We are in chapter six of Exodus. Our word for today is one of the two reasons why the people did not listen to Moses sharing all the amazing things God was about to do. Let’s look at our word for today. קֹ֫צֶר shortness, despondency, broken. It is used just this once the Old Testament whereas the root of our word קָצֵר is used 14 times. The basic idea of our word is to be short or weak. Numbers 11:23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too תִּקְצָ֑ר short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” Psalm 89:45 You have הִ֭קְצַרְתָּ cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame. Psalm 102:23 In the course of my life he broke my strength; he קִצַּ֥ר shortened my days. It is used in the sense of losing patience. Numbers 21:4-5 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people וַתִּקְצַ֥ר grew impatient on the way; [literally soul was short, weak or broken] they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” Judges 16:15-16 And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.” And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was וַתִּקְצַ֥ר sick to death [literally soul was short, weak or broken]. This is similar to how our word is used in our chapter today. Exodus 6:9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their מִקֹּ֣צֶר broken spirit and harsh slavery. The people were just too broken for what God was saying through Moses to be able to understand and listen because of the effect of all the years of slavery which we will look at tomorrow. As well as getting their hopes up and then crashed again because of not understanding how God allows things to get worse before they get better.
The good news is that even when we come short in our spirit because our current circumstances are overwhelming us God is able to accomplish his good and perfect purposes for us. He never comes up short. Isaiah 50:2 When I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Was my arm too קָצְרָ֤ה short to deliver you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst. Isaiah 59:1 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too קָצְרָ֥ה short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. I’ll close with this great encouragement that even when we are too beaten down to even pray the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. Romans 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
