35. God sends manna to the hungry. A food that not only comes down from heaven but comes down twice
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“The Lord set His heart on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than other peoples—for you were the smallest of all nations—but because He loved you and kept the oath He swore to your ancestors.” [Deuteronomy 7:7-8]
The spring breeze of April sweeps across the wilderness, swirling up dust like mist. Distant mountains blend with the white clouds at the horizon, resembling a painted curtain.
Cattle and sheep leisurely forage for grass, children roll and play on the ground, men sit in the shade of tents chatting, and women gather to light fires and cook.
Two million Israelites personally witnessed God’s miracles, walking through the divided Red Sea, witnessing God flood the pursuing Egyptian army and stand safely on the eastern shore of the Red Sea, entering the vast, desolate wilderness.
After crossing the Red Sea, they transformed from slaves into an independent nation; After crossing the Red Sea, they developed a primal reverence for God; After crossing the Red Sea, the surrounding peoples, upon hearing of God’s salvation, became wary of Israel and kept their distance.
After crossing the Red Sea, Israel flew into the forest like a startled bird in a cage, cheering and overjoyed. They found they could sleep until the sun was high, eating and drinking their fill, sitting and daydreaming without the foreman’s beatings and kicks. Overnight, they suddenly gained complete freedom; apart from Moses and the God behind him, no one could restrain them.
Although they did not anticipate this huge transformation, they indulged in it to the fullest by their nature.
Deep in thought, Moses felt a heavy burden on his shoulders. He looked at the carefree men, women, and children before him, at the cloud pillar guided by God, at the deep wilderness the pillar pointed to, and secretly worried: With over two million people, having left Egypt for just over half a month, the food they brought was nearly exhausted. Livestock can survive by eating grass, but what about water?
Where can you find water in the wilderness? These people, accustomed to being slaves, now have food and drink and are carefree. But if one day food and water run out, their servile nature will flare up and they will surely turn against me. God, how can I, an old man, feed millions of people every day? God’s wisdom surpasses human calculations. God intended to shape these men and women, whose blood flowed with servility, into the most unique people in human history.
God deliberately placed them in a desolate wilderness to suffer, so that they would see their weakness and rely on God’s provision; God will personally give them the complete statutes of the law so that they may understand God’s likes and dislikes and dispositions;
God wants to give them rules of life and moral norms, so that they can enjoy a good life while avoiding harming others; God will severely punish the rebellious people among them, to warn future generations to fear the true God and turn away from sin. God had appointed Moses as the first priest of the Ezrites, standing between man and God, fulfilling the priestly duties. He was to sincerely ask God to forgive the people’s transgressions and earnestly explain God’s will to them.
The final high priest, whom God had long prepared, was to be born 1400 years after Moses’ death, and the period before and after was classified by his birth.
But the time hasn’t come yet; the mysteries of God remain hidden. Driven by the pillar of cloud, the diligent Moses gradually led the people into the heart of the desert. After three days of marching without pause, unable to find water along the way, the people were parched and resentful. Three days later, water was finally found, but it was bitter. The people could no longer bear it and mocked Moses, saying, “You want us to drink this?” Moses looked at the people’s cracked lips and desperate eyes and prayed to God. God revealed that Moses threw a tree into the water, and the water changed from bitter to sweet. That land was thus called Mara (meaning ‘bitter’).
Through this miracle, God issued some laws and decrees to the people.
After a brief pause, the people set out again, passing through the oasis of Elin and entering the wilderness called Xun. It had been a full month since they left Egypt, and it was mid-month, yet the food they had brought was gone. Two million mouths hungrily hungry, and the rising full moon in the east seemed like an empty silver plate, making their hunger even more irresistible.
A group of angry men found Moses and Aaron, who were praying alone, to vent their frustration: “If only we had died at the hands of the Lord in Egypt, it would have been better now.” At that time, we could at least sit by the meat pot, eat our fill, and then die.
Now you have brought us out into this desolate wilderness—are you going to let us starve to death? ” Moses was as if he were asleep in prayer. After finishing, he looked up at the crowd and calmly said, “Tonight the Lord will give you meat, and tomorrow morning he will give you enough to eat; He has heard all your complaints against the Lord. Everyone was half-convinced, half doubtful, but didn’t dare act rashly and left in disappointment.
Night deepened, the full moon hung high, and the ground was as smooth as frost. Everyone sat by the tents, staking off hunger. Apart from the occasional cries of children, the wilderness was utterly silent.
Suddenly, a rustling sound echoed from the ground, coming from all directions. Curious, people looked around and found countless fat quails croaking around the camp, clucking loudly, while more quails awkwardly flew toward the camp to gather. The Israelites were overjoyed, jumped up, and jumped into the flock of quails, grabbing the heavy quail with both hands, eager to eat it raw.
The whole camp erupted—children laughed, housewives screamed, men shouted, moonlight like water poured down, countless bonfires lit on the ground, and the aroma of quail meat quickly filled the open fields.
The next morning, most people were still sound asleep inside the tents. Elderly people who had gotten up early had already stepped out. The air over the open fields was crisp, the sun had not yet risen, and the living quails had disappeared somewhere. The ground was a vast expanse of white, as if white ice chips were floating on the ground. Looking closer, there was a layer of white flakes like scales. No one has ever seen this before—what is it?
Some people boldly put it in their mouths, carefully crunching it, but the taste was like a honey-dried, dried pancake. This is manna (meaning ‘why’), the dry ration God descends from heaven every night for the Israelites to eat, and the Israelites pick it up as needed before sunrise every morning. After sunrise, the manna on the ground melts away like dew. This manna supplied Israel for forty years until they came out of the wilderness and entered Canaan.
Manna, God’s special miracle and provision, was never eaten again afterward, until the final high priest sent by God pointed to himself and said, “I am food that came down from heaven, unlike manna. Your ancestors ate it and still died; Whoever eats this food of mine will live forever. ”
