1 August 2021

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15, NRSV

Although God had worked many wonders for the people of Israel, they soon found cause to complain when faced with the trials that came with surviving in a desert. The lack of food must have become their their sole preoccupation in a place where virtually nothing grows. Any provisions they had brought with them would have dwindled by this time. Moses turned to God for help and God provided. For the duration of their time in the desert, the people of Israel received food to sustain their journey. They were not to perish in the desert but to be given the chance to reach their Promised Land.