Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
Six days manna was given to be gathered, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, none fell and none could be found in the field. A double portion was given on the sixth day to be gathered, prepared and preserved beforehand on Friday, and by a threefold miracle the sixth-day portion was kept fresh through the Sabbath while manna kept on other days spoiled. The weekly pattern taught that the Sabbath is the Lord's sacred rest-day, confirming the day hallowed at creation and repeating the Sabbath law given in Eden before it was spoken at Sinai, testing whether the people would walk in God's law. The command still binds every Sabbathkeeper to prepare food beforehand on Friday, to leave ordinary business and cooking undone until the Sabbath has passed and eat what was prepared even if less tasty, while caring for the sick and suffering remains a work of mercy. The deliverance from Egypt to keep the Sabbath holy is the pattern for the last days, when God calls His people out of Babylon to keep the true Sabbath and refuse the spurious rival sabbath set up by the man of sin.
Weekly Manna Provision
Six days manna was provided to be gathered, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, none fell and none was found or available in the field. On each of the six working days it was to be gathered, while the seventh was set apart from the other days of gathering when no manna was provided. The people were to gather and prepare what they needed beforehand and rest from gathering on the Sabbath.
A double portion was to be gathered on the sixth day, twice as much as on other days, and gathered, prepared, preserved, and packed beforehand on Friday. Food needed for the Sabbath could be obtained beforehand on Friday, and food was gathered on the six days before the Sabbath with none to be gathered on the seventh. In this way Israel could rest from gathering and cooking and from ordinary food-gathering on the Sabbath, the seventh being a day when such labor ceases.
The pattern involved a threefold miracle: a double portion on the sixth day, the withholding of manna on the seventh day, and the miraculous preservation of the sixth-day portion fresh through the Sabbath. The double portion that fell on the preparation day was miraculously preserved, though manna kept on other days spoiled. The weekly withholding of manna and preservation of the double portion gathered beforehand continually reminded Israel throughout its wilderness journey of God's appointed rest day and gave them opportunity to keep it.
This occurred after Israel was delivered from Egyptian bondage to a place where they might observe unmolested all the precepts of Jehovah. In bondage their taskmasters had tried to force them to labor on the Sabbath by increasing the work required each week. The reminder continued through nearly forty years of wandering, around the speaking of the law at Sinai and its delivery to Moses of its copy on two tables of stone written with the finger of God. God brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders in order that they might keep the Sabbath holy and fulfill the precepts of His law, and by a double miracle placed His seal upon the sacredness of the Sabbath institution, preparing a people long shaped by idolatry in Egypt to receive the Ten Commandments proclaimed in awful grandeur on Mount Sinai.
The miraculous provision of bread and heavenly food in the wilderness shows God's mercy. It was shared with the Israelites and with strangers who honored its conditions, including not profaning the Sabbath. God did not supply everything needed for religious service but required the people to cooperate with Him, and that shared responsibility formed part of their moral discipline. Even food was provided for their highest good as part of an education covering all habits of life, where everything concerning well-being was the subject of divine care and came within divine law, being of a nature to promote physical, mental, and moral strength, so that notwithstanding the hardships of wilderness life there was not a feeble one in all their tribes.
Sabbath Institution Upheld
Six days were appointed for gathering, but on the seventh day none was to be found in the field, and that weekly withholding taught that the Sabbath is sacred. The double portion provided on the sixth day supplied food for the Sabbath, so that the people were to rest from gathering and from ordinary food-gathering labor. The sixth-day gathering was to be prepared, preserved and kept beforehand for the day of rest, establishing the Sabbath as a day of rest and not ordinary work. The lesson was pressed by miracle, for the sixth-day portion stayed fresh through the Sabbath though manna kept on other days spoiled, and with the absence of manna on the seventh this formed a threefold witness to the Sabbath's sacredness. By this weekly pattern the seventh day was shown to be the Lord's appointed rest-day.
By miracle the validity of the seventh day as holy was sustained in the giving of the manna, with provision on six days and none on the seventh because it is the Sabbath. That miracle confirms the seventh day hallowed and sanctified at creation and later proclaimed sacred in the commandments given on Mount Sinai in the heart of the Decalogue. Thus the seventh-day Sabbath stands established as a holy institution.
The manna continually testified to the Sabbath commandment and repeated the Sabbath law given in Eden before it was spoken at Sinai. The extra provision on the sixth day and the absence of provision on the seventh were a continual testimony to that Eden-given commandment. Israel was therefore expected to keep the Sabbath before reaching Sinai.
