Exodus 16:27-30
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! 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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This verse reveals that even with God's clear instructions about the Sabbath and a miraculous provision of food, some people still chose to test His word by going out to gather. Their action wasn't born of genuine need, but rather a stubborn refusal to believe, preferring to trust their own eyes over God's promise.
The people had just received a miraculous provision of manna, but on the sixth day, they gathered a double portion in preparation for the Sabbath. Moses had explicitly instructed them that no manna would appear on the seventh day, the Sabbath, yet some individuals, driven by doubt or disobedience, went out to look for it anyway. This act of seeking manna on the Sabbath, despite Moses's clear warning and God's provision for the day before, demonstrates a persistent struggle within the people to fully trust and obey God's commands.
The manna was God's daily bread, a constant miracle. But what happened when they tried to gather it on the day meant for rest?
God instituted the Sabbath for the Israelites, a sacred day of rest. He provided a miracle by giving them a double portion of manna on the sixth day, assuring them they wouldn't need to gather on the seventh.
Deliberate Disobedience
Yet, some people, driven by doubt or defiance, went out to look for manna on the seventh day. This wasn't an oversight; it was a direct challenge to God's command and Moses's word. They were testing whether God's promise and Moses's instructions were true.
God's Response to Doubt
Their search yielded nothing. This wasn't a failure of the miracle, but a demonstration of God's faithfulness to His own command. By not finding manna, they were confronted with the reality that God controls its provision, and it was not to be sought on the Sabbath. Their disobedience highlighted their lack of faith.
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The manna was more than just food; its behavior revealed its miraculous source and the sacredness of the Sabbath.
The way the manna acted underscored its divine origin and the purpose of the Sabbath.
Spoiling or Preserving
When the Israelites hoarded manna on any day other than the Sabbath, it would spoil, growing worms and stinking. This was a stark warning against greed and distrust. However, when they followed God's instructions and kept the extra manna from the sixth day as commanded for the Sabbath, it remained fresh and good.
A Test of Faith and Obedience
This miracle demonstrated that the manna was not a natural food source but was supernaturally provided and sustained by God. Its availability (or lack thereof) on the Sabbath was a visible sign of God's covenant and His power. The people who went out on the seventh day found nothing, not because the manna had stopped, but because God withheld it, reinforcing that the Sabbath was a day of divine rest, not human labor.
Understand the original words
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
The personal name of the one true God of Israel, YHWH, who revealed Himself to Moses and entered into a covenant relationship with His people.
miṣwâ · Hebrew Noun
Divine instructions or authoritative pronouncements from God, intended to guide His people in holiness, obedience, and the way of life.
tôrâ · Hebrew Noun
A systematic body of divine instruction, guidance, or teaching provided by God to His people to govern their moral, social, and spiritual life.
leḥem · Hebrew Noun
Provision from God, often miraculous, intended to sustain physical life and demonstrate His sovereignty and care for His people.
šābat · Hebrew Verb
To stop working, to cease from activity, or to experience relief and rejuvenation, often associated with spiritual trust in God's provision.
This verse captures a pivotal moment where the divine institution of the Sabbath is immediately tested by human willfulness, highlighting the tension between God's revealed will and the people's desire to rely on their own actions.
c. 1446 BC
Israelites leave Egypt
After centuries of slavery, the Israelites are miraculously led out of Egypt by God through Moses, beginning their journey in the wilderness.
Weeks after Exodus
Manna begins to fall
As the Israelites complain about hunger in the desert, God begins providing manna, a unique food source, for them daily.
Weeks after Exodus
Commandment of the Sabbath
God instructs the Israelites on gathering manna, revealing the pattern of a six-day work week and a seventh-day holy Sabbath rest.
Weeks after Exodus— this verse
Disobedience on the Sabbath
Despite clear instructions, some Israelites go out to gather manna on the seventh day and find none, marking the first violation of the Sabbath commandment.
Weeks after Exodus
God rebukes disobedience
The Lord questions Moses about the people's persistent refusal to obey His commands and laws regarding the Sabbath.
This passage establishes the origin of the Sabbath rest given by God at creation, highlighting that it was a day of rest and holiness, not work, long before the incident with the manna.
John 6:31This verse speaks of the people asking Jesus for manna from heaven, similar to how the Israelites in Exodus were miraculously provided for, showing a pattern of God's provision and the people's expectations.
Romans 10:17This verse emphasizes that faith comes by hearing the word of God, directly contrasting with the Israelites who went out to gather on the Sabbath despite Moses's word that there would be none, illustrating the consequences of disobedience born from a lack of faith.
Hebrews 4:10This passage describes entering God's rest, which the Israelites failed to fully experience due to their disobedience and lack of faith, as exemplified by their seeking manna on the Sabbath.
gillExodus 16:27: "And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none."
And it came to pass,.... Perhaps the next seventh day following: that there went out some of the people for to gather; to gather manna, as on other days; which they did not through want of provision or a greedy appetite, for they had bread every day, and on that day to the full, but to gratify their curiosity, or to see whether the words of Moses stood, as Aben Ezra…
calvinExodus 16:19-30: "And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning."
Sed non audierunt Mosen: quia quidam reservarunt ex eo usque mane. Et scatere coepit vermibus, et computruit: ideoque iratus est contra eos Moses.
And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
Itaque collegerunt illud singulis diebus mane: quisque secundum mensuram suam: et quum sol incaluerat, liquefiebat.
And it came to pass, that on th…
This verse reveals that even with God's clear instructions about the Sabbath and a miraculous provision of food, some people still chose to test His word by going out to gather. Their action wasn't born of genuine need, but rather a stubborn refusal to believe, preferring to trust their own eyes over God's promise.
The people had just received a miraculous provision of manna, but on the sixth day, they gathered a double portion in preparation for the Sabbath. Moses had explicitly instructed them that no manna would appear on the seventh day, the Sabbath, yet some individuals, driven by doubt or disobedience, went out to look for it anyway. This act of seeking manna on the Sabbath, despite Moses's clear warning and God's provision for the day before, demonstrates a persistent struggle within the people to fully trust and obey God's commands.
The people had just received a miraculous provision of manna, but on the sixth day, they gathered a double portion in preparation for the Sabbath. Moses had explicitly instructed them that no manna would appear on the seventh day, the Sabbath, yet some individuals, driven by doubt or disobedience, went out to look for it anyway. This act of seeking manna on the Sabbath, despite Moses's clear warning and God's provision for the day before, demonstrates a persistent struggle within the people to fully trust and obey God's commands.
"On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day h…" — This verse reveals that even with God's clear instructions about the Sabbath and a miraculous provision of food, some people still chose to test His word by going out to gather. Their action wasn't b…
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