The Israelites soon forgot the wonderful way in which God had saved them. They forgot the suffering they had when they were slaves in Egypt. They forgot all God's miracles when He brought plagues on Egypt. They forgot how He helped them to cross the Red Sea. They forgot to trust and love God. As soon as something went wrong, they started to grumble. They said they wished they were back in Egypt. Why had Moses brought them out to die in the wilderness?
They continued to travel on into the wilderness. But there was no water and the people were very thirsty. Then they came to a place called Marah. There was water there and the people ran, eager to finally have a drink. But they were very disappointed. The water was horribly bitter so that they couldn't drink it. It was very hot and the people were tired and thirsty and cross. They began to grumble at Moses.
But Moses trusted in God. He believed that God would care for them and so he prayed. God showed Moses a tree and told him to throw it into the water. It would have been a bit of work to chop the tree down and drag it over to the water and throw it in. But once done, the water became sweet and drinkable.
The next place God brought them was called Elim. There were many wells there for fresh cold water, and a grove of palm trees for shade from the hot sun. They camped there for a while.
Soon afterwards, the people did not have enough food. They didn't trust God and ask Him for help. They began to worry about it and remembered all the food they had when they were back in Egypt. Once again they grumbled at Moses.
Of course, Moses remembed how good God had been to them. Again, Moses prayed to God. He asked God to help them. That evening God sent hundreds of quail. A quail is a small bird, like a small chicken. They landed around the camp and the people were able to run out and capture them. The people had plenty to eat.
God told Moses that He would send bread every morning for the people to eat. The next morning, the people woke up to see dew all about the camp. When the sun had dried the dew, there were small white things all over the ground. The people didn't know what it was. Moses said, "This is the bread that God has given for you to eat." They called it "manna". It tasted like wafers and honey.
God told the Israelites that they must go out of their tents every morning to collect the manna. They must collect just enough for each person to eat that day. God would send the manna each morning. They must not keep any overnight. However, some of the people disobeyed God. They didn't want to have to go out every day to collect it. They collected enough for several days. But the next morning the manna was full of worms and smelled terrible. I'm sure they didn't do that again.
God said the people must have a rest on the Sabbath day which was every seventh day. They were to collect twice as much manna on the day before the Sabbath, then they could rest on the Sabbath day. God never sent manna on the Sabbath day, but the extra manna they collected to keep for the Sabbath never went bad! All the time they were in the wilderness God sent them this Manna to eat, and that was for forty years!!
Later the Israelites camped at a place called Rephidim. There was no water to drink. It did not take long for the people to start grumbling again. So Moses prayed to God. And God told Moses to take his rod and to hit the rock at Horeb with it. Moses hit the rock as God told him. Then water poured out of the rock, cold and clear, and the people were happy again.
Things to Remember
Discussion
What did God tell Moses to do to the water at Marah?
What did God send for the people when they were hungry?
What did the people call the bread God sent for them?
Activity Suggestions
Draw a picture of Moses hitting the rock and the water coming out of it. Or perhaps a picture of the pool at Marah with the tree in it.
Taste what manna may have been like. Try these Scotch Pancakes with a little honey drizzled on.
Cream together butter, icing sugar, egg and milk. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and add to creamed mixture. Drop by SMALL teaspoonfuls onto a lightly buttered frying pan. DON'T LET IT GET TOO HOT! Flip each over when LIGHTLY browned. Cool on rack or plate.