Exodus 16
We pick up in Exodus 16 with the Israelites continuing on their journey to Sinai, coming to the wilderness of Sin. “And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’” Yet again, we see a propensity for God’s people to long for bondage to slavery in lieu of trusting God’s provision on the way to the Promised Land.
In response, God tells Moses of His plans to provide daily bread and meat to the Israelites, thereby reminding them that they are utterly dependent upon the LORD for their sustenance. Not only does He promise daily provisions, but God also specifies that the people were to take only what they needed for that day and use all that was gathered within the same timeframe (except on the sixth day, when they were to collect food for two days). Most did as God had prescribed, while those who disobeyed and saved leftovers found their bread to have “bred worms and stank” (v. 20). “Morning by morning they gathered [the food], each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted” (v. 21). This daily rhythm should have prompted the Israelites to come to know God as their provider, which then should have strengthened their trust in Him for other areas of their lives. Unfortunately, though, we will see tomorrow that memories of God’s faithfulness are short among those journeying to Canaan (as ours are often fleeting as well).
As mentioned, at God’s command, on the sixth day the people of Israel were to gather twice as much bread, as it was told to them that no bread would be found on the seventh day. The reason? Read what God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites: “‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD…’ The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day” (vv. 23, 29-30).
This is the first specific mention of the Sabbath in the Bible, but it won’t be the last, as this was a discipline God expected His people to practice (and something He modeled by resting on the seventh day in the Creation account). Despite this weekly rhythm of stopping, resting, delighting, and worshipping seeming so important to God, I am convinced the Sabbath is such a foreign and unattainable practice to so many because we have simply become too engulfed in our careers, hobbies, and/or children’s activities to find the time to do so. Candidly, I was hesitant to implement this practice in our home, thinking of all the reasons why I could not afford to “not do anything” (by the world’s standards) for 24 hours. Yet I quickly came to realize that the more we practiced Sabbath, the more I yearned for the eternal rest in Christ that we will experience in His new creation (Hebrews 4:9-10). No wonder God commanded it, and Jesus affirmed that it was a gift given by God “for man” (Mark 2:27).
Chapter 16 closes with Moses telling the Israelites one more command from God: “Let an omer of [bread] be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt” (v. 32). This is just a reminder that our record of God’s faithfulness should not be kept to ourselves. Instead, we are to share our experiences with our spheres of influence so they may come to taste and see that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8).
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Journal responses to the following prompts:
· Do you tend to have a short- or long-term memory when it comes to God’s faithfulness?
· What challenges do you anticipate when thinking about incorporating the Sabbath practice? How can you overcome them?