The American Wisdom Series

Presents

Sabbath

Manna described and gathered
14  And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
15  And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
16 [*]This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

[*] (16:16) Compare Jn.6:33
John 6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
with  Jn.6:41,42,52.
John 6:41  The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 42  And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? 52  The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Christ gives Himself unreservedly, but we have no more of Him experientially than faith appropriates (v.18).  In Josh.1 cp.v.2 with v.3.  Verse 2 is the title; v.3, the law of possession.
Joshua 1:2  Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
Joshua 1:3  Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

Exodus 16 continued
Exodus 16:17  And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
18  And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
19  And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
20  Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
21[*] And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

[*] As man is not nourished by the memory of food, so the Christian cannot be spiritually sustained on past appropriations of Christ. Yes, fellow Christian, we must eat our daily bread to maintain our spiritual well-being!  If we don't we may find Mt.24:13
Matthew 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
and Mk.13:13
Mark 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
addressed to us at our Lord's return.

Exodus 16 continued
Exodus 16:22  ¶And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

Sabbath invested with special covenant significance to Israel
Exodus 16:23  And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy [*] sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

[*] Sabbath (cp.Ex.31-13; Neh.9:13-14; see Mt.12:1, note)
Exodus 31:13  Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
Nehemiah 9:13  Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
14  And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
Matthew 12:1  ¶At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. See Mt.12:1 Note below.

[1] The Sabbath appears in Scripture as the day of God's rest in the finished work of creation (Gen. 2:2-3).
Genesis 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. - 3  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
During the long period from Eden to Sinai, no mention is made of it.  Then the Sabbath was revealed to Israel (Ex16:23; Neh.9:13-14),
Exodus 16:23  And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and see the(boil) that ye will seethe(boil); and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.);
Nehemiah 9:13  Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: 14  And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
made a part of the law (Ex.20:8-11),
Exodus 20:8  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
and invested with the character of a "sign" between the Lord and Israel, and a perpetual reminder to Israel of their separation to God (Ex.31:13-17).
Exodus 31:13-17  Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. 14  Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17  It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
It was observed by complete rest (Ex.35:2-3);
Exodus 35:2  Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. 3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
and by the Lord's express order a man was put to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath day (Num.15:32-36).
Numbers 15:32  And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 33  And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 34  And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. 35  And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. 36  And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Apart from maintaining the burnt offering (Num.28:9),
Numbers 28:9  ¶And on the sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof:
and its connection with the annual feasts (Ex.12:16; Lev.23:3,8; Num.28:25),
Exodus 12:16  And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
Leviticus 23:3  Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
Leviticus 23:8  But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
Numbers 28:25  And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work,
the seventh-day Sabbath was never made a day of sacrifice, worship, or any manner of religious service. It was simply and only a day of complete rest for man and beast, a humane provision for man's needs. In Christ's words, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath" (Mk.2:27)
Mark 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

[2] Our Lord found the observance of the day encrusted with rabbinical evasions and restrictions (Mt.12:2),
Matthew 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to  ,do upon the sabbath day,
wholly unknown to the law, so that He was Himself held to be a Sabbath-breaker by the religious authorities of the time. The Sabbath will be again observed during the Kingdom Age (Isa.66:23.
Isaiah 66:23  And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

[3] The Christian first-day-rest peretuates in the dispensation of the Church the principle that one-seventh of the time is especially sacred, but in all other respects is in contrast with the Sabbath. One is the seventh day; the other the first. The Sabbath commemorates God's creation rest; the first day, Christ's resurrection. On the seventh day God rested; on the first day Christ was ceaselessly active. The Sabbath commemorates a finished creation; the first day, a finished redemption. The Sabbath was a day of legal obligation; the first day, one of voluntary worship and service.

The Sabbath is mentioned in The Gospels and Acts only in connection with the Jews, and in the balance of the N.T. but twice (Col.2:16; Heb.4:4).
Colossians 2:16  ¶Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Hebrews 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
In these passages the seventh-day Sabbath is explained to be, not a day to be observed by Christians, but instead, still a type of the present rest into which the believer will enter when "he also ceases from his own works" and trusts Christ. (Heb.3:7-19 and Heb.4:1-14)
Hebrews 3:7  ¶Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8  Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9  When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 10  Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11  So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) 12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 17  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Hebrews 4:1  ¶Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. 6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 ¶Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
But the none believers, those of us who are not resting in Christ, will most certainly be harvested out of season, i.e. by the false-christ, Satan, when he comes to earth at the 6th trump and stand in the temple claiming that he is Christ. (Mat.24:20)
Matthew 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.

 Christ foretold us in Matthew 24 what would take place in this final generation.

Exodus 16 continued
Exodus 16:24  And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.
25  And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.
26  Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
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.
28  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
29  See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
30  So the people rested on the seventh day.
31  And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
32  ¶And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
33  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.
34  As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
35 [*] And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.

[*] The word "manna" is often called "spiritual food" (1 Cor.10:3)
1 Corinthians 10:3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
in reference to its supernatural origin.

Exodus 16:36  Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.