Perspective
In today’s lesson from Exodus , we witness a frustrated, weary, and hungry congregation. They also seem a tad forgetful. Even though God: ….spared them from the plagues; ….guaranteed their freedom from Egypt; … parted the Red Sea for their safe journey into the wilderness; … and provided water to quench three days of thirst; … the congregation was longing for the old, familiar guarantees of bondage. Their forgetfulness and complaint is an uncomfortable reminder of just how much we dislike change and transition. Yet God understands our forgetful nature, and she hears our cries. God responds to the Israelites by providing them with quail and manna. Manna in Hebrew literally means, “ What is it?” We are told it is a fine, flaky substance; like frost on the ground. When the congregation sees the manna, they ask Moses, “What is it?” Moses tells them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.” For the next forty years, this miraculous substance nourished the hung