“Is the LORD'S hand waxed short?”
The full verse · Numbers 11:23 · KJV
And the unto , Is the waxed ? thou shalt whether my shall come to unto thee or not.
Asked by
Asked to
Moses, the mediator between God and Israel, who had just expressed doubt about God’s ability to provide meat for the entire assembly.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionGod rebukes Moses’ doubt by asking a question that exposes the absurdity of limiting divine power. By framing this as a question rather than a direct rebuke, God invites Moses to recognize his own faulty reasoning and renew his faith in Yahweh’s unlimited capability.
The Response
What Scripture recordsGod did not offer a verbal answer to His own rhetorical question. Instead, He immediately announced that Moses would witness whether His word comes true, then caused a wind to bring quail from the sea in such abundance that they lay two cubits deep around the camp for a day’s journey in every direction.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyGod’s question confronts the logical error at the heart of Moses’ doubt. The Hebrew verb qatsar means ‘to be short, to be restricted,’ and appears in Isaiah 50:2 and 59:1 in similar contexts addressing God’s saving power. By asking whether His hand has ‘waxed short,’ God challenges Moses to consider whether omnipotence can ever be diminished or limited by circumstances. The question form is pedagogically brilliant, forcing Moses to articulate the answer himself rather than merely receiving correction. This reveals the theological principle that God’s power is intrinsic and unchanging, never dependent on available resources or human assessment of feasibility. The question carries the full weight of divine authority while simultaneously inviting renewed faith.
When you face a need so large that provision seems impossible, remember God’s hand is never too short to save. Moses looked at human resources and calculated impossibility, but God works beyond natural limits. The same God who fed Israel in the wilderness can meet your needs today, whether financial, relational, or spiritual. Trust His power, not your calculations. As Paul affirms in Philippians 4:19, ‘My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.’ Let God’s question to Moses become your answer to doubt.
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Keep questioning
“Enviest thou for my sake?”
“Why came we forth out of Egypt?”
“Who shall give us flesh to eat?”
“Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.”