The weekly gathering and the absence of manna on the Sabbath preserved the Sabbath law during Israel's forty years in the wilderness. That arrangement tested whether the people would walk in God's law and throughout the wilderness journey reminded them of God's appointed rest day and gave them opportunity to keep it. By a double miracle in feeding them with manna God placed His seal upon the sacredness of the Sabbath institution, preparing a people long shaped by idolatry in Egypt to receive the Ten Commandments proclaimed in awful grandeur on Mount Sinai. Yet the reminder did not ensure obedience, for Sabbath observance remained lax during the wilderness years.
God brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders and called the children of Israel out of Egypt that they might keep His Sabbath holy on the seventh day and fulfill the precepts of His law. The Sabbath was a reason for that calling out of Egypt. It is God's appointed day, set apart in contrast to a rival, spurious Sabbath.
Sabbath Observance Today
The six-day gathering with none on the seventh stands as a continuing duty for Christians and every keeper of the Sabbath, for God cares as much about the Sabbath now as when the direction was first given to Israel. Preparation belongs to the preceding day, ordinary business is to be kept out of Sabbath hours, and unnecessary work is to be left undone until the Sabbath has passed. Food needed for the Sabbath is to be obtained beforehand on Friday, and prepared and packed on Friday, so that rest from gathering and cooking can be kept, and on that principle a restaurant is not to operate on the Sabbath. All baking and boiling must be done on the sixth day to prepare for the rest of the Sabbath, and no food is to be cooked on the seventh day. Cooking food on the Sabbath violates the fourth commandment and makes a person a transgressor of God's law, under solemn injunction from Jehovah to every Sabbathkeeper. Everyone who truly keeps the Sabbath according to the commandment will cook nothing on the Sabbath but will deny self in fear of the God who gave His law from Sinai and will eat food prepared on the sixth day even if it is not as tasty. The ban guards the people from gluttony on the Sabbath, because He set that day apart for sacred meditation and worship.
At campmeeting all needful preparation for Sabbath meals must be made beforehand and cooking on the Sabbath avoided as a violation, allowing only hot gruel or something equally simple on a cool Sabbath morning and the warming of some kind of food for dinner. Caring for the sick and suffering is excepted as a work of mercy and does not break this rest. The calling of Israel out of Egypt that they might keep His Sabbath on the seventh day is the pattern for the end time. In the last days God calls His people out of Babylon to keep the true Sabbath, to refuse worship of the beast and his image, and to reject the spurious rival sabbath set up by the man of sin who thought to change times and laws and exalted himself above God by removing God's memorial and setting up a rival day.
Six days manna was given to be gathered, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, none fell and none could be found in the field. A double portion was given on the sixth day to be gathered, prepared and preserved beforehand on Friday, and by a threefold miracle the sixth-day portion was kept fresh through the Sabbath while manna kept on other days spoiled. The weekly pattern taught that the Sabbath is the Lord's sacred rest-day, confirming the day hallowed at creation and repeating the Sabbath law given in Eden before it was spoken at Sinai, testing whether the people would walk in God's law. The command still binds every Sabbathkeeper to prepare food beforehand on Friday, to leave ordinary business and cooking undone until the Sabbath has passed and eat what was prepared even if less tasty, while caring for the sick and suffering remains a work of mercy. The deliverance from Egypt to keep the Sabbath holy is the pattern for the last days, when God calls His people out of Babylon to keep the true Sabbath and refuse the spurious rival sabbath set up by the man of sin.
Weekly Manna Provision
Six days manna was provided to be gathered, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, none fell and none was found or available in the field. On each of the six working days it was to be gathered, while the seventh was set apart from the other days of gathering when no manna was provided. The people were to gather and prepare what they needed beforehand and rest from gathering on the Sabbath.
A double portion was to be gathered on the sixth day, twice as much as on other days, and gathered, prepared, preserved, and packed beforehand on Friday. Food needed for the Sabbath could be obtained beforehand on Friday, and food was gathered on the six days before the Sabbath with none to be gathered on the seventh. In this way Israel could rest from gathering and cooking and from ordinary food-gathering on the Sabbath, the seventh being a day when such labor ceases.
The pattern involved a threefold miracle: a double portion on the sixth day, the withholding of manna on the seventh day, and the miraculous preservation of the sixth-day portion fresh through the Sabbath. The double portion that fell on the preparation day was miraculously preserved, though manna kept on other days spoiled. The weekly withholding of manna and preservation of the double portion gathered beforehand continually reminded Israel throughout its wilderness journey of God's appointed rest day and gave them opportunity to keep it.
This occurred after Israel was delivered from Egyptian bondage to a place where they might observe unmolested all the precepts of Jehovah. In bondage their taskmasters had tried to force them to labor on the Sabbath by increasing the work required each week. The reminder continued through nearly forty years of wandering, around the speaking of the law at Sinai and its delivery to Moses of its copy on two tables of stone written with the finger of God. God brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders in order that they might keep the Sabbath holy and fulfill the precepts of His law, and by a double miracle placed His seal upon the sacredness of the Sabbath institution, preparing a people long shaped by idolatry in Egypt to receive the Ten Commandments proclaimed in awful grandeur on Mount Sinai.
