“On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have brought in, it will turn out to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”-Exodus 16:5
On the 6th day, the Israelites were commanded to gather TWICE the amount of Manna.
Why?
Well, we’re given the answer in verse 23.
“Tomorrow is a holy Shabbat for Adonai.”
If you’re a Gentile Christian, I want you to take note of this important point.
God’s command here to Israel and those foreigners who have enjoined themselves to Israel to observe the Shabbat takes place BEFORE the giving of the 10 commandments.
In other words, the Sabbath is assumed to be part of the very structure of nature.
God was NOT going to rain Manna down on the 7th day.
The word Sabbath means “cessation time”.
So the people were allowed to prepare the Manna anyway they wished as long as this work was completed before the end of the 6th day.
Yeshua Himself said that the Sabbath was a gift from the Creator to all mankind.
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
-Matthew 2:27
The Greek word for “man” is ANTHROPOS and it indeed refers to ALL mankind.
The Sabbath has always been a thorny issue for the Gentile church.
The reason is because whether or not they believe some or none of the 613 laws of the Mosaic covenant pertain to them, the simple fact of the matter is that the Sabbath command is one of the 10 commandments which the church has always upheld.
I can’t say this strongly enough but nowhere in the Bible does it say that God has done AWAY with the command of the Sabbath.
Many church leaders love to quote the following verse from Paul to support their views that they can make the Sabbath any day they want.
“So don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in connection
with eating and drinking,
or in regard to a Jewish festival or Rosh-Hodesh or Shabbat.
These are a shadow of things that are coming,
but the body is of the Messiah.”
-Colossians 2:16-17
The way the church has used this verse is a classic example of what happens when Bible passages are lifted out of context in order to try and validate a predetermined doctrinal agenda.
I’ve already dealt with this verse and you can read a devastating teardown of the traditional Christian interpretation by clicking here.
Another thorny point for modern Christians is that it is a DOCUMENTED and HISTORICAL fact that the early church continued to keep the Shabbat (as Saturday) right up until the time Emperor Constantine ordered the Sabbath be replaced by an aberration he called “The Lord’s Day”.
I think the early church well understood that nowhere in the Bible does it say that since the advent of Yeshua, it is okay to ignore the Sabbath or make it any day we want as long as we set aside a day of rest.
According to Constantine’s decree, this new day of worship called the Lord’s Day was to be held on the 1st day of the week.
The day that we call Sunday.
And why do we call it “Sunday”?
Well, in the Roman Empire, the primary pagan religion was the worship of the sun whose devotees were called Mishrain sun worshippers.
“So don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in connection
with eating and drinking,
or in regard to a Jewish festival or Rosh-Hodesh or Shabbat.
These are a shadow of things that are coming,
but the body is of the Messiah.”
-Colossians 2:16-17
The way I understand these verses is that the “is” in verse 17 is actually a supplied word by the translator and would actually read “but the body of Messiah”, meaning let no one judge you in these things but the body of Messiah. We are the body and should instruct, reproof, and correct each other in line with the Word of Yah. Shalom, Chyron.