By: Obed Pineda
Hercules did it by crushing him in a bear hug, Odysseus used quick clever planning to defeat his, and Jack chopped the beanstalk down as his was already climbing down. Each one of these fabled stories have transcended the sands of time because their charm has always captivated the hope and the imagination of their audiences that it is possible to defy all odds, and slay a giant. Verily, who does not like a good “underdog” story? It is unquestionable that the goal of these stories is to motivate people to believe in themselves and that it is not impossible to achieve even the most difficult of tasks. Although it is true that these myths are figments of man’s creativity, it is often stated that every legend and mythology originates from a truth. The common pattern between these tales is that the much smaller man was triumphant against an exorbitantly larger foe. The mind’s of those who diligently study the Scriptures will at once bring two names into clear focus: David and Goliath (cf. 1st Samuel 17). David’s slaying of the Philistine giant is widely known in the world and often heralded as the ultimate “underdog story.” The reality that this account is most frequently used in sporting events as a metaphor to describe the disparity between the level of talent between opponents competing for a championship demonstrates that many in the world respect this Biblical account as a historical event and not so much as a work of fiction. It is true that reading about David’s convicted faith in Jehovah God expressing to the paladin, “this day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you” (1st Samuel 17:46) inspires all who serve the same God to strive more zealously to reach the level of David’s faith in Him. David overcoming Goliath in battle is irrefutably the most renown “giant slaying” story of the Bible but, there was another who dispatched not only one giant, but several, long before David even existed. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, was eighty-five years old when he accomplished this incredible feat (cf. Joshua 14:6-15, 15:13-19). Holy Writ declares that, “to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a share among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, namely, Kirjath Arba, which is Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). Caleb drove out the three sons Anak from there: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak” (Joshua 15:13-14). The inspired amanuenses special attention to Anak’s descendants is important because it is an allusion to a related event that had transpired forty-five years earlier (cf. Joshua 14:7-10, Numbers 13:1ff). Joshua and Caleb were among the twelve spies that Moses had sent ahead to scout the promised land, but were the only two who were trusting of God’s promise to deliver the land into their hands despite the difficult challenges they had spied out (cf. Numbers 13:30, 14:6-10). The cowardice that lay hold of the other ten spies sprung from learning that “the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there” (Numbers 13:28). What made the descendants of Anak so fearsome that Caleb’s defeat of them is held as a great accomplishment? Holy Writ reveals that “the descendants of Anak came from giants” (Numbers 13:33). Several years after this tragic event, as God prepared the children of Israel to begin conquering the promised land, He announced, “Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the descendants of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak’” (Deuteronomy 9:1-2)? There is no doubt that encountering a greater and taller man is already an intimidating factor, but the Bible also unveils that these were battle tested men of war, as evidenced by the cities they had built. Similar to David, it was not just these men’s stature that placed Caleb in a difficult position; these giants knew how to fight in battle. Fighting one experienced giant warrior is challenging in and of itself, but Holy Writ reveals that “Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak from there” (Joshua 15:14). Remember that Caleb was eighty-five years old when he dispatched the three giants that inhabited the land allotted to him by Moses (cf. Joshua 14:10-11). Upon examining more closely what Caleb was capable to carry out, the deep rooted faith he possessed is without a doubt astounding. Consider first that Caleb’s trust in the promises of God was so firm, that he did not allow his fellow ten spies to shake his confidence that they could conquer the land with God’s blessing. Instead, “Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it” (Joshua 13:30). Caleb was not among the majority when he spoke these words, and his boldness of speech provoked the ire of all the people who afterward sought to kill him and Joshua (cf. Numbers 14:10). Caleb did not become a partaker of the ten spies’ unfruitful works by remaining silent before the wickedness; he boldly spoke out against their unbelief (cf. Numbers 14:8-9, Ephesians 5:8-13). Furthermore, after God had decreed, “according to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection,” Caleb believed God when He also promised that “My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it” (Joshua 14:34, 24). Caleb did not murmur against God’s decision, nor did he lash out against the cowards that made Israel’s heart faint for making him wait to possess the promised land. Caleb’s reliance on the promises of God granted him the patience and perseverance to wait and wander in the wilderness for forty years, and an additional five years as he assisted the other tribes in securing their land before he attained his own (cf. Joshua 14:6-15). It must be noted that Caleb slayed several “giants” before he defeated the three sons of Anak. Caleb conquered the fatal influence of unbelievers wanting to quit, overcame the temptation of remaining silent before his brethrens sin, subdued any sense of anxiety that the passage of time could have birthed in him as he grew older, and cast out any fear of speaking up to claim what was rightfully his in the right moment, not permitting his advance age to keep him from conquering the land God had given into his hands (cf. Romans 8:19-21). Unequivocally, when the time arrived that he would confront and battle the three sons of Anak, Caleb had been fully prepared by the spiritual giants his faith in the Almighty had already slayed. After taking a more paused look into what Caleb successfully accomplished, it truly increases the impact of two already powerful words for any true Christian: By faith.