The miraculous provision of bread and heavenly food in the wilderness shows God's mercy. It was shared with the Israelites and with strangers who honored its conditions, including not profaning the Sabbath. God did not supply everything needed for religious service but required the people to cooperate with Him, and that shared responsibility formed part of their moral discipline. Even food was provided for their highest good as part of an education covering all habits of life, where everything concerning well-being was the subject of divine care and came within divine law, being of a nature to promote physical, mental, and moral strength, so that notwithstanding the hardships of wilderness life there was not a feeble one in all their tribes.
Sabbath Institution Upheld
Six days were appointed for gathering, but on the seventh day none was to be found in the field, and that weekly withholding taught that the Sabbath is sacred. The double portion provided on the sixth day supplied food for the Sabbath, so that the people were to rest from gathering and from ordinary food-gathering labor. The sixth-day gathering was to be prepared, preserved and kept beforehand for the day of rest, establishing the Sabbath as a day of rest and not ordinary work. The lesson was pressed by miracle, for the sixth-day portion stayed fresh through the Sabbath though manna kept on other days spoiled, and with the absence of manna on the seventh this formed a threefold witness to the Sabbath's sacredness. By this weekly pattern the seventh day was shown to be the Lord's appointed rest-day.
By miracle the validity of the seventh day as holy was sustained in the giving of the manna, with provision on six days and none on the seventh because it is the Sabbath. That miracle confirms the seventh day hallowed and sanctified at creation and later proclaimed sacred in the commandments given on Mount Sinai in the heart of the Decalogue. Thus the seventh-day Sabbath stands established as a holy institution.
The manna continually testified to the Sabbath commandment and repeated the Sabbath law given in Eden before it was spoken at Sinai. The extra provision on the sixth day and the absence of provision on the seventh were a continual testimony to that Eden-given commandment. Israel was therefore expected to keep the Sabbath before reaching Sinai.
The weekly gathering and the absence of manna on the Sabbath preserved the Sabbath law during Israel's forty years in the wilderness. That arrangement tested whether the people would walk in God's law and throughout the wilderness journey reminded them of God's appointed rest day and gave them opportunity to keep it. By a double miracle in feeding them with manna God placed His seal upon the sacredness of the Sabbath institution, preparing a people long shaped by idolatry in Egypt to receive the Ten Commandments proclaimed in awful grandeur on Mount Sinai. Yet the reminder did not ensure obedience, for Sabbath observance remained lax during the wilderness years.
God brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders and called the children of Israel out of Egypt that they might keep His Sabbath holy on the seventh day and fulfill the precepts of His law. The Sabbath was a reason for that calling out of Egypt. It is God's appointed day, set apart in contrast to a rival, spurious Sabbath.
Sabbath Observance Today
The six-day gathering with none on the seventh stands as a continuing duty for Christians and every keeper of the Sabbath, for God cares as much about the Sabbath now as when the direction was first given to Israel. Preparation belongs to the preceding day, ordinary business is to be kept out of Sabbath hours, and unnecessary work is to be left undone until the Sabbath has passed. Food needed for the Sabbath is to be obtained beforehand on Friday, and prepared and packed on Friday, so that rest from gathering and cooking can be kept, and on that principle a restaurant is not to operate on the Sabbath. All baking and boiling must be done on the sixth day to prepare for the rest of the Sabbath, and no food is to be cooked on the seventh day. Cooking food on the Sabbath violates the fourth commandment and makes a person a transgressor of God's law, under solemn injunction from Jehovah to every Sabbathkeeper. Everyone who truly keeps the Sabbath according to the commandment will cook nothing on the Sabbath but will deny self in fear of the God who gave His law from Sinai and will eat food prepared on the sixth day even if it is not as tasty. The ban guards the people from gluttony on the Sabbath, because He set that day apart for sacred meditation and worship.
At campmeeting all needful preparation for Sabbath meals must be made beforehand and cooking on the Sabbath avoided as a violation, allowing only hot gruel or something equally simple on a cool Sabbath morning and the warming of some kind of food for dinner. Caring for the sick and suffering is excepted as a work of mercy and does not break this rest. The calling of Israel out of Egypt that they might keep His Sabbath on the seventh day is the pattern for the end time. In the last days God calls His people out of Babylon to keep the true Sabbath, to refuse worship of the beast and his image, and to reject the spurious rival sabbath set up by the man of sin who thought to change times and laws and exalted himself above God by removing God's memorial and setting up a rival day.