Is the Lord's arm too short ?

날짜: 
2002/04/22
설교: 

Num 11:16-23 Is the Lord's arm too short ?
When the Israelites were in the desert, they wanted to eat meat. If they prayed to God like this, "Lord, we want to eat meat. Give us meat.", it would be good attitude. But they grumbled against Moses. So Moses got stress and prayed.
"Lord, why have you brought this trouble on your servant ? Why have you put the burden of all these people on me ? Did I conceive all these people ? Did I give them birth ? Where can I get meat for these people ? They keep wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat !' I cannot carry all these people by myself ; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now and do not let face my own ruin." (Num 11:11-15)
Then God said to Moses, "Moses, I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone. I will give you meat tomorrow, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten or twenty days, but for a whole month until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it." (Num 11:16-20)
But Moses said doubtfully, "Lord, here I am among 600,000 men on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month !' Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them ? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them ?" (Num11:21-22)
Then Lord answered Moses, "Moses, is the Lord's arm too short ? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you." (Num 11:23)
Brothers and sisters, the Lord's arm means 'almightiness'. The Lord's arm brings life to the dead, and it turns an impossibility into a possibility. If God stretches out his arm, hard problems are solved and the world appears and disappears. God brought the Israelites out of Egypt with his almighty arm. And it was God's arm that God divided the Red Sea.
Moses knew very well that if God stretches out his arm, the impossibility turns into possibility. But in today's scripture, Moses doubted God's words that God would give them meat for a whole month. So he said to God, "How can it happen ?"
But we can see that it was very easy for God to give them meat for a whole month. Let's see the bible. A wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as for as a day's walk in any direction. The quail were too tired to fly away from the hands of the Israelites. The Israelites did not need nets or any special skills to catch the quail. The only thing for them was to receive and eat the meat.
But people do not think that it is very easy for God. So people sometimes doubt God's almightiness. At this time God says to those who doubt his almightiness, "Is the Lord's arm too short ? Why do you not believe me ? I am almighty God. And you do believe the almighty God, don't you ?"
Brothers and sisters, we believe the almighty God. We always confess the apostles' creed, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth." But we sometime doubt God's almightiness, so that we hurt God's self-esteem and give up our faith in God. Even a faithful person doubts God's promises momentarily. Especially if it is impossible for human might or human power, people doubt it.
Let's see Abraham. God promised to give Abraham a son when he was 75 years old. But it was accomplished when Abraham was 100 years old. Don't you think Abraham doubted God's promise during the 25 years ? Yes, he doubted. So Abraham took the maid servant Hagar as his concubine and had a son Ishmael. And he gave up faith in God's promise so that he said to God, "Lord, you have given me no children. So the servant Eliezer of Damascus will be my heir." (Gen 15:2-3)
Then God took him outside and said, "Abraham, look up at the heavens and count the stars. Have I made these stars ? Your descendants will be as many as stars in the heavens." (Gen 15:5)
Then Abraham took off momentary unbelief and believed God and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Gen 15:6) After all Abraham had a son at the age of 100. Brothers and sisters, sometimes doubt comes into our mind before the miracle of God happens. If we do not overcome doubt, our belief collapses and we become estranged from our God.
Therefore we have to shake off the dust of doubt in order to experience the miracles of God. And we have to believe God to the end. And we have to believe the bible and the God's miracles in it. And we have to believe that God feeds us just as God fed the Israelites with meat in the desert until they loathe it.
Without faith, we cannot please God. Without faith we cannot get something good from our God. From the old times people got something good from God with their faith. Of course sometimes they doubted and asked God, "How can it happen ?" But they overcame doubt and believed God's promises.
We can see in the bible that Jesus said, "It will be done just as you believed." That means, we can experience the miracles of God with our faith. Brothers and sisters, we believe that God leads us with his arm and God will bless us with his arm, and God will send his chosen people with his arm into our church just as he sent quail into the Israelite camp.
God's arm is not too short nor too weak. He stretches his almighty arm to us just as he stretched his arm to the Israelites. Therefore miracles happen to us. Something good happens to us.
But don't forget this scripture, "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God ; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." (Isa 59:1-2)
It means God wants to stretch his almighty arm to us to give us something good. But our sins block the miracles of God so that the miracles do not happen to us. Therefore let's confess our sins and iniquities before God. Repenting our sins is not the act of shame but the most beautiful and bravest act that pleases God.
God stretches his almighty arm to those who repent their sins. God wants to perform his miraculous signs and wonders to those who repent their sins. And you and I are there in the seat of repentance. Amen !