Part of what makes this section on self-righteousness in Deuteronomy 9 is the irony with which Moses speaks.
He talks about conquering nations that are far greater than they are (Deuteronomy 9:1), and then talks about a specific group of people that are greater than they (Deuteronomy 9:2), then warns them about thinking they could defeat those groups themselves.
Respectfully, if they thought that, they wouldn’t have worried about the Anakim way back in Numbers 13 and 14.
It’s curious to think that the proverb spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy 9:2 — “who can stand before the sons of Anak?” — may have been spoken by the Israelites themselves. Their disbelief in God’s protection is well-recorded. They mention the sons of Anak and then argue they are “not able to go up against the people” (Numbers 13:31).
The natural human disposition is to be scared of people like the Anakim. Descended from the Nephilim (Numbers 13:33), the Anakim were seen as giants.
Their name literally means “long-necked,” which is another way of saying “tall.” Since the average estimated height of an Israelite is thought to be around 5’3”, I guess my 6’3” frame could’ve also been considered as “long-necked.”
Joshua eventually drove out the Anakim (Joshua 11:22). The only ones left were those in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod, which, coincidentally, is where Goliath was from (1 Samuel 17:4).
Is it possible Goliath descended from the Anakim, who were descended from the Nephilim? If so, it explains why every single Israelite stayed in the camp shaking in their sandals, and gives more kudos to tiny David for fighting him with a sling.
Regardless, there was no natural reason for the Israelites to assume they could defeat the Anakim by themselves. Nobody believed that. The only possible way they could is with God’s help, which is exactly what happened.
And yet it shows the ridiculousness of mankind’s thinking when, after the fact, those very people could look at the Anakim and claim they were solely responsible for the victory. The truth is far from it.
Sometimes, our arrogance can take us to some wild assumptions.