The Photo-Drama of Creation - The Herald

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.
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