Yet (God) commanded the skies above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
God rained down on them manna to eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
He sent them food in abundance.
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
he rained flesh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
he let them fall within their camp,
all around their dwellings.
And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved. ~ Psalm 78:23-29
OK, so this image isn't actually the wind blowing manna from heaven. But it reminds me of it. It makes me think of looking up and seeing bread, soft and light as snow or dust, raining down - almost blindingly so.
Because we are told God let this food rain down in abundance. What overwhelming generosity - even if it wasn't what they expected.
We already know the people complained to Moses about their circumstances, and yes, they got tired of manna and complained again.
But the writer of this Psalm knows better.
The writer of the Psalm is able to look back, but not with nostalgia. Instead he is able to see with objective clarity the bounty that the Israelites received.
Sometimes it takes someone on the outside of our experience to show us the unvarnished truth: someone with the long view. Someone objective.
Sometimes we need our blessing pointed out to us so that we can see them more clearly.
Holy one, open my eyes to the blessings you have poured out before me. Amen
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