Exodus 16:21-30--Provision for the Sabbath

Exodus 16:21-30 
World English Bible
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21 They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is that which Yahweh has spoken, ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.’” 24 They laid it up until the morning, as Moses ordered, and it didn’t become foul, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. Today you shall not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none.” 27 On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. 28 Yahweh said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

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The people were not to do any ordinary work on the Sabbath--it was to be a day of rest and worship that was holy unto the LORD.  So, how would they eat on the Sabbath day if they were only given enough manna for each day and could not save it from day to day.  The LORD is going to make an exception to this rule for the Sabbath so that they can gather two omers of manna per person and they could prepare extra food on the day before the Sabbath so that on the Sabbath day, it would be a day of rest for them.  They would not gather manna or cook any food on the Sabbath day.  In fact, there would be no manna to gather on the Sabbath day.  Everyone was to stay in tent (the Tabernacle was not made yet for them to gather for worship, but that is coming).  They were simply to be still and rest on that day.  This was part of their testimony to the world--the LORD is sovereign and is their Provider and Sustainer.  He is able to give them what they need each and every day, and He is able to give them a double-portion on the Day of Preparation so that they can observe the Sabbath and not have to fast.  This idea is going to extend to other Sabbaths as well like the Sabbath year every seven years when the Land was to rest and they were to trust the LORD to give them enough for year six, to eat from the surplus in the Sabbath year, and to make it all the way until harvest of the eighth year.  Every 50 years (after seven Sabbath years) there would be an additional Sabbath year called the Year of Jubilee and the LORD also promised that they would be given enough to make it through the 49th and 50th years and to make it until the harvest of year 51.  We'll see later if the people trusted the LORD on this or if they failed to observe the Sabbath day, Sabbath year, and Year of Jubilee.