is a perfect man. No wonder, this is a key area the devil
would like to attack in order to make Christians ineffective. Jesus said it is
not what goes into a man that defiles him but what comes out of him.
2. PERIZZITES: "Perizzite" literally means “one who dwells in an unwalled village”. He is defenceless. After the conquest of the land of Canaan under Joshua,
the Perizzites were allowed to live. They entered into marriages with their
conquerors and seduced the Israelites into idolatry. The Spirit of God was
exchanged for Satan’s spirit. The Israelites were therefore defenseless against
the attacks of the devil. They were powerless against the enemy. Never be
unequally yoked in any close relationships like marriage, business and the
like.
3. CANAANITES: Canaanite means
“trafficker”. Though "Canaanites" often refers to
the inhabitants of Canaan and the eleven nations descended from Canaan (Genesis
10:15-19). Here it means a separate nation from the others who also inhabited
Canaan. Its root word pictures one brought
low by trafficking or trade. This is the trafficking
spirit or spirit of greed and lust
for material things. This is the god of illicit
wealth or “mammon” in Matt 6:24.
No one can serve two masters. You either serve God or mammon. This is the
spirit of “the love of money” which
is the root of all evil in 1 Tim. 6:10-11 “For
the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they
have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” The man of
God is advised to run away from this spirit - not fight it. The way to do this
successfully is to follow after righteousness (or put on the breastplate of
righteousness), godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. That is, be contended
per time where ever you find yourself in life. Let God give you what ever He
will. What He does not give you, do not desire. However, this is not easy,
especially in this country today and more so for a middle-aged man or woman.
Between the ages of forty and fifty five there is great pressure to prove your
worth in life. At later ages, say after sixty, the craze for material
possessions decreases. Most of us here are right now in that most vulnerable
age bracket. So watch out for this giant.
4. HITTITES: Hittite means “dread” or “fear”. The most
famous of later Hittites was Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, whom David sent to his
death to conceal his adultery with his (Uriah’s) wife. The “Hittite spirit” is therefore the spirit
of fear. Its purpose is to destroy human lives and undermine faith through the
bondage of fear. King David was afraid of the exposure of his sin so he
arranged for Uriah to come and sleep with his wife and when this did not work,
he had him killed. Fear is not from
God. God’s Spirit is one of “love, power
and a soundness of mind”. Satan is source of fear. The day sin came, fear
also came. In Gen. 3:10 Adam said, “I
heard your voice and I was afraid …” The fear of evangelism, fear to speak
in the public, fear to pray in the public, fear of the unknown and the fear of
what people will say; etc. Fear of the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the
evidence of speaking in tongues. Fear has been called man’s deadliest enemy.
Fear is the opposite of faith. Therefore, fear can destroy the totality of a
person. Destroy it before it destroys you. Fear and worry are the interest we
pay on trouble before it is due. The Promised Land is full of beautiful
inheritances for us. Fear is however keeping us away from receiving many of
these blessings. Fight fear by the renewing of your mind with the word because
fear attacks us in the mind. Jesus used the word to defeat Satan too. Take on
the sword of the Spirit in your mouth. The “giant” of fear would want you to
believe that you are a tiny grasshopper.
5. GIRGASHITE: J. Farar in his “Dictionary of Scripture Names” gives the meaning of Girgashite as “one who returns back from a pilgrimage”,
while A Jones in The Proper Names of the
Old testament Expounded translates is as “dwellers in clayey soil, or black mud”. The two authors may at first glance appear to
disagree but a closer look reveals that they are agreed. The Girgishite spirit
is the “turning back spirit” or “spirit of apostasy”. This spirit seeks to turn
us back from following Jesus and become earthly again. We see this spirit at
work when the Israelites demanded to go back to Egypt after the twelve spies
brought a wonderful report about the Promised Land. Though Egypt stands in
stark contrast to Canaan, they still demanded to go back. How ridiculous. It is
a powerful spirit which seeks to turn us from eternal inheritance back to the
blackness and filth of Egypt from which we have escaped. Whatever difficulties
may lie ahead, the promises of God that we have already experienced make our
inheritance in Christ worth fighting for. We have reached a “point of no
return”. In the NT this spirit was
encountered by Deman. Paul, writing in 2 Tim. 4:10 said, “… Demas, bacause he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to
Thessalonica.” We are warned in Matt. 24:12 that in the last days the love
of many will wax cold. Ask yourself if you have reached that point of no return
and are totally committed to the Christian walk or is the “Girgashite spirit”
still tormenting you? This is one barometer for measuring the level of your
spiritual maturity. My advice here is that you test yourself and if you are
still under the attacks of this spirit then you must strive to mature as a
Christian. Practice spiritual disciplines.
