The Emites used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites, but the Moabites called them Emites. – Deuteronomy 2:10-11

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 25, 2018): Deuteronomy 2

Paulo Coelho in “The Alchemist” writes that “there is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” I have to admit that I know that there are dreams in my life that remain unachieved, and the only reason that I have not pursued the dream is because of my fear of failure. But the fear of failure is not the only limiting factor. Fear, for any reason, can stop us in our tracks. But more than that, fear often becomes a weapon to be used by those who oppose us and wants to stop us from achieving our dreams. It is the reason for the intimidating words, tweets, and Facebook posts issued in our direction. Our enemies know that fear can stop us. It always has.

The reason Israel did not enter the Promised Land at the beginning of the wilderness wanderings was that they were afraid. They saw all that was good and positive about the land that God was giving them, but the presence of fear stopped them in their tracks. They were afraid of the inhabitants, who they viewed as giants, and who lived in and defended the land. Maybe they hoped that Canaan would be uninhabited and they would be able to walk into a vacant land. But that was not the case. The land was not only inhabited, but the ones who defended the land instilled fear into all who might want to enter.

We often emphasize the fact that there were giants that lived in Canaan, but what is lost in the narrative is that fear is actually the most important part of this story. The people who lived in the land were the “Rephaim,” translated here as “Rephaites.” It is the word “Rephaim” that is often translated in our Bibles as “giants.” It is because the Anakites were Rephaim that we believe that the Anakites were tall. The Anakites and the Emites were “Rephaim.” And while giant is part of the meaning or a possible meaning, it may not be the most important element of the word. The “Rephaim” were literally the “fearsome ones,” or the ones who caused fear. They might have been tall, but what was more important was that they were creatures from your darkest nightmares. The “Rephaim” were characters that would find themselves at home in John Carpenter’s (the director of “Halloween”) darkest dream.

Moses speech about the Emites has a point. The Anakites might still live in the land, but the Emites “used to live there.” The use of the past tense is important here. According to Moses, the Emites had been just as numerous and as scary as the Anakites. But the Emites were driven out by the Moabites, distant cousins of the Israelites. And Moses wanted Israel to know that if the people of Moab could take care of the Emites, then Israel could face their fears and drive out the Anakites, as well as whatever other nightmares might still reside in the land that they were about to enter.

Fear will always threaten to stop us. Our task is to make sure that it never does. (Yes, a message directly aimed at me.)

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 3