What is the meaning of Deuteronomy 9:2? The people are strong and tall Moses opens with the obvious: the Canaanites Israel is about to meet are intimidatingly large. Numbers 13:32-33 confirms the earlier spy report: “All the people we saw there are great in stature… we seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight.” Deuteronomy 1:28 echoes the same language of height and strength. The point is not exaggeration—it is sober reality. Yet throughout Scripture God delights in toppling what looks humanly unbeatable (Judges 7:2-7; 1 Corinthians 1:27). Their towering size simply sets the stage for the Lord to display His greater power. the descendants of the Anakim “Anakim” identifies a specific clan of giants, later called Rephaim (Joshua 11:21-22). Anak’s lineage is traced in Joshua 15:13-14 when Caleb drives them out of Hebron. Goliath of Gath likely descends from the same stock (1 Samuel 17:4-7). Scripture treats these figures as literal people, not mythical monsters. By naming them, Moses reminds Israel that God’s promise is concrete: He will dispossess even the most formidable bloodlines. You know about them Israel is not ignorant; the nation has carried this intel since Kadesh-barnea. Forty years earlier they let fear eclipse faith (Numbers 14:1-4). Moses now calls on shared memory so the people will choose differently this time. Psalm 78:11 cites how forgetting God’s works leads to rebellion; Moses wants the opposite—remember the foe, but remember the Lord more. you have heard it said, “Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?” This common saying captures the region’s awe of the Anakim, functioning like a proverb of hopelessness. Yet Moses quotes it to flip its meaning. Deuteronomy 9:3 immediately answers: “But understand today that it is the LORD your God who crosses over ahead of you as a consuming fire.” God alone stands up to them, and because He leads Israel, the rhetorical question is settled. Similar taunts turn to triumph when God intervenes—see 1 Samuel 17:10 contrasted with 17:45-47, and Revelation 6:17 answered by 7:9-10. summary Deuteronomy 9:2 spotlights an opponent renowned for size, lineage, and reputation so that Israel (and we) grasp the magnitude of God’s victory. The Anakim’s strength is real; God’s strength is greater. Remember the facts, recall the fears, then watch the Lord render the boast “Who can stand up?” obsolete. |
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