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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Exodus 16:22 - 16:31
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The Sabbath Rest
v. 22. And it came to pass that on the sixth day of the week they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man, about five quarts per person; and all the rulers of the congregation, the princes, or leaders, of the various tribes, came. and told Moses. The strangeness of the happening caused them to wonder.
v. 23. And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said (v. 5. ), Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord, which up to that time had evidently not been observed. Bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; they were to prepare and eat their meals as usual; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning, for use on the Sabbath-day.
v. 24. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade; and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein, which showed that the entire matter was in the hands of God's providence.
v. 25. And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a Sabbath unto the Lord; today ye shall not find it in the field, another proof that it was not the natural manna (which in warm weather oozes out of the branches of the tarfa-tree) with which the children of Israel were dealing, but a gift from heaven, sent at the direction of God.
v. 26. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.
v. 27. And it came to pass that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, in the same obstinate willfulness which characterized the people throughout, and they found none.
v. 28. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws? The people were giving a poor account of their faith in this trial of their obedience and heaping one sin upon the other.
v. 29. See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore He giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days. That was the explanation repeated, which included the reproof. Abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. That was the plain command, which permitted no evasion.
v. 30. So the people rested on the seventh day; from this time the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath dates.
v. 31. And the house of Israel called the name thereof, of the miraculous bread, manna; and it was like coriander seed, white, small, round kernels of dull white or yellowish green color; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. Cf Num_11:7-8. It could be ground in a hand-mill, crushed in a mortar, cooked by baking or boiling, made into cakes or bread, and tasted like baked food. It is referred to Psa_78:24; Psa_105:40; Joh_6:31-41.