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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. He said to them, "This is what the Lord commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.'"
So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. "Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."
Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep My commands and My instructions? Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day He gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out."
So the people rested on the seventh day.
Exodus 16:21-30
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we looked at the opening verses of Exodus, chapter 16 yesterday, we saw where God had once again shown His faithful protection and provision for His beloved Israelite people, sending quail and manna from heaven to feed them during their journey to the land He promised them.
The manna was as plentiful as the morning dew and the people gathered as much as they needed, gathering twice as much on the sixth day.
Why?
Because God designated the seventh day as a "day of rest, a holy Sabbath” to Him. No manna would be found on the seventh day as the Israelites were to rest on that day. And because of this God-mandated rest, the Israelites were to gather twice as much manna on the sixth day, so the people would have something to eat on the holy Sabbath day.
Of particular interest is the use of the word Sabbath in today’s scripture. It is the first time the word is used in the Bible, preceding the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) where we know God would include an order there to keep the Sabbath holy with no work allowed on that day. The Lord made it clear that the matter of the Sabbath was not only important to Him but it was to be to His people as well. This still stands true today.
So the question is, “Is the matter of rest on the Sabbath important to Christian believers today?”
The origin of the word “Sabbath” comes from the Hebrew word, Shabbath, meaning "to rest". And of course, this isn’t the first time we see the word rest used in the bible, is it? For if we go all the way back to the creation account in Genesis, we find this:
"By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that he had done." Genesis 2:2-4
Going back to our passage for today, we see that the concept of resting on the seventh day because it was holy was just a continuation of God’s word in Genesis. The point was that if God could rest from His work, then He expected man could rest from his as well.
The scriptures show us that there was advance preparation needed in order for God’s people to properly rest on the Sabbath. For we read where God directed the Israelites to "bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning."
Before, if the Israelites tried to save their manna for the next day they would find it spoiled and maggot-ridden. But this wouldn’t happen on the Sabbath for "they saved” the manna “until morning” as Moses had commanded and “it did not stink or get maggots in it." This fulfilled what Moses had told them when he said:
“Eat it today because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."
And it was so, yet we read where some people didn’t listen. There was still a faction of the Israelite people who remained stubborn and disobedient. For the scriptures tell us that "some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none." In other words, they didn’t rest as directed and we get a sense they didn’t gather enough manna for two days on the sixth day either. This was probably because they assumed they would be able to get manna on the seventh day, even though God said otherwise.
We read where this behavior didn’t make the Lord very happy as He asked Moses:
"How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out."
You have to believe that Moses must have been a frustrated leader at this point because although he was issuing the commands of God, he couldn’t control the actions of his brother and sister Israelites who continued to show they were sinners who had free will to do what they wanted.
I can understand how frustrated the Lord and Moses must have been more than 2,000 years ago because I find myself as frustrated today with this matter of rest on the Sabbath. For unfortunately, we find the Lord’s sacred and holy day Sabbath treated as if it were just as any other.
People work.
Sporting events are held.
Shopping centers and restaurants are open.
When it comes right down to it, there is more than ample opportunity for a person to do as much as they want to do on the Sabbath whether you observe it on Saturday or Sunday. And so, the Lord’s call to rest too often falls on deaf ears even though His requirements and expectations haven’t changed. Like in all things, Satan is always at work in our world trying to tempt and move God’s people further and further away from the obedience He demands. And just in looking at our present times, he is succeeding in a big way.
Friends, this passage and its associated message carry a big challenge for all believers who need to answer some very pointed questions:
How well am I upholding the Sabbath in my life?
Am I respecting and responding to God’s call to rest in obedience?
Am I keeping everything I do on the Sabbath holy, honoring God in the way I limit my activities to worshiping and praising Him?
If we’re honest, I think we all could use a lot of improvement in this matter and I pray you will join me in cleaning things up when it comes to this matter of rest.
After all, we have six other days of the week to do what we need to do, right?
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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