Exodus Chapter 16 Verses 22-30

: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. 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. 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.”   

In this passage we are introduced to the ordinance of the Sabbath.  The Sabbath was designed to give praise, honor, and glory to God for his work of creation.  The Lord created all things in six days and rested on the seventh day.  This seventh day became known as the Sabbath.  The word, Sabbath, has a duel meaning.  It means to rest and it also carries the connotation of completion.  God rested from a completed work.  The children of Israel were to honor God by resting on the seventh day from their labors.  Today, we as children of God are to rest from Christ’s completed work of saving his people from their sins.  We are to cease from our labors of trying to get right with God and give all the praise and honor and glory to Jesus who has made us right with God.   

The children of Israel had need for food on seven days including the Sabbath.  God made provision for them by giving them twice as much supply of manna on the sixth day and for this special provision they could save up the extra days supply until the seventh day.  The Lord told them that there would not be any manna in the fields on the seventh day.  When some of the men doubted and disobeyed the LORD was not pleased.  Likewise, the Lord is not pleased with us when we doubt him and disobey his commandments. 

“So the people rested on the seventh day.”  There will be more discussion and expansion on the seventh day and the requirement of the children of Israel to rest on the Sabbath further on in the scriptures.   

Verses 31-36

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

“And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna:” The children of Israel gave the name of the bread that God provided.  Thus, Manna literally means bread from heaven.  John 6:32 “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”  Jesus is the true bread from heaven that the Father has given unto us.  He is the one who gives life unto the elect world.  The scriptures are a continual testimony of Jesus: John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”  Bread is a provision for the living.  A dead person needs no bread and cannot eat bread.  Jesus has given us life and we who have this spiritual life eat of Jesus when we search the scriptures for that testimony of him.   

“And it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.”  White is the bible color representing righteousness.  Jesus is the righteous one and we are made righteous by Jesus imputed righteousness unto us.  When we search the scriptures and find a testimony of Jesus we find the scriptures to be a sweet taste unto us like unto honey.   

“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.  As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.”  By saving a bowl of manna for a memorial to be kept up it was to be a reminder and witness to future generations of what the LORD did for the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt.   

“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.”  To feed a multitude of about 2 million people in the wilderness for a single day is a miracle by itself.  To feed that multitude daily for forty years makes us realize just how great God is.   

“Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.”  The ephah is somewhat equivalent to a bushel.  It is a unit of dry measure.  The omer is a tenth part of an ephah and an ephah is a tenth part of a homer.  It seems to me the significance here is the “tenth part.”  Ten is the bible number associated with law or commandment.  Thus, by describing the omer as a tenth part, it is tying the manna to the law or commandment of God.  Righteousness is a term associated with the law of God.  Perfect obedience to the law declared one to be righteous.  Jesus Christ is the righteous one and the only one who kept the law perfectly.  Through his atoning sacrifice and being made to be sin for us, he imputed his righteousness unto his elect family.