“The sons of Anak, which come of the giants” (Numbers 13:33).
“Anak” means ornaments. Weren’t these giants just ornaments in the sight of the Lord? An ornament is an object simply for show or display, but has no power of itself, or lasting quality. If you have some ornaments on a shelf and you brush your hand across the shelf, those ornaments have no power over your hand. No, they fall to the floor and smash in pieces. Hadn’t the Lord said that He would take His hand and drive out their enemies from before them? Were these giants able to stand in the face of such power? Of course not! They were simply ornaments in the sight of the Lord, who had promised to smash them with a swoosh of His strong hand.
From another passage we learn that there were, “three sons of Anak” (Joshua 15:14). The Apostle John tells us, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). Satan uses these three things in different ways and at different times in our lives to keep us from taking possession, in our souls, of our inheritance, and to rob us of the enjoyment of all that is ours in Christ:
• The lust of the flesh ... often in youth.
• The lust of the eyes ... often in middle-age.
• The pride of life ... often in old-age.
All three can affect us at any time.
No doubt these three giants, and their cohorts, were a ferocious, formidable trio, but are we governed by faith or fear? To faith, there was no hesitation on the part of Caleb, to urge his brethren to go up immediately, counting on the Lord to fight for them, and to conquer on their behalf. J. G. Deck wrote,
“Mid mightiest foes most feeble are we —
But trembling before our great Leader they flee;
The Lord is our Banner, the battle is His,
The weakest of saints more than conqueror is.