Is the Lord’s Arm Shortened?

by Chadwick Brewer

“And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not” (Numbers 11:23).

Moses had led the masses of Israelites into the wilderness. After a year of living outside of Egypt, the people began to complain about the lack of meat in their diet and longed for Egypt. God promised to provide meat for a month until it came out of their noses. Moses questioned God about where enough meat for all of these people could come from.

God asks Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm shortened?” Meaning, is God unable to help or fulfill His promises? Moses should have known. After the plagues, crossing the Red Sea, and feeding the multitudes with manna every day for a year, Moses should have known that God could do anything He desired.

When the sky grows dark and we are called to walk into the wilderness of the unknown, we can begin to wonder how God will accomplish His purposes. But just because we are shortsighted does not mean that God is short-armed. We ought to know that God can accomplish anything He purposes. With a strong and mighty arm, God calls and saves His people.