Learning Sabbath

Learning Sabbath. 

Before
Ten Commandments arrive
engraved in stone, 

the Most High God 
starts teaching His people 
an expectation. 
And provision. 

Sabbath. 

For 40 years 
of wilderness training, 
He clarifies 
this ongoing need 
for true rest. 
In Him. 

With a little thing 
called manna. 

Manna 

When the people
complain,
And cry out for food, 
the Lord hears. 

And in the morning, 
fine flakes 
fall.
Cover the desert 
around their camp.  

They name it. 
Manna. (Exodus 16:31) 
Literally, “what?” 
Curious. Unusual. 

But “the bread which the Lord 
has given you to eat.” (Exodus 16:15) 

Sabbath 

There’s always plenty. 
Each day. 
With one exception. 

“On the seventh day, the Sabbath, 
there will be none” (Exodus 16:26). 

No manna gathering allowed. 
On one day. 
One specific day. 

And Moses says 
it’s “a day of 
complete rest, 
a holy Sabbath 
to the Lord.” (v. 23) 

He provides 

Will they go hungry? 
No. 
God provides. 
Always. 

And the sixth day, 
day before Sabbath, 
there’s not too much, 
not too little. 

But just enough 
for a two-day supply. 

Learning Sabbath 

Funny thing. 

Even with all the instructions. 
Detailed and clear. 
Some go out. 
Anyway. 

On His Sabbath. 

Planning to 
gather more
manna. 
And what do they find? 
Nothing. 

Learning Sabbath 
the hard way. 

A gift

God says 
Sabbath is 
a gift (v. 29). 

But stubborn, 
self-focused hearts 
miss the 
message. 

Visual learners? 
Needing 
experiential 
evidence of 
God’s Word? 

“How long will you 
refuse 
to keep My commands 
and instructions?” (v. 28) 

Help us 

Give us understanding 
of the gift 
in Your commands. 

Help us celebrate 
provision 
through Your 
instructions. 

Learning true Sabbath 
in surrender. 
Daily abiding in You.  
Walking by faith.

For we do not live
on bread alone.
But on every word
that comes
from Your mouth. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)

What about you? 

Do you have a hard time following instructions?  What has God taught you about rest and Sabbath? 

Related posts 

Set free on the Sabbath – Look up – Seem or be? – Rock – Wilderness – Living bread – Wordless – Blood and sacrifice – daily abiding – Abiding in Christ –