We are in chapter sixteen of Exodus with our word for today, used for the first time in the Bible. שַׁבָּתוֹן sabbath observance, rest period, sabbath celebrations, sabbath feast. It is used 11 times in Old Testament. Our word is used to describe a specifically set a side day of rest from one’s normal daily work. This all started from stopping from the regular day of gathering manna that God provided every day except on Saturday because it was a day of rest. Exodus 16:22-30 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of שַׁבָּת֧וֹן solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.” On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day. I find it interesting that this was the original context for when God established the Sabbath. Over time people would forget that God was the one giving them manna each morning and then start taking God and what he was doing for granted. This extra manna on Friday would be a way to visually see that the extra didn’t go to waste like it would if you gathered more than you needed on the other days of the week. On Friday it would not spoil. God is helping the people see his love and provision for them in a tangible way.
Later on this sabbath rest day would also include special sabbath celebrations that would include trumpets. Leviticus 23:23-24 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day שַׁבָּת֔וֹן of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’” Not only do people need the rest but also the land itself. Leviticus 25:4-5 But in the seventh year the land is to have a year שַׁבָּתוֹן֙of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year שַׁבָּת֖וֹןof rest.
What were the people to do during this sabbath rest? We will look at that tomorrow when we look at the other word for sabbath. For today I’ll close with this great picture of rest seen in the New Testament book of Hebrews. Before we do I should contrast this with the penalty God commanded for those who disobeyed God and worked on the sabbath. Exodus 31:15 For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day שַׁבָּת֛וֹן of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. This may seem harsh to us but it is a reminder that sin has consequences. The good news is that Jesus has taken the punishment for our sins and has become our sabbath rest. Hebrews 4:9-11 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
