Introduction
“When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, ‘What is that?’ they asked this question because they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, ‘This is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.” Exodus 16:15
The Israelites had to travel through deserts, cross mountains before reaching Canaan. There were thousands of people, many herds and great flocks, and clean water and food became scarce.
Once God had Moses cast a tree into some bitter water, and it became sweet. They went on, but when they came to the Great Mount Sinai, the crowds began to grumble, saying, the food was better back in Egypt.
Moses and Aaron reminded them when they spoke so much dislike that they were really speaking against the Lord. Moses and Aaron told them to remember He was leading them and would take care of them.
The Lord told Moses He would send food from heaven each morning. They were to gather only enough for the day, and on the sixth day they could bather enough for two days, as He would not send any on the seventh day. It was a day of rest.
In the morning when they woke, they found little white particles on the ground. One asked another what this was, and they answered
“Manna”,
and it was then called Manna. Moses told them it was the bread the Lord had given them to eat. They began to gather the bread, and tasting it they found it was flavoured like honey.
When the sun came up, what was left on the ground melted away. Some were greedy and gathered too much, but it became rotten or spoiled. They had disobeyed God, who said to gather food each day.
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, so the Lord had provided meat for them. Six days every week the Israelites received food from heaven, and on the seventh day rested. It was a Holy Day, and the Israelites called it Sabbath, which means day of rest. They had food from heaven each day for forty years, and when they reached Canaan, it stopped.
Quiz
1. Name some problems of the trip to the promised land.
2. What did they grumble about?
3. What food did God send?
4. Tell about the Manna.
5. What day could they gather more? Why?
6. How long did God furnish them food?
