Giants in the Woods?

A misunderstanding which has led to much disillusionment among Christians is the concept of easy victory.  When we look at the example of the Israelites, it is clear that God gave them victory over their enemies when the Promised Land was divided among them.  But it was not a victory without fighting or obedience.  The land was divided by God, but it was the responsibility of the people to obtain the land.  It was hard.  And it was a job they never fully completed, despite the power of God.  It was not the weakness of God which prevented them, but the people themselves.  We can be our greatest hindrance to a deeper walk with Jesus.

God gave His people a rich land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  But there were also established strongholds, giants, and fighters with better weapons than the Israelites.  The tribe of Joseph approached Joshua with a question:  "Why don't we have more land allotted to us?"  Joshua's answer was basically, "If you need more land, go ahead and take it!"  If we are dissatisfied with the lack of depth of our relationship with Jesus, He would say to us, "Dive deeper!  I have given My Word, the Holy Spirit.  Don't think you can serve both idols and Me!"  Though we are to look to Him to supply our needs, it does not free us from our responsibility to live a consecrated life of obedience for God's glory.

In Joshua 17:15 we read the words of Joshua to the tribe of Joseph:  "If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you."  Clearing forests is tough work, especially without the benefit of modern equipment.  If the tribe of Joseph wanted to expand, they would need to put their logging sandals on, beat their plows into axes, and begin the slow process of cutting down a forest.  By the way, in case you missed it, the forest was inhabited by giants!  The tribe of Joseph, just like most people, weren't too keen on clearing away a whole forest or fighting the giants who lurked there.  They would have preferred an easier way.

Their response is found in Joshua 17:16.  "But the children of Joseph said, "The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel."  Unlike Caleb, who based his ability to drive out the giants based upon the infallible word of God, the tribe of Joseph focused on the difficulties before them.  "Even if we cleared the mountain, it wouldn't be sufficient.  And in the valleys all the Canaanites have chariots of iron!  We're stuck between a mountain and a valley!"  Isn't this typical to the way we feel when we are challenged with our need to "dive deeper" and "climb higher?"  Taking the mountain or the valley would be hard work.  They would both require effort, dedication, and determination.  It would require faith!  That's exactly where we can find ourselves.  We lose sight of God and His promises because of the giants in the forest and the chariots of iron in the valleys.

Let us look at their excuses more carefully.  "The mountain country is not enough for us."  They claimed God had not given them enough, even before they would lift a finger to lay hold of it.  That is like a poor beggar refusing a $50 because it is not a $100!  What an insult, to say that God's provision is lacking!  Forgive me God when I have done the same!  It was not God's provision that was lacking:  it was the faith of the people and their willingness to labour and fight that was deficient.  Their second complaint was no doubt hyperbole:  "All the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron!"  I am sure that not "all" the Canaanites had chariots of iron.  Even if they did, what is a chariot compared to the power of the Living God who is on your side?  Had not God taken the wheels off the Egyptian chariots in the midst of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:25)?  The Egyptians recognized God was fighting for Israel and sought to flee, but in their current situation the children of Joseph forgot about that.  I bet Satan has more of a clue how powerfully God fights for us than we do.

I love the response of Joshua.  Though the children of Joseph were ungrateful, walking by sight, forgetting about the promises and power of God, making one excuse after another, Joshua 17:17-18 reveals the great grace of God:  "And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph--to Ephraim and Manasseh--saying, "You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, ¹⁸ but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong."  Whether they liked it or not, the mountain country had been given to the children of Joseph.  The strength of their enemies and the abundance of their resources and fighting power was of no consequence.  "Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours..."  That God would find among His people those who are willing to cut down the dark forests in their hearts and minds so His light may shine brightly again!

As David met the giant Goliath armed with only stone and sling (and the power of the Almighty God), he shouted in 1 Samuel 17:46-47:  "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands."  The battle is the LORD's, but we must be willing to run at that giant and sling that stone for God's glory.  Do we have numbered among us those who are willing to fight the good fight and finish the course with joy?  The call is an upward call, and there are many obstacles and enemies.  Let us recall the promise of Isaiah 54:17 to mind:  "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me," says the LORD."

If that is my heritage in Christ, I gladly take it.  All God has given me I fight to lay hold of, whether it is the strongholds of giants in the wooded hills or chariots of iron in the valleys.  Many might be cut down as we take the hill, but we will be victorious through our God.  If God is for us, who can be against us?