LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

Which parts of this story really happened? (Pam C., Nashville, Tennessee)

You’ll find the true story of this time in the book of Exodus, chapters 19, 20, and 32. The Israelites, having been freed from slavery in Egypt, had been in the wilderness for about three months when Moses went up the mountain to receive new laws from God. People aren’t sure now which mountain was Mount Sinai, though tradition favors a peak called Jebel Musa in the southern Sinai Desert.

The people prepared to meet with God by washing their clothes, as in this story. They saw the lightning, clouds, and smoke and heard the thunder and trumpet blast and God’s voice. Because God had come to the mountain, it was holy —which was why everyone except Moses was banned from climbing it. The penalty was being stoned to death or shot with arrows. As in the story, most of the Israelites rebelled while Moses was gone. They worshipped the golden calf Aaron had made. Moses reacted by smashing the stone tablets. Except for Moses and Aaron, the characters in the story are fictional. Ethan’s family represents those who stayed loyal to God. Melki and the other boys reflect the attitudes of those who turned away from the Lord.

What was manna, anyway? (Brady S., Red Deer, Alberta, Canada)

God provided food so the Israelites wouldn’t starve in the desert. This food was manna, a white, flaky substance that appeared on the ground in the morning and melted away in the heat of the day. The people collected manna, ground it up, and boiled it or baked it into cakes. The flavor was like wafers made with honey (Exodus 16:31) and like something made with olive oil (Numbers 11:8). There were rules about gathering manna. Each morning, people were to pick up only what they needed for the day —about three quarts per person. If they gathered too much and saved it for the next day, it would go bad, getting smelly and full of worms. The only exception was the sixth day of the week, when people were to gather twice as much as usual and save half so they wouldn’t have to collect it on the Sabbath, a day of rest. God did provide quail to eat when the Israelites complained about their manna diet (Exodus 16:13), but they ate manna for forty years!

What rules were on the stone tablets? (Chris D. and Jon D., Flushing, New York)

God gave Moses many commands (see Exodus 21–31), but it’s generally thought that those on the tablets were the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). The custom at the time was to make two copies of legal agreements, so each tablet would have contained all of the commandments, written on the front and back by God Himself (Exodus 32:15-16). Writing on stone tablets wasn’t unusual in those days. The ancient Code of Hammurabi, a Babylonian ruler, included a seven-foot slab recording more than 280 laws!

What happened to families like Melki’s who rebelled against God? (Wesley W., Wheaton, Illinois)

After Moses smashed the stone tablets, he burned the golden calf, ground it to powder, sprinkled the powder on the water, and made the people drink it (Exodus 32:19-20). When some of the Israelites remained out of control, Moses stood at the camp entrance and called, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me” (Exodus 32:26). Men from the Levite tribe responded, and Moses told them to take up swords and kill those who were still rebelling. About three thousand people died that day. Later the Lord struck the people with a plague —a disease —as punishment for worshipping the idol (Exodus 32:35). What happened to families like Melki’s may depend on whether they continued to disobey God. The punishments may seem harsh, but the sin was very serious. Worshipping the idol was rejecting God. If He hadn’t dealt firmly with the rebellion, it probably would have spread, ruining the whole nation’s chances of ever being His people and living in the land He had promised them.

Did families like Ethan’s ever get out of the desert? (Kurt B., Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Yes and no. The Israelites continued to wander in the desert for forty years, often grumbling and disobeying God. God may have let them do this because they weren’t ready to enter the homeland He’d promised. Most of the people who had left Egypt as grown-ups must have died before the desert days were over. Kids like Ethan could have survived to see the “land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). God used these hard years to teach the Israelites many things, just as He sometimes uses our hard times to help us learn to depend on and obey Him.