The Story of the Manna in the Wilderness. (From the 16th Chapter of EXODUS.) THE children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness; and the children of Israel said unto them, "Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." Then said the Lord unto Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from Heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather every day, and it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day, that which they shall bring in shall be twice as much as they gather daily." And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, "At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: and in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings." And it came to pass as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, "I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, 'At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God." And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar-frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, "It is manna: " for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, "This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat." And Moses said, "Let no man leave of it till the morning." Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it till the morning, and it bred worms, and stank and Moses was wroth with them. And it came to pass, upon the sixth day they gathered twice as much. And the rulers came and told Moses. And he said unto them, "Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up to be kept until the morning." And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade, and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, "Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath unto the Lord, and ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none." And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the Lord said unto Moses, "The Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth. day the bread of two days." So the people rested on the seventh day. And the manna was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. And Moses said unto Aaron, "Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up to be kept for your children, that they may see the bread wherewith the Lord fed you in the wilderness." The Story of the Brazen Serpent. (From the 21st Chapter of NUMBERS.) As the children of Israel were journeying, their souls were much discouraged because of the weariness of the way. And the people spake against God and against Moses: “Wherefore have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread." And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he may take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass he lived. |