rested on the rock. It was also His almighty will which summoned the flock of quails, and which rained the Manna from heaven every day (except the Sabbath), during forty years, so that His chosen people might be able to exist in the barren desert.
Goodness and Patience of God. Almighty God was marvellously good and patient with the unbelieving Israelites. He dwelt in their midst in a visible way; He protected them from the heat of the sun by the pillar of cloud; He forgave them their repeated murmurings; He was always showering fresh benefits on them, and defending them against their enemies.
Sins against religion. The Israelites were an ungrateful, carnal people. They cared more for good food and drink than for their liberty and the Promised Land. Though Almighty God worked such great miracles for them, and dwelt in their midst in the pillar of cloud, they were always murmuring against Moses and reproaching him. Their reproaches and ingratitude were, indirectly, offences against God, for Moses was but carrying out His commands. The Israelites sinned against the First Commandment by their ingratitude, want of confidence, and murmurings against the decrees of God.
The power of prayer. Moses raised, not only his hands, but also his heart to God. “The continual prayer of a just man availeth much” (James 5, 16). It was not only Josue’s valour, but Moses’ prayers, which overcame the enemy. Raise your heart with your hands to heaven, when you pray. Like Moses, the priest at the altar prays with outstretched, upraised hands.
Helping ourselves. The Israelites did not depend only on the prayers of Moses; they exerted themselves, and defended themselves as best they could. In all our times of danger and necessity, we ought to do the same: do what we can for ourselves, and pray to God.
Unappreciated gifts of God. Daily bread to eat, and good water to drink are very great boons. We only learn to prize them when we have to go without them.
The wood, which made the waters sweet, is a type of the Cross of Jesus Christ. His Cross makes sweet to us all that is bitter and distasteful. Firstly, it gives us the grace to be patient, and, secondly, it teaches us to bear all sufferings cheerfully, for love of Him who suffered so much for us.
The Manna is, as our Lord Himself declared (New Test. XXXIV), a type of the Blessed Sacrament. It came daily from heaven to give strength to the Israelites for their journey, and was sweet to the taste. Our Lord, in the Blessed Sacrament, comes from heaven, and gives Himself to us to nourish our souls on their journey to heaven, through the wilderness of this life; and He is a sweet and life-giving food to those who love Him. The Church sings at the Benediction of the Blessed
