Then Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab and from all the hill country of Judah and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. were no Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod some remained. So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Thus the land had rest from war" (Joshua 11:21-23).
The Anakim were observed some 40 years prior when Moses sent the 12 spies into the land of Canaan to return a report of the land to the people. The Lord commanded Moses to select a leader from each tribe to form this covert reconnaissance team. They are given the command to quietly explore the Negev and the hill country; the land that the Lord had promised to Abraham and to them as an inheritance.
The information they were to gather included the quality of the land; was it a fair land that could support these many people? Were the Canaanites strong or weak? Did the land have trees or was it prairie land? And could you please bring back some of the fruit of the land if you find any?
One must wonder if this was intended as a test of the peoples' faith. Or did Moses think they needed extra assurance from the spies reports? After all, the goal for Moses and the people had been the possession of the Promise Land and they had endured the hardships of this exodus from Egypt with this goal as a prime motivation. They had trusted the Lord so far, why the need of a report? I am not really sure except that in addition to this being a test of faith, this also gave two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, a first-hand look at the land that they would later enter into to do battle. Forty years' later, vital information about fortresses, cities, and armies would be remembered by Joshua. And also, he would remember where to find necessary water and provisions for the many women and children who would depend on him for sustenance.
From the Numbers 13 account, we read that ten of those spies came back with a negative report. The leaders failed to believe God's promises - and the people rebelled against Moses and Aaron. They said the people of the land were too strong for them. To emphasize the point, they referred to 'giants' in the land - Nephilim- the sons of Anak (Anakim) - "we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight" (read more about this shameful incident in Numbers 13:1- 14:10).
So now we read in Joshua 11 that the terror of this unbelieving generation - the Anakim - have been defeated by their children, the following generation. "Then Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim" (Joshua 11:21). The fear of the earlier generation appears so foolish now and the strength and faithfulness of the Lord is magnified! That generation lost the opportunity to possess that great promise of God because they failed to trust in the Lord. The one thing that put the terror into that unbelieving generation, the Anakim, the descendants of the Nephilim, were defeated.
The original two spies, Joshua and Caleb, by the grace of God were allowed to see this in their time. But the unfaithful would not see this fulfillment of the Promise. Later, we see that Caleb not only saw their expulsion from the Promised Land, but was also granted the land formerly occupied by these 'giants.'
I find it interesting that some surviving Anakim emigrated to Gath. Do you recall that other, 'giant' from Gath that later taunted unbelieving Israelites (1 Samuel 17)? Again, we see this unbelief in the great army of Saul unable to muster an ounce of faith and courage to attack this enemy of God's people. A descendant of the Anakim, Goliath by name, caused the army of Saul to be "dismayed and greatly afraid!" (1 Samuel 17:11). Faithful David, another in a long line of those who trusted the promises of God, was able to defeat this descendant of the Anakim.
Application: Most of us have many fears. And at times we are, "dismayed and greatly afraid" of our own 'giants.' In this passage in the book of Joshua the Lord exposes the groundlessness of the fear and unbelief of the earlier, Numbers 13, generation. The Anakim were not able to thwart the purposes of God. Our most dreadful fears are also subject to the power of God. The point of the account of the defeat of the Anakim in Joshua 11 is that God's power is adequate to meet both the fears of the Sons of Israel of old, and our own fears. The form of our fears are different but the adequacy of our God is the same.
Brother Dale Ralph Davis adds this to our discussion, "In Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan describes Christian's approach to the Palace Beautiful where he hoped to get lodging. He began to walk down a very narrow passage leading to the porter's lodge. Then he saw two lions in the way. Bunyan adds parenthetically: "The lions were chained; but he saw not the chains." That is frequently our case - we fear because we don't see the chains. Yet the fact that Christ sits at the Father's right hand "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion" and has "all things under his feet" (Ephesians 1:20-22) means that every power that would destroy us is chained. But, sometimes, we don't see the chains." (Davis, Dale Ralph No Falling Words, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pg 101-102)
