Food in the desert

Exodus 16:3 - The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into the desert to starve this entire assembly to death."

I wonder why the Israelites didn't use their flocks and herds that they had brought with them from Egypt for food. If they had been using them, surely they wouldn't have all been used up by this time, would they? It's very difficult to do the math, since no numbers are given for the animals. But just one cow can last several people a good long time.

So if there were still animals available, why did they complain that there was no food? Were they saving the animals until they got to their new home in Canaan? Perhaps. At this point in the journey, they probably thought it would only take a few days or weeks to get there. They had no idea that it would end up taking 40 years. This still seems like a weak argument for not eating their animals though.

I wonder who exactly it was that was doing the complaining. It says that the whole community grumbled, but I wonder if some were more vocal than others. Would it have been those who were not shepherds or herdsmen grousing about not having animals of their own to eat? Would it have been the shepherds and herdsmen who didn't want to give up their animals? It seems it must have been some from each camp since everyone was involved.

I wonder why God just didn't give the order to start slaughtering the animals and to dole out portions to everyone as needed. Then again, I don't wonder too much about his decision. His plan to bring quail and manna into the mix

1. spared the vast majority of their flocks and herds,
2. provided a way for the people to show love and obedience, and
3. shows several of God's wonderful qualities often exhibited when dealing with people...

...love, wisdom, tolerance, and more.