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Day One: From the Old Testament

And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

Then Moses spoke to Aaron, "Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for He has heard your murmurings.’" Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to 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 spoke to Moses, saying, "I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’"

So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat." Exodus 16:1-3,9-15

The journey to Canaan took place in a barren, dry wilderness. It was a place of many hardships, without water or food, and yet the Lord provided for the needs of the people. He led them with the pillars of fire and cloud; He parted the sea that stood in their way; He provided food and water for them when they were hungry and thirsty.

The children of Israel were heading south toward Mount Sinai. They were in a place called the Wilderness of Sin, and here their food supplies began to run out. They had brought food with them from Egypt, but it could not last long for such a large number of people. On the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from Egypt, the people began to murmur against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, saying, "Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full!" (Exodus 16:3). The people longed for the food of Egypt, and they accused Moses of bringing them into the wilderness to die of hunger.

The children of Israel were overwhelmed and felt as though they couldn’t continue. They spoke longingly of their stay in Egypt where at least they had food. When we leave behind bad habits, new challenges may arise that make us long for our old way of life. Even if we want to change, it’s hard to form new habits to replace the old. But if we are patient and look to the Lord He will show us new hope and nourishment in this time of despair.

Insight:
Quails remind us of the natural satisfactions of choosing good.
Manna has a variety of meanings in the Lord’s Word. Similar to quail, on the most basic level it is genuine happiness in being good.

Gratitude Exercise: Make a List
Today I am thankful for...

Reflections
Has there been a time in your life when you started a new path and then faced challenges and wanted to quit? How did you deal with this challenge? How could you deal with it differently in the future?

Download the Gratitude Exercise and Reflection in printable form. (PDF)

Discussion Board
Share your thoughts on today's Journey in the discussion board.

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