Today I read Exodus 16 where the Lord starts feeding the Israelites manna in the morning and quails in the evening and does this for 40 years! Some thoughts occurred to me as I was reading the chapter this morning. The first thought was that the Lord wanted them to work for their meals. What I mean by this is, the Lord could easily have caused them to have whatever food He wished and make it not run out, much like He does for the widow's meal and oil in the time of Elijah. But He didn't do that. He sent them manna that they had to go out and gather each and every day except for the Sabbath day. I think He did this so that the Israelites would have to work for their food, as much as was reasonable.
It is a fact that when we have to work for something we appreciate it more than when it is just given to us. Now, some may argue that the manna was in fact given to them and they would not be wrong, but it required some effort on their part. They had to go out and gather it each day or they would go hungry. And they had to gather enough for their entire family, this is not a small task I imagine. It honestly reminds me of keeping a garden and having to care for it. It is a labor of love that one performs for their loved ones. The Lord knows what He is doing. He knows that even though someone is being taken care of and their needs are being met, they still need to be able to do something for themselves. It is not healthy to have someone indefinitely take care of you if it can be avoided. That is why the church's welfare program requires you to give back when you can. Man needs to be able to provide for himself and for his family for proper self-esteem.
The second thought I had while reading this chapter was about the fact that the Lord did not want the Israelites doing ANY work on the Sabbath. Not even as simple a work as going out to gather up food. This is significant to me. This, to me, indicates that when the Lord says to keep the Sabbath day holy, He means it. The only religion that I have ever seen that takes this commandment seriously are the Seventh Day Adventists. I have several friends at work that belong to this religion and aside from going to church, they don't even go outside of their home on this day. Now, I don't know what they do inside their home, frankly that is their business and between them and the Lord. But I am pleased that there is a religion out there that keeps the Sabbath day holy.
Now, I did not include Latter-day Saints for a reason. I believe that most Latter-day Saints could do a much better job of keeping the Sabbath day holy. I have heard far too many stories in the past of predominantly LDS communities going to the video store after church and renting movies, or going to the grocery store, etc. The way I was raised, the Sabbath is a day of rest and time spent with family. Some of my fondest memories as a child were Sunday afternoons up in the living room with the entire family just listening to uplifting music and putting a puzzle together with my younger brother while the rest of the family quietly talked or read. Sundays are for doing the Lords work and recharging your spiritual batteries for the coming week. In my honest opinion, I think that if, as a country, we were to go back to Sabbath day observance, most of our other problems would slowly disappear. But that is just my opinion. What is a fact, is that if we will keep proper Sabbath day observance, the Lord will bless us. He has said so and so it is true. Put it to the test and you will not be disappointed. Until tomorrow.
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