God made us complete with the need to rest. In the book “The Overload Syndrome” the author, who is an MD, states that when people work over 60 hours a week, their productivity goes way down. So, companies that work their employees more than 60 hours in a week may be getting more hours, but they are getting less productivity. But that is not all. Many who do not leave themselves what the author calls “margins” can develop all manner of health problems, including but not limited to, headaches, exhaustion, and heart problems. Why is it so hard for us to accept that most of us cannot function without rest? We need sleep; we need down time; we need reflection.
Our passage (Exodus 16:22-30) is the first mention of the Sabbath. In the creation account we are told that God, after creating everything, rested on the seventh day. And because he rested on the seventh day God blessed and sanctified it. And now in the wilderness the Israelites are instructed to gather twice as much on the sixth day as on the other days. The leaders come and tell Moses. Well, I’m pretty sure Moses already knew. He was most likely the one who told them. So, it seems likely that they are telling Moses their concerns. Some of them, because they didn’t trust God to supply the manna on the next day had tried to leave some of it until the next day and the stuff was wormy and stinky. And wormy and stinky doesn’t taste so good does it precious? Sorry about the Lord of the Rings reference. Well, not really.
Moses informs them that this is all part of Yahweh’s plan. The seventh day is to be a sabbath observance; a holy, set apart, day of rest. So, on the sixth day, they are to gather twice as much and prepare the bread, baking or boiling it. On the seventh day, there will be nothing to gather and what they prepare will not become wormy and develop a stench. The first five days of the week, they are to gather one omer per person and leave nothing until the next day. But the seventh day is to be different. On the seventh day there will be no gathering or preparing. That is to be taken care of on the sixth day. Moses repeats the instructions a couple of times just to make sure they get it.
Ah, but they don’t get it. On the seventh day some of the people went out into the fields to gather themselves some manna. They, of course, found none. Our basic need for food drives us to do crazy things some times. It is the young person in a correction facility who stashes food in their pockets, even though they are fed three meals every day, without fail. You know, just in case. And why do these people try to gather more? They already have enough for the day; they have already prepared the day’s meals. But what if they wake up the next day and the manna hasn’t showed up? Yahweh is not at all happy about their lack of trust. He asked the people how long they would go on refusing his commandments and his Torah – “instructions”.
And here is what is ironic about this: Yahweh had given them the sabbath. It is not like God needed them to rest. It was a gift. And it was a gift in which Yahweh provided everything so that they could enjoy the gift. On the sixth day, he provided enough manna for them to collect and prepare twice as much as the other days; he rescinded his previous proviso concerning worms and stench. Yahweh has given them everything they would need to rest. Later, this gift would be written in stone.
At the beginning of all things, God blessed and consecrated the seventh day; a day of rest. As the people are being led to the promised land, Yahweh gives them a day of rest. When he gives them his “Ten Words” (what we call the ten commandments), he instructs them to not work on the sabbath. You may get the idea that the sabbath was kind of important to God. Why? Because he created us to need rest; moments of recuperating. Because the Lord knows that if we are working all of the time, we tend to forget about him. We work and worry about work. We need margin; we need down time. We need quiet contemplation.
Many will argue that the sabbath is not picked up in the New Age. I disagree. I don’t think we have a specific day of rest. I don’t believe that Sunday is the Christian sabbath. Sunday is the day to celebrate Jesus. It is extremely important, but it is not sabbath. I contend that the idea of the sabbath is still needed today. It is a gift from God. Cherish moments of recuperation. Don’t wait until your body wears down and forces you to rest. Rest and enjoy the gift of God. Rest and acknowledge that he is God. Rest. Walter