Israel's Wilderness Experiences

Israel was taught lessons of faith in the wilderness. God sent them Manna. It came in the night in very small grains. It required time and patience to gather and prepare it. Not only was it a necessity, but it corroborated the Divine sentence, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou return to the ground." Labor has been one of our most valuable lessons. Without it our race would have sunken still lower. Countries in which labor has been a necessity attest this by their greater intelligence.

Jesus explains that He Himself is the antitypical Manna, or Bread from Heaven, of which we must partake if we would have everlasting life.--John 6:48-58.

The conspiracy of Korah and his associates against Moses' leadership resulted in their all going down alive into the pit (Hebrew, Sheol), the tomb. So all opponents of Messiah will perish in the Second Death.--Acts 3:23.

God sent Israel a miraculous supply of quail. Our Common Version permits the inference that quail fell around the camp several feet deep. This is pointed to by critics as absurd. The correct and reasonable thought is that quails, wearied from flight across the Red Sea, flew within a few feet of the ground, where Israel easily captured great quantities.

The lesson of the Smitten Rock is noteworthy. When the people were famished, Moses smote a rock in the name of the Lord, water gushed out and the people were refreshed. St. Paul says that this was prophetic of Christ who by His death supplies the Water of Life, which is for all--Israelites indeed.

A plague of "fiery serpents" attacked the Israelites. By Divine direction Moses made a serpent of brass and raised it up. The Israelites were directed to look to that serpent for healing. The "fiery serpents" represent Sin, inflicting death. God has provided life for the sin-bitten world through the crucifixion of Christ. He was treated as a sinner, in order that sinners might be freed from sin and death.