"The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord's arm too short? Now you will see whether or not I say I will come true for you." (Numbers 11:23 NIV)
It’s funny, I quoted this scripture in prayer just last night and here it is in my daily office reading this morning. God has my attention. What I require next is context.
The Israelites were in the wilderness of Paran – a little ways in to the forty year timeout for disbelief about the Promised Land. They had water to drink and daily manna to sustain, but they began to grumble about the menu. They missed variety of Egypt: longing for fish and melons and cucumbers and onions. I guess they’d forgot about the subjugation. Once the freed slaves had set their heart on meat, their complaints grew louder. Mind you, manna was the world’s first superfood AND it tasted fantastic.
So the Hebrews did what people do: they blamed their leader for the consequences of their own choices. We can’t forget, they were meant to be in Canaan by now, but they had refused to believe the good report and take the nation God was poised to give to them. The land of milk and honey surely would have included all the variety they were longing for, but instead they are back in the desert for an extended tour.
Poor Moses, he’d had it up to his ears with the bellyaching. He took his concerns up with God: “I cannot carry these people myself. The burden is too heavy.” (Numbers 11:14) Modern translation? I can’t even with these people.
God’s response to Moses is awesome. The Almighty bestowed even more of His Spirit. (Numbers 11:17) He promised to pour out His power of seventy of Israel’s elders, spreading out Moses’ responsibility to the leadership team around him. And then God reminds Moses that His arm is not too short. Too short for what? His arm is not too short to provide a spontaneous barbecue for a couple million people. He was going to drop quail out of the sky by the bucketful, providing more than enough meat for the entire population of a budding nation. It was a pretty gigantuan miracle. By the time, God shut off the quail, the Hebrews were sick of it. “Quail again?”
What about us? What are we convinced is out of God’s reach? What are we complaining about when we could be presenting our request in faith? Is it good health? Personal finances? Relational restoration? A crumbling foundation? The state of our nation? There are a lot of areas we could grumble about, but what if we got on our knees instead? We don’t serve a short-armed God. He can reach. He can provide. He will pull through. He’s done it before, He can do it again. I daresay, He loves to prove Himself to His people.
"Surely the arm of God is not too short to save nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; you sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:1-2 NIV)
Often times we grumble instead of asking God because we aren’t living close to Him to begin with. We think His arms are too short because we haven’t fallen into them. The Hebrews preferred to grumble against God (sin) rather than crying out to Him (as instructed). They let Moses do the dirty work of taking their complaints up the chain of command instead of pursuing God’s presence themselves.
It was recently brought to my attention how the fingers don’t quite touch in Michelangelo’s fresco. God’s hand is outstretched, but Adam hasn’t quite put forth full effort. His last digit is withheld, not extended. This is our tendency, to pull back just a bit. But we miss out on the best of God when we aren’t all in. It’s been said to me my whole life: God will take ninety-nine steps toward us, but He leaves that last step to us. That’s the free will, our decision to trust Him is ours alone. Will we complain, or will we come close? Because His arm is not short: it’s our stubbornness that remains too strong.
Lord, forgive us for all the ways we complain instead of coming close. We confess our tendency to grumble against You instead of seeking You. Today we acknowledge our dependency on You and Your goodness to us. Please meet us with mercy and provision as we begin to praise You again. Fill us anew with Your Spirit, empower us anew for the tasks You’ve called us to. Amen.