Where did the Israelites get their supplies in the desert

Open line on moody radio October 15, 20122, second hour

Question from listener:

I have a question about when the Israelites are in the desert, in Exodus and Leviticus, we have all kinds of talk about the fire on the altar, about the lamps not going out, we have serveral million people cooking food to eat, they are in the desert, I am wondering where they got wood, where they got oil to keep the lamps burning, where they got the grain for the grain offering?

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

They have truck stops along the way

Listener:

Ha ha ha

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

It seems to me, we presume a couple of things, one is that in the wilderness there's no trees, no shrubs, nothing like that and there are little areas of oasis that there are trees and there is shrub. I mean the real question is in the wilderness is where did they get water? And they go places where there is water and sometimes the water is bitter, remember? It has been made sweet and other places Moses have to strike or speak at the rock for the water to come forth, right?

Listener:

But God does that miraculously ...

Dr Michael Rydelnik:

But, my point is that when you have those places that are oasis in the desert, that there is shrub trees all around and so you do have them in the desert and people have access to that. Secondly, with what we know with the story of Joseph, is that there were Ishamaelites who were working as traders going from the north through the fertile crescent down to Egypt and they have to pass through the Sinai peninsular and so it seemed to me that they would likely be encountering people, getting grain, getting oil, things like that, traders, so when I say truck stops, I was only joking but there were traders that were passing through and back then, people believe in free enterprise too and so they saw all those people in the wilderness, the traders would say ah! let's pass through there and we will sell goods to them! So, that's what happened.