For some reason, Morning Prayer has jumped across to Numbers – but is there the first reported case of Bird Flu here?
Then a wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quails from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, about two cubits deep on the ground. So the people worked all that day and night and all the next day, gathering the quails; the least anyone gathered was ten homers; and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague.
Actually the context of this is interesting – Moses has having a rough time and wanted to jack it all in, so God told him to appoint 70 elders to help him look after the people. It’s another example of getting right to the end of our tether, then God stepping in with the solution.
As for the Bird Flu; 2 days is probably pretty fast for incubation… unless of course the meat was hung for a bit before they started to eat it?