seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Exodus 16:1 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
My dad was in the Navy, I think I've told that tidbit before. Anyway, once a year Daddy would load up the station wagon and we would travel from Gales Ferry, Connecticut to Front Royal, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina to visit family. Both of my grandmothers were amazing cooks. Grandmom was a southern cook and Nannie used cookbooks and newspaper recipes. One made the best chicken and dumplings while the other made the best banana pudding.
On the road though, Daddy wanted to keep driving. That's quite a haul form Gales Ferry to Front Royal and the restaurants were expensive. Back in the 50's and 60's there weren't McDonalds and Burger King drive thrus at every exit. On top of that there were bill boards all over the place with buckets of chicken and burgers. Our mouths would water at the sight of them. There were more of us every couple of years and when three to five kids get off schedule, it can be sad.
I can imagine what it must have been traveling with over 2 million people. Remember, they had the cloud by day and the pillar at night. So they were traveling like Daddy, not stopping at every tree. They had been traveling for a month. Those people must have been tired and hungry. I bet they were really quite irritable.
First I need to clear up the "Desert of Sin". According to the blueletterbible.org site, it wasn't actually the Desert of Sin.
In the original text the name "Wilderness of Sin" has nothing to do with "sin" and could just as easily be translated Wilderness of Zin. Yet as the story unfolds, we see that this wilderness had a lot to do with sin.
So GodVine.com adds these comments.
The desert tract, called Debbet er Ramleh, extend nearly across the peninsula from the Wady Nasb in a south-easterly direction, between the limestone district of Et Tih and the granite of Sinai. The journey from the station at Elim, or even from that on the Red Sea, could be performed in a day: at that time the route was kept in good condition by the Egyptians.
The whole congregation - murmured - This is an additional proof of the degraded state of the minds of this people. And this very circumstance affords a convincing argument that a people so stupidly carnal could not have been induced to leave Egypt had they not been persuaded so to do by the most evident and striking miracles. Human nature can never be reduced to a more abject state in this world than that in which the body is enthralled by political slavery, and the soul debased by the influence of sin. These poor Hebrews were both slaves and sinners, and were therefore capable of the meanest and most disgraceful acts.
The flesh pots - As the Hebrews were in a state of slavery in Egypt, they were doubtless fed in various companies by their task masters in particular places, where large pots or boilers were fixed for the purpose of cooking their victuals. To these there may be a reference in this place, and the whole speech only goes to prove that they preferred their bondage in Egypt to their present state in the wilderness; for they could not have been in a state of absolute want, as they had brought an abundance of flocks and herds with them out of Egypt.
Wait.... did you see that? I never noticed that the Bible says Flesh pots. My NIV doesn't say anything about flesh pots.... so I googled "flesh pots in the Bible" and sure enough.... there's plenty of explanations!
So....