It was this spirit that made Lot’s wife to look back and she became salt. Salt
okay, but of what use was it in the desert. Don’t be like Lot’s wife.
6. HIVITES: Means “life-giving
villager” or “dweller in a
life-giving town” Hivites from Gibeon tricked Joshua and the Israelites
into signing a covenant with them (Joshua 9:7). Joshua spared the Hivites but
made them wood cutters and water carriers (Josh. 9:27). The “Hivite spirit” has
the objective to lure us into the snares of his cunning claims of providing
pleasure and prosperity at the price of our lives, rather than seeking pursuits
that are of eternal value and worth. Advertising, with its false claims,
half-truths, exaggerations and blatant deception, is evidence of the workings
and existence of the “Hivite spirit” in the world today. The attraction of
today’s life style. The lure to belong. Doing what every body else is doing.
Club life, sex, alcohol, cigarettes, bribery, lies, falsification, film and
soon. This spirit says this is the way life should be lived. In the end,
however, we are taken deep into ruin, waste, shame and despair. The Hivites
lied to Moses in order to have life but ended up in perpetual slavery as wood
cutters and water carriers. This is not life but really servitude to sin and
death in disguise. True life is only in Jesus Christ who said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life …” We are under the
attack of this giant daily, especially those who have gone into some form of
full-time ministry. The advise is to hold firm to you faith. “Do not conform to the standards of this world
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. Spiritual disciplines are
very important to practice in order to defeat this giant.
7. JEBUSITES: The original inhabitants of the city of Jebus - the name for ancient Jerusalem.
David made this former Jebusite stronghold his capital and called it the “City
of David”. This is the same site on which Solomon’s Temple was later built.
Remember that it was the threshing floor of
Araunah, the Jebusite. David refused to accept this property as a gift
from Araunah and insisted on paying for it. He said, “How can I give to God what cost me nothing”. He paid 50 shekels
of silver for the land. This is always the last enemy to be mentioned among the
seven giants. This is also Satan’s last spirit to be unleashed on us in our
Christian walk. The name “Jebus”
means “down trodden” or “treading”.
The picture is that of a people flat on the ground and being stepped upon by
the feet of their enemy who has thoroughly polluted and defiled them. The
“Jebusite spirit” seeks to bring us into condemnation, accusation and feeling
of total defeat. In the OT this was the spirit at work when the Babylonians
utterly destroyed Solomon’s Temple and defiled it. Daniel speaks three times of “the abomination
of desolation”, which is really a prediction of this spirit at work in the
future. Jesus referred to this prophecy in Matt 24 while talking about the
seven years tribulation when the temple will again be defiled by the Antichrist
through the sacrifice of a pig. In the NT it is the “Jebusite spirit” that
tempted Jesus three times in the wilderness after He had fasted forty days and
nights. It left for while and then again tried to ruin Jesus again when Jesus
prayed that He escape the horrible death awaiting Him on the cross. This spirit
only comes to you when you are an accomplished Christian, when your commitment
is total and beyond the point of return. It is therefore the full force of the
devil released on a child of God. When powerful men of God fall for vile sins
like adultery, it is this spirit at work. Thank God for those of us who are
doing exploits for the Kingdom of God. But be warned. As Pastor Matthew
Ashimolowo of KICC London says, “It is
not over yet until it is over.” The biggest “giant in the land” may yet be ahead of you.
CONCLUSION:
To
be forewarned is to be forearmed. We are no more unaware of the devil’s
devices. The weapons to use have also been given to us - “not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of satanic
strongholds”. Also, the entire armour - helmet of salvation, breastplate of
righteousness, shield of faith, belt of truth, feet of the gospel and the sword
of the word.
Victory
is ours provided we fight according to God’s terms. Until after the Great White
Throne Judgment when these “senior”
demon spirits will be banished to hell, they will remain in the land with us.
They will contend for our lives, souls, spirits, inheritance, blessings, joy
and so on. “Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his
glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and
majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”
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