Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 235
10:32–11:13
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wilderness where we should camp. Come, be our guide. If you do, we’ll
share with you all the blessings the Lord gives us.”
They marched for three days after leaving the mountain of the Lord,
with the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant moving ahead of them to show them
where to stop and rest. As they moved on each day, the cloud of the Lord
hovered over them. And whenever the Ark set out, Moses would shout,
“Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before
you!” And when the Ark was set down, he would say, “Return, O Lord,
to the countless thousands of Israel!”
Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord
heard everything they said. Then the Lord’s anger blazed against them,
and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the
people in the outskirts of the camp. Then the people screamed to Moses
for help, and when he prayed to the Lord, the fire stopped. After that, the
area was known as Taberah (which means “the place of burning”), because
fire from the Lord had burned among them there.
Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to
crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to
complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. “We remember the fish
we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons,
leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone. All
we ever see is this manna!”
The manna looked like small coriander seeds, and it was pale yellow like
gum resin. The people would go out and gather it from the ground. They
made flour by grinding it with hand mills or pounding it in mortars. Then
they boiled it in a pot and made it into flat cakes. These cakes tasted like
pastries baked with olive oil. The manna came down on the camp with
the dew during the night.
Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents
whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your
servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the
burden of all these people? Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into
the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother
carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give
their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people?
