Israel in the Desert and the Nature of God's Grace

When Israel escaped slavery in Egypt, they traveled through the desert to the land God had promised to Abraham's ancestors.  Along the way, they were concerned about how to sustain themselves during the journey.

God responds to Israel's request by providing manna (bread) and quail for Israel's sustenance during their desert journey.  The biblical writer indicates that Israel literally found bread and quail on the ground when they awoke in the morning.

We normally assume that what is being described is a supernatural event that violates natural law, thereby revealing that it was God's grace towards Israel that brought manna and quail to Israel in the desert.  However, this reading is not supported by what has been experienced by those who have traveled in the same desert for thousands of years.

In the desert of the Sinai peninsula, there is a plant called the Tamarisk plant that emits a crystalline substance that falls to the ground.  It's texture is bread-like and it is edible.  It has been consumed by desert travelers through Sinai for thousands of years.  It is still a source of food today.  Additionally, those who travel through the Sinai peninsula typically find a large number of quail on the ground, exhausted from trying to fly across the desert.  The quail can be easily gathered up and consumed.

The information above is usually used to support the proposition that what the Israelites experienced was not actually God at work, but simply a "natural event" that has been experienced by travelers for thousands of years.  This reading misinterprets the nature of God's grace and God's activity in the world.  God's free and unmerited gifts in this world are given to everyone, just like all travelers through the desert were given these gifts of food to sustain them.  What made Israel God's covenant community was not that they received different gifts than those who were not part of the covenant community, but because they knew where the manna and quail really originated; through the gracious gifts of the God who is the creator of all people.

As the new Israel, the Church, we are not given special treatment, in the sense of being protected from harm or being given wealth or affluence.  We experience loss, suffering, and death, along with joy and love and beauty.  What makes us God's covenant community is our awareness of the source of all things, and a call to proclaim to the world that which is the source of all good things; the God who is the creator, redeemer, and sustainer of all things.