So following the 10 plagues, the Israelites have made a triumphant exit from Egypt.
However, this was no time to kick back and rest.
As far as Pharaoh was concerned, these Israelites were nothing less than escaped fugitives at large whose powerful God had murdered his first born son.
The day the Israelites left Egypt, there is no doubt they were still in a state of panic.
During the first 3 weeks of their journey, they traveled pretty much at all hours…
…being led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
Knowing that God’s presence was with them must have been greatly reassuring to the Israelites.
Nevertheless, after about a few weeks, the harsh realities of the people’s changed living conditions began settle in.
I think this is a point that doesn’t fully register in our minds.
Think about it.
You’ve got a population of about 2-3 million people who need to eat and drink on a daily basis.
Although they were allowed to take their farm animals with them, their primary food was grain.
And even if they had carried a ton of grain with them when they left Egypt, it couldn’t have lasted more than a few weeks.
In order to remain undercover, the Israelites were forced to avoid any known natural food or water sources and they were traveling in a desert.
An area today whose population numbers only about 4000 people or so.
Even if the Israelites traveled through areas containing food and water, there’s still no way they would have been able to organize the huge volumes of resources necessary to feed 2-3 million people.
Thus, this represents one of the biggest miracles in Scripture of all time.
Being able to feed a population of 2-3 million every day would require a very sophisticated system and infrastructure that only an advanced civilization like Egypt could provide.
In a nutshell, the Israelites had just become displaced city folks who were suddenly thrown into a hostile jungle environment.
They had no idea how to survive in such an environment under such harsh conditions.
According to the US Army, it would take at the least…
…11 million gallons of water and…
…a set of freight cars stretching about two miles long…
…to feed 3 million people daily.
And this isn’t even accounting for the food and water needed to feed all of the farm animals.
Yet, this problem was a cinch for the Lord to solve.
All He did was rain food down from the sky on a per need basis in the form of Manna.
Although it seems a bit boring to be eating Manna every day, apparently it kept the Israelites nourished and full of the energy they needed.
The Lord also graciously provided huge volumes of water when necessary by having it pour forth from rocks.
Again, all of this provision was on a per need basis because once the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the manna stopped.
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