The First Mention of The Sabbath
October 30, 2025
Commentary
When God gave Israel manna, He also taught them about rest. This passage records the first mention of the Sabbath in the Bible (v. 23). The Lord told the people to gather twice as much manna on the sixth day because the seventh day would be a day of rest—holy to the Lord. On that day, they were to do no work and to trust that God would provide enough food for both days.
Some of the people disobeyed and went out to gather manna on the seventh day, but they found nothing (v. 27). God wanted them to learn that life is not only about working and collecting but also about resting and worshiping. He was teaching them to depend on Him, not on their own efforts. By resting, they were showing their trust that God could take care of them even when they stopped working.
This weekly rhythm of work and rest was a new idea for the Israelites, who had been slaves in Egypt with no rest at all. The Sabbath was a gift—a reminder that they belonged to God, not to Pharaoh or to their labor. It was also a sign of their relationship with Him (v. 29).
Moses told the people to keep a jar of manna as a reminder for future generations (vv. 32–33). This jar was later placed in the Ark of the Covenant to remind Israel how God had fed them faithfully for 40 years in the wilderness. Even when the manna stopped after they entered the Promised Land (v. 35), God’s faithfulness continued.
Through the Sabbath, God still calls His people to balance work and rest, effort and trust. He wants me to pause regularly—to remember His good-ness, refresh my soul, and remind myself that everything I have comes from Him.
Application
Do I trust God enough to rest when He says to rest? Sometimes I feel guilty when I’m not working, but the Sabbath reminds me that He provides even when I stop. How can I make more space in my week to rest, worship, and remember His goodness? What would it look like to truly rest in His care this week?
Exodus 16:23–36 (NET)
23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Whatever you want to bake, bake today; whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’”
24 So they put it aside until the morning, just as Moses had commanded, and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the area. 26 Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they found nothing. 28 So the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to obey my commandments and my instructions? 29 See, because the Lord has given you the Sabbath, that is why he is giving you food for two days on the sixth day. Each of you stay where you are; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The house of Israel called its name “manna.” It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted like wafers with honey.
32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it to be kept for generations to come, so that they may see the food I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.’” 33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put in it an omer full of manna, and place it before the Lord to be kept for generations to come.” 34 Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the ark of the testimony for safekeeping.
35 Now the Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was inhabited; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)
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