Wednesdays with Moses

Read Exodus 16:22-26 – And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’” So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” (NKJV)

If we’re honest, the idea of Sabbath is one that often eludes us in our constant push to maximize productivity. Rest is for the tired, and many of us wait until we can’t go forward before we’re willing to stop. For Moses and the Israelites, the option to keep gathering manna on the Sabbath was taken away. God forced them to depend on His miraculous provision and sought to teach them that observing Sabbath rest wouldn’t leave them undernourished. In fact, their lives would be stronger if they obeyed God’s plan for their physical wellbeing. Of course, that truth remains true. In our push to get more and more done, we miss out on God’s greater wisdom. He knows that the weekly “refueling” a day of worship and rest brings will launch us further than our constant effort for more could ever achieve. 

– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.