Contemplative Bible Reading

Numbers 11:23 (New International Version 2011)

²³ The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”

Here we are with the people wandering about in the desert. There are probably a couple million people here who want to eat meat – something that is sparse in the desert. The LORD tells Moses that He is about to provide plenty of meat for all these people for a month.

I can understand that the people were a bit skeptical on this one. We are discussing a lot of meat, folks. This is not a trivial task even for a LORD who has brought them through a sea and performed several mass-scale miracles. So, the LORD asks Moses,

Is the LORD’s arm too short?

I love the image that these words bring. Sometimes my grandson will push a toy under the furniture. He will squeeze his body under the furniture as far as he can and then stretch his arm. He can’t reach the toy, so he calls for his granddad to do it. His granddad, that’s me, has longer arms and can retrieve he lost toy.

I can see the LORD reaching out to gather sufficient quail to feed these millions of people. The LORD can reach as far as he needs to reach.

And I can sit here and move my head from side to side and “tsk tsk” about these people who just don’t believe in the reach of the LORD. A moment later, I can despair about how the problems I have are unsolvable. I can grieve about a person who will just never get it and never turn to the LORD for salvation. I can grieve about someone whose illness prevents them from hope for a better tomorrow. I can reach the point where I say, “That situation will never improve. It is beyond hope.”

I light of everything I know and believe, I can still convince myself that the LORD’s arm is too short.

God thanks for bringing me back to the reality that your arm is never too short to perform the unreal.