Psalm 78:26-27

Psalm 78:26-27

The Winds and the Quail.

These two verses have puzzled many commentators, especially the references to south and east winds. However, if you are a birdwatcher and have visited Israel in the spring and autumn, you will know quite a bit about migration. Birds that have seen out the winter months in Africa migrate north to Europe in spring and need the south wind to propel them. The converse happens in autumn. The Mediterranean coast of the Middle East is an immense airway for great flocks of birds as they move back and forth, throughout the year.

The Common Quail migrates through a vast range of Asia from the Mediterranean across to India, so it is perfectly reasonable to describe the southern and eastern winds that brought large flocks to the Israelites as they camped in the wilderness. Numbers 11. These vast flocks carried on arriving for a whole month until the people were sick of the meat! Again, that bears out the migratory process and tells us that these events took place in spring. Interestingly, there is another migrating bird, just like the quail, called the sandgrouse and pictures of them usually show them congregating near pools or along the seashore as they drink. The reference in these verses to sand on the seashore makes me wonder if the birds were in fact, sandgrouse? 

The provision of meat here was in response to the grumbling of the people of Israel who had grown tired of their daily ration of manna. The parable factor is teaching us that God has complete control of creation and that He is able to provide for our needs simply be redirecting a few birds! He also responds sympathetically to our grumbling; such is His compassion and His mercy towards us. Having said that, the events in Numbers 11 shows us that we can push Him too far and that we are not to act like spoiled children, constantly making demands!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more