SUMMARY
The Israelites are hungry as they slog through the wilderness. God sends to them manna and quails to eat, with the instruction that they are not to gather more than they need for the day. Only on the sixth day are they to gather twice as much as usual, so that on the seventh day they may observe the sabbathSabbath is a weekly day of rest, the seventh day, observed on Saturday in Judaism and on Sunday in Christianity. In the book of Genesis, God rested on the seventh day; in the Gospel accounts Jesus and his disciples are criticized by some for not....
ANALYSIS
This is a passage that is particularly rich with theological implications. The people complain because they are starving—not an unreasonable objection!—and they begin to wish they were back in their servitude in Egypt, where at least “we sat by the pots of meat and ate our fill of bread” (16:3). God’s provision of food at this juncture not only implies care for their well-being, but also serves as a rejoinder against that longing for the past. God’s provision reminds the Israelites that this journey, even with its hardships, is a forward journey of liberation for the service of God.
The passage also underscores the importance of sabbath observance for future generations, a practice rooted in the value of having enough, not as much as possible. Anything extra that people tried to hoard from day to day would be rotten by morning—one’s daily bread was plenty, all that one needed to work for. Then, in order to observe the sabbath without deprivation, the people would gather twice as much on the sixth day, with plenty to sustain them through the sabbath. For the settled Israelites—as for many people now—there is significant economic risk in abstaining from work for a day each week. This story affirms God’s provision as enough, promising all that is needed while cautioning against acquiring more.
