The Israelites continue on their way, now having to travel through the Desert of Sin. Again the Israelites started grumbling. This time they were complaining about the lack of food, and were imagining that they had a wonderful time back in Egypt. This was of course not true, but when we go through testing times we can often develop a rosy picture of the past.
There is a pattern emerging of the people encounter difficulty, the people complain, God does something. An interesting question is what would have happened if they had not complained? It is difficult to give a definite answer, but it is possible to try it out in our own lives. For I guess that most of us have a tendency to go through the same cycle. Well, the next time we encounter the cycle, lets try to do things differently. Instead of complaining, give thanks instead and see what happens. Indeed, this is what Jesus did. Being faced with 5 000 people and hardly any food, He did not complain, but gave thanks, and we know what happened.
The Lord then promises to send the manna from heaven. This was done not just to feed them, but also to test them. For they would get the food only on 6 days. They would have to trust God that they would have enough for the seventh day. Predictably, some failed to follow the instructions. The purpose was to teach them. The lessons included: (i) God would make it possible for them to rest on the seventh day; (ii) there is no point hoarding stuff. We still need to learn these lessons today. There can be great pressure to work seven days a week, but we should trust God and expect Him to give us times of rest. This should not be done in a legalistic fashion, but treating rest as a gift from God. We need to beware of hoarding as well.
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