Hebrew word study –  giants –  anakim  ענקים  Ayin Nun Qop Yod Mem

Deuteronomy 9:1-3: “Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, (2) A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak! (3) Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.” 

“I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant” Admiral Yamamoto after the Pearl Harbor attack

The Anakim have been the source of much discussion in recent years, particularly on the conspiracy theory front. It seems we spend so much time trying to figure out if these Anakims were/are – aliens, descendants of fallen angels, survivors of the flood, or just ordinary humans with special skills, ability, or physical stature, that we overlook the important message behind the story of the Anakims.

The word Anakim is a plural of the word anak which means a giant or a necklace or neck chain. Necklaces were worn as a symbol of the gods that they served and their ranking with the gods. Necklaces were often bestowed upon warriors for bravery or courage in battle like our medals today. Possibly the Anakim that the spies saw and feared was not so much, gigantic men physically, but warriors who all brandished a medal of honor, proven fighters, and experienced combat veterans.  The word anak does mean giant but not necessarily giants in statute but also giants in positions of power or giants in warfare.  

Rather than focus on who or what these Anakims were let’s focus on what they were in the minds of the people of Israel. They were giants in the sense of a foe that was superior to them in various ways and could not be conquered.  Admiral Yamamoto allegedly said after the Peal Harbor attack that he feared they had awaken a sleeping giant.  Whether he said it or it was good screen play writing and did hammer home a good point.  The United States was a giant in its ability to build a powerful war machine and was to be feared. 

The word Anakim was on the minds of the Hebrew children as they prepared to enter the Promised Land and Moses knew it and spoke their minds.  “There are giants in the land and you have heard it said who can stand against them.”  But hey, look at verse 3 “Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is He which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire He shall destroy them, and He shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.” 

As it turned out, what the people feared the most was not even an issue. We hear very little about the Anakim once they entered their conquest in full force. You see the Hebrew children were just that – children, children of God.  God was that great parent who took care of them for forty years in the wilderness.  They were fed, their clothes never wore out, they were protected from enemies, and the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night faithfully served to protect them from the harsh elements of the desert. Sure there were some hiccups along the way where they faced poisonous snakes and plagues because of their sin, but God delivered them.  They were living in their father’s basement for forty years and now they were to come out and fight for their land.  

Fight for their land? OMG! Their comfortable basement apartment was being closed. They were now supposed to fight, unseasoned, untrained soldiers going up against seasoned warriors?  I remember years ago watching the news media portray our United States soldiers landing in Iraq during the Iraq war, ready for a war that surprisingly lasted just a few days.  Here they were with all the latest technological equipment, the best-equipped army in the world.  Battlefield ready, trained, dressed in sharp battle array and the camera switched over to the enemy soldiers who looked like they were coming off the third shift of McDonald’s.  You can bet the United States army appeared like giants and the enemy surrendered before these giants in a matter of days. 

Today we as Christians are about to enter a war in this country. Not a war of guns and blood, but an ideological war, a war for our freedom to worship God.  It is a spiritual war and the enemy looks like Anakim or giants to us.  We are up against giants in the digital industries who control social media and the giants who control the news media and they all appear ready to crush our faith. There is the cancel culture that seeks to destroy God and everything that reminds us of God. How can we, who have no weapons of media, or political platforms who are having our message silenced stand against these giants? 

Our Bible verse for this day and age is Deuteronomy 9:3, it is our battle cry, it is our promise straight from the heart of God: “Understand therefore this day, that the LORD our God is He which goeth over before us; as a consuming fire He shall destroy them (the giants of industry, new media, and social media), and He shall bring them down before our face: so shalt we drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto us.” 

I am no prophet, I am just reading the Word of God.  If we are faithful to the Word of God this promise is ours.  Yes, we have to come out of “Daddy’s” basement and many of us will have to fight for our faith.  It may not be a war of bloodshed, but a battle of wits, a battle of discovery as to just how important our faith is to us and what price we are willing to pay for our faith. Perhaps it is time for us to discover that our faith is something worth fighting for.

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