Exodus 16:22 - Meaning and Application

Here we see, first, a clear sign that a seventh-day Sabbath was already being kept, not only before the law was given at Mount Sinai, but even before Israel was brought out of Egypt. So the Sabbath goes back to the beginning, as in Genesis 2:3. If the Sabbath had just been started here, how could Moses have understood God’s words in Exodus 16:5 about gathering a double amount on the sixth day, unless God had named the Sabbath directly? And how could the people have picked up the meaning so quickly in Exodus 16:22, even surprising the leaders, if they had known nothing of the Sabbath before? Setting apart one day in seven for holy work and holy rest was God’s own command from the time he made people, and it is the oldest positive law, that is, a direct command from God.

Second, God provided extra food for the Israelites on the sixth day, and he also made room for them to prepare it. He gave them enough bread for two days on that day, as Exodus 16:29 says. By commanding them to rest on the seventh day, he made sure they would not lose out by obeying him, and no one ever loses by serving God. They were to gather enough for two days and cook it beforehand, as Exodus 16:23 says. The rule was strict. They had to bake and boil it the day before, not on the Sabbath day. This does not mean it is wrong for us now to prepare food on the Lord’s Day, but it does teach us to arrange our household work so it will interrupt Sabbath worship as little as possible. Work that is truly necessary may be done on that day, but it is wise to keep worldly duties as light as possible so we can focus more fully on what matters most.

What they saved for the Sabbath did not spoil, as Exodus 16:24 says. When they kept manna in defiance of God’s command in Exodus 16:20, it rotted and smelled bad. When they kept it in obedience to his command, it stayed good and wholesome, because everything is made holy by God’s word and prayer.

Third, the manna did not appear on the seventh day. God did not send it then, so they were not to expect it or go out to gather it, as Exodus 16:25 and Exodus 16:26 say. This showed that manna was not the product of natural causes. It also showed that God was using it to confirm the authority of the law that Moses would soon receive. In this way, God made sure they would remember the Sabbath day. They could not forget either the Sabbath or the day before it, when they had to prepare.

Some of them did go out on the seventh day, hoping to find manna, as Exodus 16:27 says, but they found none. Those who want to find must seek at the right time, just as we are told to seek the Lord while he may be found. On this occasion God said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments?” in Exodus 16:28. Why speak to Moses this way if he was not the one being disobedient? Because he was the leader of a disobedient people, and God put the charge on him so he would press it more firmly on them and make sure their disobedience was not due to any neglect on his part. They were rebuked for going out to look for manna on the seventh day.

This teaches us two things. Even a small act of disobedience is deeply displeasing to God. And God is jealous, that is, very protective, of the honor of his Sabbaths. If walking out on the Sabbath to look for food was rebuked so strongly, then walking out on that day simply to seek our own pleasure cannot be defended.