When Israel was nearing the end of its journey to Canaan, they had to travel on the east side of the Jordan River and conquer two kingdoms before reaching the place where they were to cross over the Jordan. Og was the king of one of these kingdoms called Bashan. The scriptures describe for us, oddly enough, his bed!
We are told that it was made of iron, and it was about 13 ½ feet long (nine cubits) and about 6 feet wide (four cubits). The reason for such a huge bed made of iron was that Og was “of the remnant of the Rephaim” which was evidently a people who were considered giants. This was truly a king size bed for a king size king!
Now, is this just some bit of Bible trivia or does it have some import? If we go back some forty years, we have the incident where Israel had spied out Canaan in preparation for its conquest. But ten of the spies brought back a “bad report” (Numbers 13:32-33), and part of their report was that there were giants in the land. As a result, they did not listen to the Lord and had to wander in the wilderness for forty years. Now they were facing another giant in Og the king of Bashan. As before, Moses encourages the people with the words from the Lord, “Do not fear him, for I have given him and all his people and his land into your hand...” This time the outcome is different for this generation listens to the Lord and defeats Og and his people.
So what lesson is there in all of this for you and me? Sometimes our problems and our enemies can look like giants! We cannot see how a situation can be resolved, how any good could come out of something or how there could possibly be an adequate solution to our trouble. Our enemies appear to be giants who have the upper hand and be “holding all the cards.” In times like these, we need to look to the Lord even more and remember the words of another person who faced off with a giant: “...the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:47).
Are there any “giants” in your life? You know to whom to turn. Have faith in the Lord.
><> Jeff
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