Is God’s Arm Too Short?

Advent/Christmas 2017 is upon us. As has been my practice in the past, we will suspend the study of our current book (1 Corinthians) and focus instead upon the Christmas story. This year's emphasis will be on prayer and what it means to pray through some of the events in our lives, including unbelief, mourning, submission and praise of the Living Christ. We will travel throughout the Scriptures, Old and New Testaments with a weekly dose of the Psalms. The first type of prayer we will ponder will be the prayer of unbelief, such as was expressed by the father of John the Baptist, Zechariah. We launch into the topic with the rampant unbelief found in the wandering Children of Israel.

Numbers 11:16-23

⁴ Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! ⁵ We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. ⁶ But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” ¹⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you... ¹⁷And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. ¹⁸And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore, the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. ¹⁹You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, ²⁰but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”’” ²¹But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ ²²Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” ²³And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

Have you ever wondered how God deals with all the whining and complaining He hears from us? Our reading for today would indicate that He is well practiced at listening to our complaints. There are two kinds of things we complain about before the Lord: the things we need and the things we just want. It’s when we are voicing those wants that we can become particularly whiny. That is the case with this story in Numbers 11. Moses is dealing with about 2,000,000 (yes – that’s million) people whose needs are being met. They have food in the form of fresh manna every morning, fresh water that miraculously pours from rock, and clothing that doesn’t wear out. But they are dissatisfied with daily manna and they want MEAT!

In verse 4, we see that it is the “rabble” who start this gripe-fest. The rabble were not necessarily Jews, but instead, people who had attached themselves to God’s people because it meant free food. All they had to do was go out each morning and collect it. Despite this gift, they begin an uprising. God’s response to their taunts? “Is the Lord’s arm too short?” (NIV) This rhetorical question drips with sarcasm and reproach. He has proven over and over again that He is more than capable of caring for His people. Their temper tantrum is a stark display of their unbelief. To answer His own question, God does indeed send meat – in the form of quail, knee deep for as far as the eye could see. The meat was indeed going to be coming out of their nostrils.

This week we will ponder that aspect of the faith we all share – unbelief. Who among us hasn’t experienced those moments (and yes – they are plural) of doubt? Who hasn’t wondered if God is real or if He can take care of us? Sometimes we can even be shocked by our doubts and that shock deserves our attention. Unattended unbelief will lead us to difficult places.

The Good News is that our unbelief doesn’t limit God’s power or love. He still followed through with His promise to send a Savior because our unbelief does not negate His plan.