The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-07-05
Third Quarter, Lesson I; July 6,
 1909; Exodus XVI, 4:l5.
The Giving of Mama.

That march of mystery-Israers jour- ney through the wilderness has been aptly called so. 4 desert anywhere has fas- chatting weirdness all it's own. The ab- sence of shade, water. and life make it almost phantom place. 1t has singu- lar enect Of unreslity; In these char surpasses all others. No wonder the He breTs called it great and terrible, and bowling wilderness.
 Such unnatural environment can not fail to have Its powerful influence upon the human mind. The traveller oyer that route today. with all modern facilities and safeguarus, yet feels the subtle in- to some extent, the depressing sensations of the caravan nation as 1t experienced what has been called its weird adventure. In addition to these physical discomforts was their fear of enemies Powerful hos tile tribes, used to the desert, surrounded them, and they were still haunted with the apprehension of a pursuit by Pha- deep and urgent. Under most favorable conditions the provisioning of such an emigrant host would have taxed an ex- pert .quartermaster-generaL But the exi- gencies of this case make it the most remarkable in history. For the people in such an environment not to have Thur mured' would have been unnatural. When the subtle effect of the physical scenery, the imminence of attack, and the ecantfness of provisions are all taken into consideration. the repining is not a surprise. ret ln VleW or Ine WOn0efS God had done in Egypt, and even already in the wilderness, the faith of the He- brews should have been more buoyant.
 Yet fear is catching It is the very worst of epidemics. In the shortest pos sible time the whole nation was tnnocu- lated. As always happens under such conditions. the people very much over rated their past advantages. So we find them signing for the fiesh-pots and bread of Egypt. As also happens, they under rated past evils. The bitterness of the bondage was softened by the happy re- lease from it. They had almost forgotten the sound of the taslxmaster's lash. Their lamentatiom reached it's very lowest note when they regretted that they them- selves had not suffered the last plague of Egypt and died by the Lords hand. And so the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron fin the wilderness.
 This melancholy stampede was a real disgrace. Had they taken time to calmly consider, they would nave found ground for hope, The situation was really not extreme. The Hebrews had brought with . them large fiocks and herds. They must haxe found pasture, as there is no account of their cattle dying on their hands. From this source they would derive milk, but ter. cheese. And though 1t was not the except for hospitality, yet in emergency, they could have flesh for Food and that too, without diminishing their herds. us- ing only the natural increase. Other
 
 subsistence in that very locality. There are spots even today, in that very desert where the Bedouin still SOW and reap Again. the 1eraslites could supply many wants by purchase from passing caravans. Even if they should come to certain districts, and there should be some reasons when natural resources were in- sufBoent, or even failed. 1t would do them no harm to go on half rations for a while. Again, the sequel shows that they were not to be always wandering about. They remained months, and even years, ia certain localities. So ruling out the miraculous element entirely, the real situation of these emigrants was far from desperate.
 The kind forbearance, and long-suffering patience of God have remarkable ex- ample in this instance. A gracious re- dress of the peoples grievance is imme- diately promised. The last word of the peopie's complaint is Hunger" Gods first word in reply is. T will rain bread from Heaven"
 With reference to the nature and origin of mama, it will be found best to take fhe middle course between the 'baldly IitersI' and the embellishments of won der loving legends" There Is in this very locality Q natural production still called Tna.iua oy the Arabs. It oozes and dis fills from the tarfa-tree. a species of faFaarisk Ii must be collected before sunrise, for only then is it found in a coaxulated state. It dissolves az soon as inc sun shines on 1t. This undoubted natural product seems to be the physical basis of one of the surprising means of sustenance of the wilderness. How far