Joshua: A Man Overshadowed By His Deeds

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Only a few times in history has a person been born who accomplishes so much that his deeds are remembered as much or more than the person himself. Such a man was Joshua.

Have you ever noticed that Joshua is not even named by Paul as one of the great heroes of faith in Hebrews 11? Yet far lesser known personalities such as Barak, Samson and Jephthah are cited as examples.

Why not Joshua? Joshua who took charge of Israel after the death of Moses? Joshua who gave instructions to carry the ark across the Jordan, which parted as the Red Sea had in the days of Moses? Joshua who led Israel around the city of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down? Joshua who led Israel’s conquest of the promised land? Joshua who commanded and the sun stood still for one whole day?

Are there more dramatic examples of faith in the entire Bible? Why, then, did Paul leave Joshua out of Hebrews 11?

Perhaps the answer is found in the long list of Joshua’s accomplishments. What he did — or, better, what God did through him — was so great that the events actually overshadow the man.

The first time we hear of Joshua in the Bible is during the second month of the Exodus.

Under Moses, God led Israel out of Egypt by way of the Red Sea. After dividing the Red Sea for Israel, God killed the pursuing Egyptians in the returning water. The Israelites journeyed into the rugged mountains of the southern Sinai and camped in a plain called Rephidim.

At Rephidim, Israel entered into their first battle against hostile forces — the Amalekites.

You remember the story. When Moses held his staff high in the air, the Israelites were victorious. When his hands fell to his sides, the Amalekites were victorious. Finally, at the end of the day, Moses sat on a rock with his hands held up by Aaron and Hur. Israel was victorious.

What Is The Fate Of The Giants Of The Bible?

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Did the giants of the Bible all die out? The Scriptures indicate that they did. Genesis 7 tells of a worldwide flood which God sent to destroy “all flesh” upon the earth (verse 21). Since the giants of Genesis 6:4 were simply a natural, genetic variation of human beings, they died along with the rest of the earth’s population. The only humans to escape that catastrophe were Noah and his family. 

Since Noah was of a stock of smaller people, most of his descendants were of his stature. However, some of the genes to produce giants survived through the wife of Ham, one of Noah’s sons. Therefore, a number of the sons of Canaan (one of Ham’s sons) were giants (Num. 13:32-33). 

Goliath, whom David killed, stood over 9 feet tall, (1 Samuel 17:4) and his coat of armor weighed 125 pounds (I Sam. 17:4-6)!  The forces of David later killed the remaining giants (II Sam. 21:22), one of whom was described as being of great stature and as having six fingers on both hands and six toes on both feet (II Sam. 21:20).

The best known giant besides Goliath would have to be Anak, even though we know little of him in particular. We do know that his father was Arba and he had three sons named Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, whom were spotted by the spies Moses sent to Canaan. Josh and Caleb eventually drove all of the Anakim out of Israel according to Joshua 11:22. They were driven out to the same area by the coast that the Philistines came from years later. This has led many to believe that Goliath was a remaining descendant of the Anakim.

In Deuteronomy 2:21 we read that God destroyed the giants which dwelt in Ammon so that the children of Lot could possess the land. Those giants — who apparently were from a line of a descendant of Canaan named Anak — eventually became extinct. King Og of Bashan was the last of them to inhabit Palestine east of Jordan (Deut. 3:11). He stood nearly 13 feet tall.  His bedstead was a bedstead of iron and measured 13 1/2 feet long by 6 feet wide (deut. 3:11).  His kingdom of Bashan was also called “the land of giants” (Deut. 3:13).

Both before and after the Flood, God was directly involved in the destruction of those giant men. The reason for their destruction is not stated directly. But, like Goliath, those men seemed always to be in opposition to God and to His people Israel.