“Is the Lord’s Power Limited?” (Num. 11:23)

THE CONTEXT
Numbers 11 opens with the children of Israel complaining in the wilderness which displeased the LORD. To show His displeasure, the fire of the LORD consumed those in the uttermost parts (outskirts) of the camp (Num. 11:1-3). Perhaps this would teach Israel a lesson regarding complaining, but alas we go on to read they were caught up in complaints. Their next complaint was that of wanting flesh or meat to eat as they remembered the food they ate in Egyptian bondage (Num. 11:4-5). They were not thinking clearly nor were they appreciative of the manna that God had been and continued to provide for them (Num. 11:6-9). This, of course, displeased the LORD and Moses (Num. 11:10). Moses felt the weight of this burden which God helped relieve with seventy men of the elders of Israel (Num. 11:11-17, 24-30). God had heard the people’s complaint about flesh and flesh they would get until it came out their nostrils (Num. 11:18-20)! It is in this context that the focus of this article comes into view.

IS THE LORD’S POWER LIMITED?
God had just promised to feed the children of Israel with flesh for a whole month (Num. 11:20). As we sometimes do, Moses wondered how God was going to accomplish this with such a great crowd of people, “And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?” (Num. 11:21-22) The reply of the LORD is one that we must all burn into our minds, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD’s hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.” (Num. 11:23) For the hand to wax short would indicate a lack or limitation of power and in this instance of God’s power. Is the LORD’s power limited? Consider just a few things which have already taken place by this time:

1. God spoke everything into existence in six, twenty-four-hour days, as well as created the seven-day week (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11).
2. God globally flooded the Earth to cleanse it from the wickedness of men (Gen. 6-9).
3. God confounded the language of men at the tower of Babel (Gen. 11).
4. God caused Sarah, who was barren (Gen. 11:29-30), to give birth at the age of ninety (Gen. 17:15-17, 21:1-3).
5. God preserved the nation of Israel in Egypt through providence (Gen. 37, 39-50).
6. God stretched out His hand upon Egypt in the form of ten plagues showing His power over Pharaoh and all the Egyptian gods (Ex. 7:5, 9:13-16; cf. Rom. 9:17).
7. God parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could pass through on dry land (Ex. 14).
8. God provided manna for the entire Israelite congregation to eat (Ex. 16).
9. God provided water for the entire Israelite congregation to drink (Ex. 17).

We could list more, but with these in mind it seems almost trivial for God to be able to provide flesh for over half a million people for a month. It would not be long before Moses received the answer to the question which should settle this question in our minds as well.
 
THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION
In Numbers 11:31 the Bible states, “And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.” A day’s journey varies based upon several factors, but perhaps the most significant being walking speed. If we assume so large a crowd could move at least one mile per hour, a day’s journey would constitute eight miles (assuming eight hours of walking). From the text, a day’s journey appears to be a radius around the camp, so we have at least a sixteen-mile diameter circle of quail around the Israelite camp!

A cubit is approximately nineteen inches, so two cubits would make a little over a yard. From the information provided in Psalm 78:23-31, the quail rained from Heaven like the manna did and was as dust and the sand of the sea in abundance. When we put the two texts together, we have the idea that the quail were stacked up over a yard high for miles around the Israelite camp! This was a massive number of quail that God provided for the Israelites. It was such a large amount that it took the children of Israel several days to collect them all (Num. 11:32). Those that gathered the least had ten homers or about four hundred gallons of quail! That equates to about nine and half barrels of oil in volume. The LORD provided just as He said He would and in great abundance.

CONCLUSION
We must always remember that nothing is too hard for God (cf. Jer. 32:17, 27). Yet, we often think there are things too hard for God and limit His power in our thinking and lack of faith in Him. Sarah doubted God regarding Isaac, yet God’s word came to pass (Gen. 18:10-15). The God that spoke the Universe into existence still upholds it with the word of His power (cf. Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3). If God says it will happen it will happen. This small portion of Scripture from the book of Numbers proves this point. Let us be those that trust in the Almighty God and ever remain faithful to Him!

Trent Thrasher