Evening star., 1919-02-01
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
THE GIVING OF THE MAMMA.
Exodus, 161-36.
Golden Text: Give US this day
our daily bread.-Matt-, Gil.


! BY REV. HUGH T.. STEVENSON.
! Food helped win the war and it viii
| help win the peace. The panss OF
hunger when felt by a multitude are
ant to. be the seeds of discomfort and
disturbances in all walks of life.
Within less than d month after the
tribes of Israel had passed through
the Red sea on dry ground they had
evidently forgotten their divine de-
| liverer amid their daily need for bread
| in the wilderness. The new expert
| ences filled those who only recently
had been slaves in Egypt with terror
especially when they entered the
nbuntain defiies of the Wadies She
beikah (valley of the neD and Tefyi-
beh, for they had never seen such
| sterile and majestic heights in the val
i lev of the Nile At Elm and through
| the Wady Gharandi, with its delight
| full shade, springs and supplies of
food, they had replenished their scant
supply of provisions with which they
fhad left Egypt. SO that now when the
| prospect of food supply was gone they
commenced to- complain, until their
murmuring almost developed into
spirit of mutiny. 1t is to protect CIV
/, iIization against the foes which have
fused starvation to further their per-
nicious political program that as
nation we are called upon today 10
| help feed the famine-stricken natlons
of Europe and Asia Minor.
All the facts of 1sraeTs march,
which was a school of experience for
the Hebrew nation, aiming at deVei-
oping in them as a people the NE OF
faith and obedience. are not recorded
Sufficient data are known to enapie stu
dents of the wilderness experiences TO
understand the source of some, if not
all of the complaints. Scattered through
out that section were number OF
Egyptian fortresses that had been
erected to protect their copper mines
and rich deposits of gems. 1t is quite
likely that the Hebrews may have met
fierce and hostile opposition from the
Egyptian forces at moment when
thew were not prepared for military
conflict Seasoned warriors are need
ed to inspire men with commence
when they are facing fire for the nrst
time
Reholding their present difficulties.
and. possibly, warned of the danger OF
starvation by the sight of unburled
bones of men along the journey, they
quickly forgot the lessons of the past
month, that had been crowded with
marvellous manifestations of the pres
ence. purpose and power of God. They
recalled the sensual delights OF
Egypt, and at the same time forgot
the lash and the anguish or the heare.
In this they did not differ from the
rest of mankind, for, as a rule, men
recall and retain the memory of 1ifeS
pleasures even when they have for
gotten the lessons that God sought to
imDress upon them amid the trials
and tribulations of life 1T is dlfhcuft
for men who are not walking IN spar-
itual fellowship with COD TO see HIS
divine presence in human affairs The
children of Israel were short-sighted-
They failed to see His presence in the
cloud. They lacked faith to trust His
power to supply their needs: They
revealed the defects in their own
character by their murmurings
against Moses who found comfort and
courage by communion with God. his
friend and helper, whose unseen pres
ence was guiding the murmuring mul-
titude. Israel, by complaining against
Moses, was insulting Jehovah, who
was testing the new nations sp1r-
itual life.
When the test of faith was applied
to Israel under the pressure OF want,
which they imagined would come TO
them in the desert, they failed They
had not wanted for anything, but they
W
of no way to replenish their rapidly
diminishing supply of provisions. The
scantiness of their supplies filled them
with fear, wnen, after their marvellous
experiences, they should have been
inspiredSby their need to have had
faith in God, who never fails the man
or nation who trusts Him. He would
not have allowed them to be tested
beyond their power. He watched over
their needs and. before they had left
Egypt, Jehovah knew how He would
provide for their physical needs.
The tested soul. is often unconscious
of Gods plans and program during
the period of trial. Amid all the test
ings of life that men are called upon
to endure they can always depend
upon His seeking to better their spir-
ituaI conditions All life is one test
after another, that ought to develop
ones spiritual power. One makes
great mistake if he thinks that pow
erty and peril are the only tests of
spiritual strength. Prosperity is also
rule it is the evidence of spiritual
weakness. Americans will be tested
by their attitude toward the starving
masses of the old world, who. unless
fed, will spread the seeds of discon-
tent that may prove serious to
civilization here as it has to Russia,
Poland and the other European coun
tries 1t helped to hasten the ending
of the war and it has prolonged the
struggle in central Europe.
The providential provision of quail
and mama that supplied their need
for food, even to the craving of
sweets, for the mamma tasted like
honey. was the miraculous work of
God There is no other satisfactory
exclamation of how their daily diet
was provided during the forty years
wanderings in the wilderness. Quail
during migratory flights could have
been driven by the wind to the camp
of Israelites at night, but only a mir
acle could have sent them there every
night for forty years. Some have
found in the mama that came with
the morning dew for six days and
failed upon the seventh a close re-
semblance to some of the products or