Photos: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/09/dining/09manna.html https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:165853-1/general-information
Scripture – Exodus 16:2–15 RSV
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings against the Lord. For what are we, that you murmur against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening flesh to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your murmurings which you murmur against him—what are we? Your murmurings are not against us but against the Lord.”
9 And Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your murmurings.’” 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the people of Israel; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning dew lay round about the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as hoarfrost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?”[a] For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.
From Tammy Smits
As a youngster growing up in the United Church, I listened to the Bible stories and accepted blindly the stories as they were told. Part of growing up, and growing spiritually, was re-examining the old favourites with a different lens. How much do I actually believe in miracles? Could there be modern explanations that account for the “miraculous” events, and if there is, does it make me a bad Christian for not clinging to the child-like faith that I once had?
As someone who hates the thought of food insecurity, the story of the manna in the wilderness has always made me curious. My imagination of childhood pictured big fluffy loaves of bread raining down from the sky, with people dodging them madly as they collected them to eat, shoving them into their tunics to carry to their tents in the wilderness.
I found an article in a Jewish magazine (Jewish World, Talk of the Table, Winter Issue 2019), detailing how in 1968 botany professor Avinoam Danin travelled to the Sinai Desert and noticed white drops on the green stems of a desert shrub (Haloxylon salicornicum) that is found all over the Middle East. He asked a passing Bedouin what these drops were and was told it was manna. Apparently, the white drops are a digestive biproduct of insects that feed on the plant’s sap. The secretion is loaded with sugar and hardens overnight to form white granules. Other sources say the sweet drops form on tamarisk trees, which are also common in the Sinai Peninsula. Manna is still harvested in Iran and Iraq, although due to heavy sanctions, is rarely imported to North America.
I realized, at the end of the day, whether the Biblical events can be explained by modern science is not the point. Whether manna miraculously appeared or is a naturally occurring insect byproduct does not change the fact that it nourished starving people. Whether the Red Sea parted due to a well-timed earthquake and tsunami, whether Jesus healed the sick using eastern medicine like reiki when laying hands on people – it is all just semantics. God saved the Israelites, Jesus healed the sick, and people can use whatever construct they need to fit those acts into their belief structure; the end result is the same: God uses a variety of means and ways to create opportunities for us, to help overcome obstacles, and to show His never-ending love. We are so blessed that He does.
Contemplation and Conversation
Where might God be working through ordinary people, natural processes, or unexpected circumstances in your life today?
Prayer
Creator, thank you for caring for, providing for and loving us,
regardless of our mindsets, faith constructs and belief structures.
You are constant when we are not and for that we are always grateful. Amen.
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