For several days now God has provided bread for the Israelites to eat, delivering on His promise to Moses earlier in the week and satisfying their grumblings about hunger. He has provided for His chosen people in miraculous fashion yet again.
In today's verses, Exodus 16:22-26, it is now the sixth day and the people have gathered twice as much food. So much so that the leaders felt it necessary to report this to Moses. Moses responded telling the people, "This is what the Lord has said: 'Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.' " So the people did as Moses commanded and set the leftover food aside until morning, and it did not stink or have maggots in it. Then Moses told them, "Eat it today because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you won't find any in the field. For six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none."
Logic would tell us that it should take twice as long to gather 4 quarts as it would 2 quarts of something. But God doesn't always deal in logic, He deals in miracles. The people were to gather twice as much food on the sixth day which seems that it would have been a sizeable task...unless God provided bread in more abundance on that day. While we don't have proof of the amount of manna on the ground, it seems that the available amount caught the attention of the leaders enough to warrant them telling Moses about it (Ex 16:22). "Their faith in obeying the testing of each day had now been supplemented by the reward of their faith for obeying the special provisions for the sixth-day's gathering." God rewarded faith - an important life lesson for us still today.
God's provision did come with restrictions though. While he would provide all that the people needed, He desired for them to respond to Him on their day of rest, the Sabbath. This command and testing of the people was twofold. First, it would force them to trust and rely on God to provide. Second, it would encourage them to rest and worship the Heavenly Father. God was instituting the Sabbath as a day of rest but more so as a day of refocused service and worship toward Him. God wouldn't just give command without offering a means of provision though. With no refrigeration and minimal means of storing food, God kept the food fresh overnight on the sixth day (v24), yet another miracle of the Provider.
In verses 25-26, Moses plainly tells the people that there will be no manna in the field to gather. This would free up their time and energy on the Sabbath that was normally spent gathering to now be spent on worshipping God and resting. "This does not mean that they should do nothing but only that they would cease from the sort of work they had to do on the other six days."
I struggle greatly with busyness. I don't know why it seems so hard sometimes to slow down, be still, and trust God to provide. But I constantly want to push harder, go farther, and do more. Lord, I pray that you will help me know when and where to work, when and where to serve, and when and where to rest in You. Thank you for providing more than I could ever work to attain. Forgive me that my actions do not always indicate a trust in Your provision, and help me to trust more. Amen.
In today's verses, Exodus 16:22-26, it is now the sixth day and the people have gathered twice as much food. So much so that the leaders felt it necessary to report this to Moses. Moses responded telling the people, "This is what the Lord has said: 'Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.' " So the people did as Moses commanded and set the leftover food aside until morning, and it did not stink or have maggots in it. Then Moses told them, "Eat it today because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you won't find any in the field. For six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none."
Logic would tell us that it should take twice as long to gather 4 quarts as it would 2 quarts of something. But God doesn't always deal in logic, He deals in miracles. The people were to gather twice as much food on the sixth day which seems that it would have been a sizeable task...unless God provided bread in more abundance on that day. While we don't have proof of the amount of manna on the ground, it seems that the available amount caught the attention of the leaders enough to warrant them telling Moses about it (Ex 16:22). "Their faith in obeying the testing of each day had now been supplemented by the reward of their faith for obeying the special provisions for the sixth-day's gathering." God rewarded faith - an important life lesson for us still today.
God's provision did come with restrictions though. While he would provide all that the people needed, He desired for them to respond to Him on their day of rest, the Sabbath. This command and testing of the people was twofold. First, it would force them to trust and rely on God to provide. Second, it would encourage them to rest and worship the Heavenly Father. God was instituting the Sabbath as a day of rest but more so as a day of refocused service and worship toward Him. God wouldn't just give command without offering a means of provision though. With no refrigeration and minimal means of storing food, God kept the food fresh overnight on the sixth day (v24), yet another miracle of the Provider.
In verses 25-26, Moses plainly tells the people that there will be no manna in the field to gather. This would free up their time and energy on the Sabbath that was normally spent gathering to now be spent on worshipping God and resting. "This does not mean that they should do nothing but only that they would cease from the sort of work they had to do on the other six days."
I struggle greatly with busyness. I don't know why it seems so hard sometimes to slow down, be still, and trust God to provide. But I constantly want to push harder, go farther, and do more. Lord, I pray that you will help me know when and where to work, when and where to serve, and when and where to rest in You. Thank you for providing more than I could ever work to attain. Forgive me that my actions do not always indicate a trust in Your provision, and help me to trust more. Amen.
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