Who Were the Giants? by P. G. Stanley

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Mar 2, 1905

Who Were the Giants?

By P. G. Stanley

P. G. STANLEY

“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” Num. 13:33.

Here we have the opposite extremes in society. Giants stand for all that is strong, effective, and heroic. There were but two of these. Grasshoppers stand for that which is small, insignificant, and helpless. There were ten of these. The estimation we put upon ourselves is the standard by which others will judge us. We never rise above our own estimation in the measurement of others. These ten felt themselves to be little, and others thought as they did.

Giants are determined not by size, but by spirit. We are told by scholars that the word translated “giant” means fallen one. These sons of Anak were large physically, but very small in the spirit of heroism. They retained their physical size, but lost the spirit of bravery and the element of manhood. Saul was a physical giant, but in bravery a mere grasshopper compared with the youthful David. Zaccheus was small of stature, but was brave enough to stand the jeers of the crowd while he ran before and climbed into a sycamore tree that he might see Jesus. A mechanic is not known by the size and number of his tools, but by the use he makes of them. A distinguished artist was once asked how he mixed his paints, and he replied, “I mix them with my brains, sir.” It is the spirit, and not flesh, that makes the real giant.

Each of these spies saw a reflection of himself in reverse order. The ten were grasshoppers in mind, and saw grasshoppers that appeared like giants. The two were giants in spirit, and saw giants that appeared to them like grasshoppers. Saul’s army saw nothing but that big, stalking Goliath as he defied the armies of the living God. David saw nothing but the living God, whom Goliath had defied. Caleb and Joshua, the real giants, said, Let us go up. Let us risk our all for the cause we represent.

The characters that have been worthy of remembrance have been those that risked life and property for the cause for which they stood. They did not ask about consequences, but inquired about duty. They never said, What will be the result? but, What is right? Cowardice says, Is it safe? Expediency, Is it politic? Vanity, Is it popular? Selfishness, Will it pay? Conscience, Is it right? John the Baptist, the hero of the wilderness, said, Is it right for Herod to have his brother Philip’s wife? When it was settled in his mind that it was not, then he said to the king, “It is unlawful for thee to have her;” and when John was beheaded, a giant fell worthy of the name.

Men with unfavorable surroundings have become great giants in the moral, political, and commercial world, while men who have started as giants have become the merest grasshoppers, and died without mourning or remembrance. Who can tell the strength of Samson? Great bunches of muscles and sinews of steel stood out like cords on his arms. But he laid his head in the lap of Delilah, and was shorn of his strength. He became a veritable grasshopper in the clutches of his foes. Joseph went into Egypt in chains, destitute of strength and without influence, but, by living a life of purity and association with his God, he became a giant that the whole world feared and honored.