long arms

numbers 11

v1-6 The people are moaning about the lack of (varied) food in the desert. When I read this I tend to be outraged at the fact that even though God is providing them with miraculous food on a daily basis, they're moaning that it's not a cucumber or they don't have any garlic with it! On reflection though, if I had been there I would have been doing the exact same thing. This emphaises how much I have to be thankful to God for, and I need to be regularly spending time just thanking Him. When thinking about thanking God it's easy to start thinking - thank you for my house, thank you for my car - but I need to make sure that I don't miss the obvious - thanking Him for what He did on the cross. Regardless of the manna, the Israelites had been redeemed from slavery in egypt through God's grace. Regardless of the stuff going on around me, I have been rescued from slavery to sin - not because of anything I have done but because of God's grace.

v10-15 Moses is stressed (who wouldn't be with a million or so people moaning at you) and basically says to God that he would rather God killed him than continue like this. Moses is crying out to God with brutal honesty. God can take it. God knows it anyway, I don't have to censor myself before God, clean myself up, try and make it look like I'm handling it well. I'm weak and in desperate need of God.

v16-17 God's way of helping Moses is Christian community. God has not created us to be lone rangers. The church, deep community is the place for the gospel to work out.

v18-20 The consequence of the people's sin is going to be that they get what they want until they are sick of it. We tend to think of God's wrath as a lightning bolt or having secret sin revealed. that would be God's mercy. His wrath is letting us turn our back on Him and having what we want, abusing it and making us sick.

v21-23 Moses still isn't convinced with what God is going to do and God responds with a bit of (godly) sarcasm. I imagine him kicking back with His legs up on pluto, juggling a couple of galaxies saying, "Moses, is my arm to short to reach down there and gather up all the fish in the sea or whatever it is you're going on about?" Our God does not have short arms. We worship a long-armed God for whom nothing is impossible!