The Israelite’s are safe, saved by the mighty hand of God, and yet, as Aaron soon realizes, when the celebration stops they are far from out of danger. This story may be assisted by gathering some measuring containers to show how much an omar is.

This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.

Main Passage : Exodus 16

Sand, sand, sand and guess what… more sand. Aaron sat and watched the yellow grains run through his fingers. Why had God led them all into a desert? He could hear the people grumbling almost as loudly as his stomach, there was very little food left.

Not long ago, Aaron was a slave, that was before Moses came back. Amazing things happened after that, plagues and Passover and then when all seemed doomed, God has split the sea to lead them to safety. The party lasted all night, the men danced, the women sang, they were free. But food is difficult to carry and goes quickly. It was running out and there was no city in the desert to exchange their gold for bread. Some men were already talking about returning to Egypt, they may be slaves, but they would have food. It was simple really, in this desert they would all die unless they found something to eat. People would complain at him and Moses, day and night, it was like they had forgotten what God had done already. Aaron couldn’t take any more grumbling, so instead he sat and waited, his eyes on the flap of the tent waiting for Moses to appear. Finally, Aaron looked up and there was Moses, beckoning him to come over.

“Aaron, go fetch the people,” Moses said quietly. Aaron started to shout, to call, and the message spread quickly, the crowd swelling bigger and bigger by the second. Moses whispered the message Aaron was to say. “I don’t understand,” he whispered back at Moses. “You’ll have an omar of bread by tomorrow” Moses whispered and smiled a little grin that said he knew a secret. “Can’t I tell the people that” whispered Aaron, “no” replied Moses firmly, “They must trust God is going to rescue them – don’t you trust?” Aaron looked at his brother’s face, it was a picture of peace. “I trust” he responded.

Then Aaron took a deep breath and lifted his voice for the people to hear. “Who are we, that you should grumble at us? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord. The lord who rescued you, who split the sea, The Lord has heard your grumbling against him.” Aaron paused, the people looked down at their feet, they knew they had done wrong. “Today you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt. The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning.” The faces of the crowd lifted eagerly at the sound of food, and yet, Aaron said no more. Instead, he looked across the desert, there in the cloud, something was moving, something so amazing he could barely look at it. The Glory of the Lord moving. People followed his gaze and the whole place fell silent. How could they not trust their God who had guided them here, how could they doubt? Slowly the people moved back to the shade of their tents, their stomachs still empty but their mouths closed.

As evening fell, a whirring sound filled the air and squawks of birds filled the camp. Small quail landed and people quickly threw cloaks and blankets over the birds to catch them. Soon the people feasted on roast quail and the joy in the camp grew loud. The next morning the camp was covered in tiny water droplets and as it dried it left white flaky pieces like small seeds on the ground. “What is it?” the people asked Moses – and Moses showed them the pieces could be lifted and eaten, it was heaven’s bread. They called it Manna. The people started gathering.

Moses told Aaron that the people should gather an omar each (a little more than 2 litres or 9 cups) and that none should be stored overnight. He quickly passed the message around as the children started to munch on the small white seed-like pieces. Aaron loved the manna, it was like honey wafers. Aaron put men in charge of weighing the amounts everyone gathered to make sure each had an omar. The men soon came back to tell Aaron their job was not needed, for those who gathered little and those who gathered a lot both had an omar. When the sun rose high, any manna left melted into the sand.

The next morning, the manna was back, but the camp was really smelly. Some people had stored the manna overnight, and it was now full of maggots and stinky. Moses wasn’t happy. The morning after that, the manna was there again, and the morning after too. The Lord told Moses there would be no manna on the seventh day, so the people were to gather twice as much the day before. Once again, people did not listen, they thought the manna would be full of maggots again, but it wasn’t, others went out to gather and found nothing but sand. Weeks went by, and the manna did not stop appearing. It was good that Aaron liked manna because it was on the menu every day.

The Lord who had sent the plagues and split the sea, had rescued his people once again by providing manna bread.